Busting Brackets
Fansided

Kansas State at Baylor: Key storylines for the crucial Big 12 matchup

By Jason Burgess

WACO, TX - FEBRUARY 21: Head coach Scott Drew of the Baylor Bears reacts as the Baylor Bears take on the Oklahoma Sooners at Ferrell Center on February 21, 2017 in Waco, Texas. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images)
WACO, TX - FEBRUARY 21: Head coach Scott Drew of the Baylor Bears reacts as the Baylor Bears take on the Oklahoma Sooners at Ferrell Center on February 21, 2017 in Waco, Texas. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
3 of 4
Next
CINCINNATI, OH – NOVEMBER 28: Mark Vital #11 of the Baylor Bears takes the ball from J.P. Macura #55 of the Xavier Musketeers in the first half of a game at Cintas Center on November 28, 2017 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)
CINCINNATI, OH – NOVEMBER 28: Mark Vital #11 of the Baylor Bears takes the ball from J.P. Macura #55 of the Xavier Musketeers in the first half of a game at Cintas Center on November 28, 2017 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /

2. Baylor is playing well without Tristan Clark

Both these teams have had to deal with significant injuries this season. For Baylor, that has been having to deal with the loss of their second-leading scorer, Tristan Clark. The 6-foot-9 forward from San Antonio was lost for the season with a knee injury prior to the Bears’ first meeting with Kansas.

The loss was big for Baylor as Clark was averaging 14 points and over six rebounds per game and was leading the nation in field goal percentage, shooting 73.7% from the field. Clark was in the midst of a breakout season, more than doubling his offensive production from his freshman season.

Since losing Clark, Baylor lost its first game to Kansas but then reeled off six wins in a row before falling to Texas last time out. Freshman guard Jared Butler got the first chance at replacing Clark in the starting lineup, he has averaged eight points per game, but since becoming a member of the starting line up he has bumped that number up to over 10. Another guy who has stepped up to try and replace Clark’s production is senior guard Makai Mason, who leads the team in scoring at 16 per game.

Home/Baylor Bears