Baylor Bears roll against Gators, 72-61

Jan 25, 2020; Gainesville, Florida, USA; Florida Gators guard Tre Mann (1) controls the ball against Baylor Bears guard Mark Vital (11) during the first half at Exactech Arena. (Photo: Reinhold Matay-USA TODAY Sports, USA TODAY Sports)

The Baylor Bears aren't done with being the best team in the nation. And they absolutely aren't done being a dominant team in Big 12 challenge games. It doesn't seem to matter what you do to these Bears, the result is the same. A win. For the 16th straight game, Baylor emerged the victor. This time, it was a raucous Florida Gator crowd that got the pleasure of seeing the Bears work. The result was a 72-61 victory.

Even with a crowd that was very ready to host the top-ranked Bears, seeing students camping out the past few days for the best seats. Even with students somehow finding something objectionable about John Morris hours before the game, Scott Drew and his Bears came in with a singular focus. That focus was tested early as the Gators came out hot and confident in hitting big shots and shooting out to an 8-point lead.

It still didn't matter. Baylor would respond, as they have done the past few months every time they have been tested. Jared Butler would hit a three-pointer to cut the lead to five to start a sensational 31-12 run that turned that 8-point Florida lead into an 11 point halftime lead for the Bears. Even more impressive was that Butler would be on the bench with two fouls for the bulk of that game-changing run.

That is the beauty of these Bears. They are far from a one-man show. No Butler? That's okay for the Bears who got a combined 21 points from MaCio Teague and Devonte Bandoo on 4-7 shooting from deep. With Tristan Clark not available, the Bears leaned heavily on Freddie Gillespie who played 34-minutes and won the battle against Florida star center Kerry Blackshear. The two centers were matched up often over the night, with Gillespie finishing with 9 points, 7 rebounds, and 1 block compared to Blackshear's 9 points, 4 rebounds, and 1 block.

With the inside match-up a draw, the Gators needed their 3-point shooters to carry the load. Their answer was a 4-17 night from the arc, getting badly out-shot by the Bears (9-19). The trio of Jared Butler, Devonte Bandoo, and MaCio Teague were a combined 7-13 from behind the arc. Baylor's ball movement was just quicker than the Gators defense all night, continuously getting open shots and hitting them.

When the Bears offense would slump, they would lean on their defense to shut-down the Gators. Despite not scoring a point for the first 3-minutes of the second half, the Bears saw their lead only drop to 9-points as their defense harassed the Gators into bad shots. It is that ability to carry the droughts that every college team runs into and not see a road lead drop to a threatening level that makes this team special.

Baylor's lead would grow as large as 19 points, as their lead would never drop under 10-points for the final 17 minutes and 33 seconds of the game. The duo of Bandoo and Teague led the way with 16-points apiece for the Bears with Jared Butler at 10 points and Davion Mitchell with 12. Baylor's best work late was from the free throw line, as they finished the game 15-16 from the charity stripe, including hitting 9 of their 10 shots in the last 2-minutes of the game.

Baylor returns to Big 12 action against Iowa State in Ames, Iowa on Wednesday evening at 8 pm.

Baylor Bears roll against Gators, 72-61

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