Stephen was out at Scott Drew's presser on Friday and will post the videos later.
However, Drew was asked about Rico Gathers' status. At first he said yes but then thought better of it and had to double check. So I guess that means his status for Saturday's game is up in the air.
POST GAME THOUGHTS
No question this was No. 22 Baylor's best performance of the season. The Bears win, 78-64,on the road against a team in Texas that many thought was about to break through and become a challenger for the Big 12 championship.
Within the first four minutes, the Bears put a vice grip on this team and never really gave Texas a look at this. This was a total beatdown. The Bears (20-7, 9-5) led for all 40 minutes, shot 62.7 percent and didn't allow the No. 25 Longhorns (17-10, 8-6) to get on any significant run. This margin doesn't tell you how bad this was. Baylor led by as many as 27 points before it just managed its way to a comfortable win.
What does this also mean? The Bears have clinched a winning record on the Big 12 road. They are 5-2 with road games at TCU and Oklahoma coming. They've won in Austin, Ames, Manhattan, KS, Stillwater, OK and Lubbock. The Bears have won 20 games for the fifth consecutive season.
Obviously, I've stated my concerns about Johnathan Motley's consistent play. I believed they were valid. But I'd like to think that this week signals a turning point for his career in Waco. He follows up 27 against Iowa State with 24 points (12-13 FG) against the Longhorns. And keep in mind his only miss was when Baylor had the shot clock running down inside the final 90 seconds and he had to put something up so there wouldn't be a violation.
If that isn't good enough for Big 12 player of the week honors, I really don't know what it would take. The first sign that this was going to be a pretty good day for him was the move he put on Prince Ibeh on his first field goal where had the move on the baseline and froze Ibeh.
And you knew this was going to Baylor's day when Taurean Prince (17 points) and Lester Medford (13 points) converted on acrobatic shots for and one opportunities.
By far this was the best defensive effort within the last three weeks. Baylor forced four early turnovers that set the tone. Few of Texas' 14 turnovers were self inflicted. Baylor forced them. They jumped into passing lanes. There was attention to detail on spacing. Texas shot 41.7 percent. Again, defense is about wanting to do it.
The Bears learned some lessons in the 67-59 loss to Texas Feb. 1 in Waco. They had to be stifling on the defensive end and make life tough for the playmaker Isaiah Taylor. Taylor only finished with 10 - five below his average - and was no factor.
Of course, the Bears turned it over 14 times. Several of those were head scratchers. But it didn't burn them.
One thing we'll look back on that could have been pivotal in this game was the timeout Scott Drew called with 19:05 to play in the second half. Baylor led 40-24 and looked a little ragged. Drew must have sensed that so he could attempt to reignite the intensity. It must have worked because 40-24 ballooned to 48-26 over the next three minutes. From there, this was about playing smart, using the shot clock and be patient because Texas had to play like a desperate team.
So the loss to Texas in Waco is avenged. The oddity of this series is that each team won on the other's floor. That's weird when that happens.
Now, it's on to Tuesday night against No. 3 Kansas at 7:00 p.m. in the Ferrell Center. That building needs to be a fire marshal crowd.
However, Drew was asked about Rico Gathers' status. At first he said yes but then thought better of it and had to double check. So I guess that means his status for Saturday's game is up in the air.
POST GAME THOUGHTS
No question this was No. 22 Baylor's best performance of the season. The Bears win, 78-64,on the road against a team in Texas that many thought was about to break through and become a challenger for the Big 12 championship.
Within the first four minutes, the Bears put a vice grip on this team and never really gave Texas a look at this. This was a total beatdown. The Bears (20-7, 9-5) led for all 40 minutes, shot 62.7 percent and didn't allow the No. 25 Longhorns (17-10, 8-6) to get on any significant run. This margin doesn't tell you how bad this was. Baylor led by as many as 27 points before it just managed its way to a comfortable win.
What does this also mean? The Bears have clinched a winning record on the Big 12 road. They are 5-2 with road games at TCU and Oklahoma coming. They've won in Austin, Ames, Manhattan, KS, Stillwater, OK and Lubbock. The Bears have won 20 games for the fifth consecutive season.
Obviously, I've stated my concerns about Johnathan Motley's consistent play. I believed they were valid. But I'd like to think that this week signals a turning point for his career in Waco. He follows up 27 against Iowa State with 24 points (12-13 FG) against the Longhorns. And keep in mind his only miss was when Baylor had the shot clock running down inside the final 90 seconds and he had to put something up so there wouldn't be a violation.
If that isn't good enough for Big 12 player of the week honors, I really don't know what it would take. The first sign that this was going to be a pretty good day for him was the move he put on Prince Ibeh on his first field goal where had the move on the baseline and froze Ibeh.
And you knew this was going to Baylor's day when Taurean Prince (17 points) and Lester Medford (13 points) converted on acrobatic shots for and one opportunities.
By far this was the best defensive effort within the last three weeks. Baylor forced four early turnovers that set the tone. Few of Texas' 14 turnovers were self inflicted. Baylor forced them. They jumped into passing lanes. There was attention to detail on spacing. Texas shot 41.7 percent. Again, defense is about wanting to do it.
The Bears learned some lessons in the 67-59 loss to Texas Feb. 1 in Waco. They had to be stifling on the defensive end and make life tough for the playmaker Isaiah Taylor. Taylor only finished with 10 - five below his average - and was no factor.
Of course, the Bears turned it over 14 times. Several of those were head scratchers. But it didn't burn them.
One thing we'll look back on that could have been pivotal in this game was the timeout Scott Drew called with 19:05 to play in the second half. Baylor led 40-24 and looked a little ragged. Drew must have sensed that so he could attempt to reignite the intensity. It must have worked because 40-24 ballooned to 48-26 over the next three minutes. From there, this was about playing smart, using the shot clock and be patient because Texas had to play like a desperate team.
So the loss to Texas in Waco is avenged. The oddity of this series is that each team won on the other's floor. That's weird when that happens.
Now, it's on to Tuesday night against No. 3 Kansas at 7:00 p.m. in the Ferrell Center. That building needs to be a fire marshal crowd.
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