A Place in History: Baylor thumps OU, sets Big 12 record for consecutive wins with 23

NORMAN, Okla. — Shortly before 4 p.m. Tuesday, members of the No. 1-ranked Baylor basketball squad gathered in an Embassy Suites conference room a few miles from Oklahoma’s campus.

Later that evening the Bears would attempt to win their 23rd straight game—the most by any team in the 24-year history of the Big 12—and coach Scott Drew wanted to make sure they were prepared.

As players dined on steak, shrimp and chicken, an in-house video compiled one day earlier—at Drew’s request—played on a projection screen. “Star Wars” theme music boomed in the background as two paragraphs in white lettering scrolled up the black backdrop, mimicking the beginning of the 1979 movie.

Once upon a time, in a land far far away, there was a conference that had some of the best basketball players in college basketball history … 

The Big 12 conference had been in existence since 1996; here are some of the players that competed in the toughest league in America … 

For the next few minutes, the Bears watched clips of the most successful Big 12 players of all time. NBA stars such as Kevin Durant, Joel Embiid, Nick Collison, Trae Young, Buddy Hield, LaMarcus Aldridge and Marcus Morris flashed across the screen. Also included were four-year standouts such as Devonte Graham, Andre Emmett, Sherron Collins and others. At the end of the video was this message:

None of these players can say that they did what WE have the OPPORTUNITY to do tonight …

None can own what WE have the ABILITY to own …

The longest winning streak in Big 12 history: 23 in a row.

The video stopped and the room was silent. The Bears would say later that the images of all those former Big 12 standouts clumped together were jarring. Thanks to just two quick minutes of footage, any Baylor player who may have been looking ahead to Saturday’s College GameDay showdown with No. 3 Kansas was now focused solely on beating Oklahoma—and making history.

“When I saw that video and all those players I knew … that was shocking, bro,” forward Mark Vital said. “It made me think, ‘Wow! We’re about to do something Kevin Durant didn’t do? We’re about to do something P.J. Tucker and Tony Allen and Joel Embiid didn’t do? And Blake Griffin?’

“We were pretty focused before we watched it, but we were really locked in afterward.”

Four hours later the Bears carried their recharged energy onto the Lloyd Center court and walloped Oklahoma 65-54 for their record-setting 23rd straight victory. Jared Butler scored 22 points and Vital added 10 for Baylor, which improved to 24-1 overall and 13-0 in Big 12 play.

So fatigued was Drew from celebrating in the locker room—“He was jumping up and down and chest-bumping everyone,” Butler chuckled—that he had trouble catching his breath a few times during his postgame press conference.

“It was important to show our guys the history of the Big 12 and what was at stake,” Drew said. “You don’t often have the chance to make history. For them to have a chance to accomplish something like this was amazing, and we wanted to make sure we took advantage of that opportunity.”

Baylor’s 23 straight wins eclipse the previous record of 22 set by Kansas in 1996-97. That Jayhawks squad featured future NBA stars such as Paul Pierce, Jacque Vaughn and Raef LaFrentz—a stark contrast to this year’s Baylor team, which doesn’t boast a single McDonald’s All-American or Top-50 recruit on its roster.

Instead the Bears are led by:

Transfers from UNC-Asheville (MaCio Teague) and Hutchinson Community College (Devonte Bandoo)

Auburn’s former backup point guard (Davion Mitchell)

A center who began his career at Division III Carleton College (Freddie Gillespie)

A 6-foot-5 power forward who redshirted as a freshman because he was so raw (Vital)

And a preseason All-Big 12 pick who is playing with a bum knee (Tristan Clark).

Even Butler, the team’s star and leading scorer at 15.6 points per game, was ranked No. 129 by Rivals.com in the Class of 2018. On Tuesday he was the best player on the court. Butler scored 14 of his game-high 22 points after intermission and connected on four second-half 3s, each of them thwarting a potential scoring run by the Sooners.

