No. 6 Baylor cruises past TCU, 70-52
Baylor SID
The Bears finish the home-and-home with the arch rival Horned Frogs at 1:00 p.m. Saturday at the Ferrell Center (ESPNU). Baylor won the first meeting, 62-53, Jan. 21 in Fort Worth. TCU is coming off a 62-61 victory over Texas Tech this past Tuesday in Fort Worth. TCU has won three consecutive games. Baylor has never lost to TCU (10-0) since the Horned Frogs joined the Big 12.
Don't forget the Bears have a short turnaround time because they play at Texas Tech Monday.
Here are five things to watch:
Long live the King: Based on Al Freeman's day-to-day suspension and King McClure's 10 point performance at Oklahoma St. this past Wednesday, this points to McClure starting again. Even if Freeman was solely a one-game suspension, McClure has played his way into this opportunity. The important thing is that McClure appears to have the knee issues of January well behind him. Baylor sorely needs productivity from the two.
He's Vlad: TCU's European sensation Vlad Brodziansky (14.3 ppg) was as good as advertised against Baylor in the first meeting when he picked up a double double (19 points, 10 rebounds). It was his second double double of the season. He surprised Baylor in that first meeting when he stepped out and hit a couple of 3-pointers. Again, this is going to be matchup issue for the Bears on who really takes him, Johnathan Motley or Jo Lual-Acuil.
Per Ross Perot, "Can I finish?": As we have seen in the last three games, the Bears have had some difficulty with that aspect of the game. Of course, they were trailing against Kansas and Kansas St. Still, plays were there to try and tie the game and it didn't work out. They almost gave away Oklahoma St.as a 13-point possession was whittled to one including OSU with possession attempting to take the lead inside the final minute. Baylor turnover issues were at the root of that. It's becoming almost too common to discuss this.
Muscling up on Manu: Since the Kansas game on Feb. 1, teams have become a little more physical on Baylor's point guard Manu Lecomte with the bumping and hand checks, etc. Teams have been pushing out and not allowing him to get into the middle of the paint. In the last two games he has six assists against seven turnovers. When you can't force the issue and get more people involved, that impacts your team. Now, we'll see what kind of adjustments Baylor can make. Higher screens at the top could be an option.
Motley High Low: The first 15 minutes of the second half against Oklahoma Stat was vintage Baylor basketball and junior forward Johnathan Motley with the high low game. A part of Baylor's first eight baskets of the second half were either Motley dunks or layups. Now, TCU presents a different matchup with Brodziansky (or others coming off the switch). But if you're Baylor, you want to establish that as best you can to get him going and get him active. Motley has 10 double doubles this season including three consecutive.
