Is Baylor For Real?
A few days after Kansas State handed previously-unbeaten Missouri their first loss of the season in Manhattan, KS, the Wildcats looked to do the same to visiting Baylor. But the problem was Pierre Jackson and Perry Jones would not let that happen. Jackson, the 5'8" reserve JuCo point guard, found teammates slashing to the rim all night long, dropping a career-best 11 assists, while Perry Jones should toughness on the interior, finishing shots around the rim. A team that has struggled in the past on the road, won to keep its undefeated record intact and marking a 7-0 record away from home this season; in the past two seasons combined, Baylor was 3-10 in road and neutral court games.
Criticized for being soft too often playing a 2-3 zone on defense, Baylor dug in down the stretch, holding Kansas State to just four points during a second-half stretch and just one buckets in the final five minutes of the game. Tough inside play was never Perry Jones' calling, but the sophomore rose to the occasion, along with Quincy Acy as the duo combined to go 14-of-18 from the floor to combine for 30 of the Bears' 75 points.
If Jones and Acy, combined with freshman Quincy Miller can display that same toughness on the inside and use their versatility to step away from the rim, this Bears' frontcourt will be near-impossible to stop. Add in the tremendous backcourt play of two transfers- the playmaking of Pierre Jackson and perimeter shooting of Brady Heslip and we can see exactly why this Baylor team is capable of a Final Four run.
By President Corey Ruff - 1 - 13 - 12