“Road games are tough,” Butler said, “especially when you’re the No. 1 team in the country. You’ve got to be tough-minded, and our guys were tough-minded the whole time.”

Vegas oddsmakers only tabbed Baylor as a 3-point favorite entering the contest, most likely because of the absence of Teague—a shooting guard who averages 14.3 points—for the second straight game because of a wrist injury. But just as they did in Saturday’s win over West Virginia, Baylor looked perfectly fine without Teague in building a 13-point lead midway through the first half.

Things got tight momentarily in the second half when Oklahoma’s Kristian Doolittle swished a jumper to pull his team within a point, 39-38. But Baylor responded with a 19-10 scoring run that made it 58-48. Butler had a trio of three-pointers during the march.

Oklahoma pulled within seven, 58-51, on a three-point play by Alondes Williams with 4:30 remaining. But Bandoo responded with a 3-pointer on the other end that proved to be the final dagger, making it 61-51 at the 3:53 mark. Oklahoma wouldn’t score another field goal as the Sooners fell to 16-10 and 6-7.

The late three-pointer was huge for Bandoo, who had missed his previous 10 long range attempts over two games.

“I’m not going to ever stop shooting, even if I go 0-for-12 or whatever,” Bandoo said. “I’m very confident in my shooting. If I’m open I’m going to let it go no matter what.”

Just as its been all season, Baylor’s biggest strength Tuesday was its defense. For the 10th time in 13 Big 12 games, the Bears held their opponent below 60 points. Conference opponents are averaging just 56.2 points against Drew’s squad.

Six of the 23 victories in Baylor’s current streak came against Top 25 opponents such as Villanova, Arizona, Butler, Texas Tech and, of course, Kansas. No team in America has defeated that many ranked foes. Baylor has had just one game, a 53-52 win over Butler on Dec. 10, decided by a single possession.

“I’d have never even thought of a streak like this because the Big 12 has been the No. 1 conference for six straight years,” Drew said. “Top to bottom, there is no easy game.

“When you’ve been in the league for 17 years you can appreciate the history, as well. For what these guys have been able to achieve, with all the great teams and coaches, to be in the record books is pretty special.”

With that milestone now accomplished, the Bears will focus all of its attention on winning the Big 12 title that has eluded them since the league’s inception in 1996. Getting Teague back on the court would certainly help during a five-game stretch that includes home tilts with Kansas and Texas Tech and a road game at West Virginia.

“He’s getting closer,” Drew said of Teague. “With him being somebody that relies on his perimeter shot … if he can’t shoot, we’re not going to rush him back. If it was a post guy who was a banger, you could bring him back sooner. But with MaCio we’ve got to make sure the shot is back.”

Whether Teague plays or not, the Bears are excited about Saturday’s rematch with the Jayhawks, who will be looking to avenge a 67-55 loss to Baylor back on Jan. 11 in Lawrence. In fact, the current Associated Press top 5 is a combined 65-1 since Jan. 1, with the lone loss coming from Kansas against Baylor.

Kansas had won 14 straight Big 12 championships before its streak ended last season, when Texas Tech and Kansas State shared the crown. Baylor has never won a Big 12 title, but a victory Saturday would go a long way toward changing that, as Kansas (12-1) is only one game behind the Bears (13-0) in the league standings.

Saturday’s game at the Ferrell Center has been sold out for weeks, with prime floor seats now selling for more than $1,200 apiece on the internet.

“Kansas is a tough team,” Butler said. “It’s going to be a game, a battle. Whose going to be the tougher team? GameDay is going to be in town. I love that. That means it’s go-time.”

Vital vows the Jayhawks will be ready.

“Much respect for Kansas,” he said. “I love Bill Self. Great coach, great team. They’ll come in ready to play. We won (game) one, now it’s another heavyweight, ‘Fight at the Ferrell,’ like Muhammad Ali and George Foreman.

“I can’t wait.”