Myrtle Beach Champs: Baylor Beats Villanova 87-78

Baylor knocked off Villanova 87-78 to win the Myrtle Beach Invitational. The Bears get a nice break before taking on Maryland Eastern Shore on December 3rd.

Here are five takeaways:

1) Jared Butler is the man- With Baylor trailing Villanova halfway through the second half, Butler made back-to-back threes. He then hit a very long two. He finished with 22 points on 4-of-8 shooting from deep. He’s a consistent bucket and earned Most Outstanding Player honors.

2) Tristan Clark had nice moments- Clark is still working back from a knee injury that ended his campaign last January. In the second half, Clark muscled his way to a nice jump hook. He also connected on a dunk when Baylor broke Villanova’s press and made a reverse layup in the same spot.

3) Matt Mayer and Mark Vital brought it- Mayer had 10 first half points. He also worked well in the offense.

Vital did a fantastic job helping Baylor’s defense. When Scott Drew elected to play some zone, Vital was everywhere. He also did a good job when switched onto Collin Gillespie, who was a monster getting to the hoop and making jumpers.

4) MaCio Teague had a superb second half- Teague made a big mental blunder in the first half. With 35 seconds left, he didn’t wait for the clock to hit 30. That would have ensured Baylor had the final possession. Instead, Villanova took over with five seconds and Teague fouled a 3-point shooter.

Teague was money in the second half. He had 12 points and hit 4-of-4 free throws in the second half. Teague’s been much better than I expected getting to the hoop.

5) Great win- Villanova has been one of the country’s best programs this decade. Jeremiah Robinson-Earl is fantastic, and Gillespie was a monster. That team will be a top 25 squad all season.