Bears Defeat Sam Houston State 79-45

The Bears opened the game on a 10-0 run and continued their dominance of Sam Houston State on the way to an easy victory.

Baylor’s defense stifled Sam Houston State all night. The Bearkats didn’t score until 13:13 left in the first half. With their strong defensive play, the Bears rolled to a 20-2 lead. The Bearkats finished the night just 4 of 25 from deep.

Nearly everyone had moments this game. In the following vine, Ish Wainright hits Jo Lual-Acuil for the alley oop, then Jake Lindsey follows it up with a slam dunk:

After struggling from three in the ballroom at the Battle 4 Atlantis (though who cares when you win the tournament), the Bears three point attack returned. King McClure finished 4 of 7 from three along the way to his team leading 14 point day.

Baylor controlled the game throughout. Lual-Acuil had timely blocks, Wainright had a solid all-around game, and Motley was a force on the boards, while drawing attention for the offense to operate.

The Bears showed exactly what you want from a top ten team tonight. They came out ready to play and defended throughout. Whether in man or zone, Baylor played aggressively and dove for loose balls. Sam Houston State is not up to Baylor’s talent level, but the Bears did exactly what they needed to do.

The 7-0 Bears host #7 Xavier at 2:30 on Saturday. The Bears have the best resume in the country already with wins over Oregon, VCU, Michigan State, and Louisville. And if they play like they did tonight on Saturday, someone else may join Jon Wilner in ranking the Bears #1 by Monday.