Baylor Basketball: Key takeaways from massive road win at Kansas

2. Under the radar value of the Baylor bigs

The guards have been getting the bulk of the praise and rightfully so, as the trio of starting guards have been nothing short of fantastic. But the winning plays that can’t be seen on the stat sheet have come from the frontcourt of Baylor.

Senior forward Freddie Gillespie was the only frontcourt player who could get anything going offensively, scoring 13 points on 6/12 shooting. But the MVP of the Bears should probably go to Mark Vital, who despite scoring four points on 1/7 shooting, contributed with six rebounds, four assists and three steals in 38 minutes played. Most importantly, the 6’5 forward played phenomenal defense on both Udoka Azubike and David McCormack, who each have several inches on Vital.

Azubuike didn’t score in the first half of the game, finishing with six points and 11 rebounds. McCormack went scoreless overall, and the Jayhawks advantage on paper inside didn’t work out. Besides Vital and Gillespie, Baylor also has Tristan Clark and Flo Thamba as capable reserves who can provide both fouls and defense when on the court. The only concern is that there isn’t a great amount of offense overall in the frontcourt but at least they can stop the opposing bigs from producing on a consistent basis.