Baylor dominates Washington in final game of Vegas Bubble, 86-52

Written by Drake Toll

LAS VEGAS — The No. 1/2 Baylor (2-0) men’s basketball team asserted their dominance again with a 86-52 drubbing of Washington (0-1) at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas to cap off the Vegas Bubble. 

If someone laid this game’s stat sheet in your lap and scratched the opponent’s name off, you’d be smart to guess the Bears played Maryland Eastern Shore — but you’d be so very wrong. Baylor absolutely dominated their first Power 5 test of the season, improving to 13-5 against the Pac-12 in the Scott Drew era. 

Adam Flagler exploded off the bench with a flashy 17 points on 5/9 shooting from deep, but it was Mark Vital’s 8 points, 15 rebounds, four assists and three blocks that glued the team. And, despite 16 turnovers, Baylor’s day was anchored by 50 boards compared to the Husky’s 19 — gaudy numbers for a guard-led team.

Remember when Baylor just teased Louisiana early on in their win yesterday? Yeah, the Bears weren’t gambling in Vegas today. The Green and Gold jumped out 31-7 in this one and enjoyed a 15-0 run in a three-and-a-half-minute stretch at the midway point of the first half. 

The hot start was thanks in part to Flagler’s early 3-3 line from deep and vitals quick nine boards. And while Washington leveled things out with a seven-point run of their own, Baylor was comfortably in control with a 38-24 lead at the break. 

The Bears found another spark early in the second, extending their lead to 57-31 at the 12:01 mark with a 16-7 mini-run to get things started. The remainder of the game was led by 17 second period points for Butler and another six rebounds from Mark Vital. 

Baylor connected on 13 threes for the day and shot 51% overall from the field. But with only three steals and a porous 5/11 from the charity stripe, the Bears weren’t perfect. That said, outscoring your opponent 48-28 in the second half alone will make up for the small blemishes. 

In the end, Baylor heard your questions yesterday about their defense and lack of dominant presence down low, and they wanted you to rest easy tonight. The rest of the country has been put on watch.