Baylor Beats Maryland Eastern Shore 78-46: Three Takeaways

Baylor blew past Maryland Eastern Shore 78-46. Maryland Eastern Shore is No. 350 on KenPom, so this one was never close.

The Bears take on Arizona at 11:00 on Saturday in Waco. Given that game is at the same time as the Big 12 Championship Game, tickets will be free to Baylor-Arizona starting at 9 A.M. that day. Yes, they are really giving away free tickets to a top 25 basketball game. That’s a fantastic idea.

Here are three takeaways from the win:

1) Big 12 Player of the Year is a three man race, and Jared Butler might win it:

Butler, Udoka Azubuike and Devon Dotson are the three favorites. Butler leads Bart Torvik’s ranking for Big 12 Player of the Year through November.

Butler has worked another level to his dribble hesitation three. He started 5-of-7 from distance and finished with 20 points. While Clark works to get back, Butler has been an easy bucket for the Bears.

2) Tristan Clark missed tonight:

Baylor announced that Clark is day-to-day with knee soreness. Clark had some nice moments, including a late bucket against Villanova, in the Myrtle Beach Invitational. The Bears really need him to be healthy to challenge Kansas for the league title.

3) Matt Mayer is getting closer:

Mayer went 4-of-6 from the field and 2-of-2 from three in the first half. Mayer still calls for the ball a little too often, but he’s getting better about running the offense.

I remain very optimistic about Mayer’s future, which is why I will keep making memes about Mayer: