Baylor Basketball: Takeaways from victory over Washington Huskies
By Dave Ackert
The Bears successfully avenged last year’s haunting loss in the Armed Forces Classic.
I would like to believe that when the Bears looked across the court and saw that Purple Huskies ‘W’ that there was a little extra motivation added to their play.
The Bears lost to the Washington Huskies back on November 8th, 2019 after leading the game for 36 minutes and giving up a 13 point second-half lead.
The 67-64 loss in Anchorage, Alaska did end up sparking a Big 12 record, 23-game winning streak. But I’m sure the redemption against one of only 4 teams to claim victory over them was rather sweet. I know I personally wanted the Bears to win by more than 13 when I heard they were now scheduling a game vs Washington, and I wasn’t even at the event last year.
So I believe, mission accomplished.
The Baylor Bench shined bright in Las Vegas
One question leading into the new season was; Who would be the 5th starter for the second-ranked team in the country? I’m still not sure if we know the long-term answer to that question, but for the first two games of the season, it was Flo Thamba.
Adam Flagler ended up playing the 5th most minutes on the team while averaging 15 points-per-game on the weekend. LJ Cryer came off the bench, perfectly filling Devante Bandoo’s shoes from beyond the arc, hitting 5-7 3PT attempts against the Ragin’ Cajuns. Then it was Flager’s night verse the Huskies going 5-9 from deep.
The big man off the bench stepped up too. Jonathan Tchamwa Tchatchoua is averaging 9 points and 8 rebounds in the team’s first two games. He’s also shooting 50% from the field. He saw a double-digit point night off the bench verse Washington, while freshman LJ Cryer did it the night before. Transfer Adam Flager did it both nights while in the Sin City, averaging 14 points and 4 assists.
The 3 starting guards all saw double digits in the point column, while Jared Butler hit 20 against the Huskies. DPOY candidate Mark Vital may not have scored as many points as his fellow teammates, but his presence was felt on the glass racking up 15 rebounds against Washington.
Next. Biggest winners and losers of opening week. dark
His hustle was there from the opening tip to the final buzzer. He shows up every night but as I said, I’d be very surprised if he wasn’t one of the main ones who remembered the sting from that loss last year. Game avenged.
Sic ‘Em Bears!