Gonzaga Basketball: 3 keys for Bulldogs beating Baylor in 1-vs-2 contest

FORT MYERS, FLORIDA - NOVEMBER 27: Gonzaga Bulldogs players celebrate after defeating Auburn Tigers during the Rocket Mortgage Fort Myers Tip-Off at Suncoast Credit Union Arena on November 27, 2020 in Fort Myers, Florida. (Photo by Douglas P. DeFelice/Getty Images) /

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3. Stop Baylor’s backcourt

Gonzaga’s offense gets a lot of justified hype around college basketball, but Baylor is actually averaging 0.3 points more per game this season. That’s due largely in part to a backcourt that has a plethora of scoring options on any given night.

Jared Butler is leading the Bears in scoring at 16.3 points per game, but he’s one of four Baylor guards averaging at least 13.0 points per contest in the early going of the season. MaCio Teague, Adam Flagler, and Davion Mitchell are the other three.

A big factor in Baylor’s scoring spree has been their three-point shooting. Teague is hitting one-third of his threes, but Butler has made 43.8 percent and Flagler has made 45.0 percent. Meanwhile, Mitchell – who has previously shown little propensity to shoot from three – is averaging an insane (and unsustainable) 58.3 percent from three this season. He has attempted just one fewer three-pointer than two-pointer this season, suggesting his improvement on the perimeter is here to stay.

The challenge in playing Baylor is that there is always another weapon who can score if a defense successfully locks down one, or even two of their guards. But the forwards on Baylor are much more average on the offensive end. Gonzaga needs to crowd the corners and force Baylor to pass the ball to their bigs to slow down the Bears’ offense.