Baylor Routs TCU 82-54

For the first sixteen minutes of the game, the TCU Horned Frogs were blazing on offense. Guards Chauncey Collins and Michael Williams knocked down some tough three-point shots and bounced the ball to big men Vladimir Brodziansky and Chris Washburn cutting to the basket before the defensive rotations in the zone could react.

Seeing his 1-3-1/2-3 hybrid zone be torn apart, Scott Drew made the decision to switch to man, a strategic move that fueled a 13-0 run to close the first half. At its height, Baylor's run reached 40-8 over the course of 16 minutes of game time, with separate 10-0 and 7-0 mini-runs in the second half.

Terry Maston was the star for the Baylor Bears on offense. He finished with 17 points to lead all scorers and began the game shooting 4-4 from the field with a variety of short jumpers, hooks, and reverse layups. Maston's offensive explosion during Big XII play has been surprising on the one hand and key to Baylor's 3-1 record on the other. In four conference games this season, Maston has scored 7, 8, 13, and 17 points while shooting 59% in that stretch. Against TCU, in particular, Maston demonstrated a smoothness and calm to his game. He finished by shooting 8-11 with three assists, two that came on back-to-back three pointers by King McClure. On both plays, Maston got the ball at the left elbow and passed over the defense to McClure, open in the right corner. The freshman shooting guard, by the way, finished with 8 points, his highest total in conference play, all coming from the right corner.

Lester Medford, who continues to grow as a distributor as Baylor's front line entrenches itself, finished the game with 11 assists, 10 of which came in the first half, and matched his total from Baylor's upset of Iowa State on Saturday. Medford assisted Baylor first 6 makes. In conference play, Medford is sporting an exceptional 4:1 assist-to-turnover ratio with 32 assists against just 8 turnovers.

Baylor finished the game shooting 63% from the field with 27 assists on 31 made shots. The Bears passing and ball movement were exceptional, especially after Drew switched to man defense. Once that switch was made and Baylor began stringing together stops, the Bears could push the ball in transition for easy shots. Even in the half court, Baylor played with exceptional energy, perhaps feeding off their defensive energy. With long, athletic wing defenders like NBA 3-and-D prospect Taurean Prince and Ish Wainright and solid guard defense from Lester Medford, Al Freeman, and Jake Lindsey, Baylor has the tools needed to prevent penetration on the perimeter while still contesting jumpers. The perimeter defense also eases the pressure on Baylor's bigs, none of which are particularly adept at protecting the rim but are all good defending in space against the pick-and-roll. Drew should strongly consider switching to man as the base defense and use zone as a change of pace, rather than the other way around.

A solid win for the Bears moves them to 3-1 in Big XII play with a road game against Texas Tech on Saturday coming up. If Baylor can get a win on the road, never a given in this conference, and can take care of Kansas State at home, they will have strung together 5 consecutive victories headed into a huge game in Waco against the Sooners. After such a discouraging loss in Lawrence, the Scott Drew has his team on track for another strong season and potentially a third consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance.

Here are the rest of the stats from last night's game. Share your jubilation at beating the Horned Frogs (again), in the comments!

via espn.com