Everything coach Scott Drew said following Baylor's big win over Washington

Baylor basketball had an impressive win on Sunday night in Waco. The Bears took down a Washington team that should be considered for the NCAA Tournament. Baylor led most of the way and came away with a 78-69 win to go to 2-0 on the season.

It was a balanced attack for the Bears. Six players had double figures and Cameron Carr led the way with 16 points. Following the game, coach Scott Drew met with the media, and here is everything he said.

Opening statement

I know they talked about their pillars, and I think one thing about this team is they've really embraced Baylor's four pillars. Spiritually, we had four players baptized, a GA baptized. Academically, we're on track to possibly have the best GPA in men's basketball history for the semester.

Baylor built program, they do a great job. And then basketball, glad that they're able to have an opportunity to get a win like this. I thought the crowd played a really, really big part in it.

Again, for those that don't know, Washington is picked to be in the NCAA tournament by a lot of people. And they got a really good team, and as they get a couple guys back healthy, that'll be a real quality win for us. So, I think one thing we've talked about is this team has a chance to be really good on the defensive end.

And you look at second half, holding them to 38%, and finishing the game 41% and 15% from three. Might not be sexy, might not be pretty, but if we don't turn the ball over, and we only had nine of them. Now, we hadn't been beaten up on the glass like that in our previous games. But if we don't turn the ball over, and we defend like that, we give ourselves a chance to be really competitive. And especially if we rebound well.

Combating Washington's length and how Caden Powell performed

Well, I thought, really happy for Caden. Caden is somebody, such a great teammate. Such a pillar in the community. I mean, everyone that knows him, loves him. And seeing the team celebrate his double-double was really cool. So, you always can tell who the players really think is a great teammate. Because it's really easy to cheer for those guys.

At the same time, you had six guys in double figures. Obi wasn't in double figures, but he had seven assists. So, I thought, a really good team win. Can we get better? Do we need to get better? Absolutely. But if we can keep winning and getting better, that's a better way to do it.

How the team responded when UW cut it to five with two minutes left

Well, I think our guys will continue to get used to playing at the foster, but it's a huge advantage. And for most of them, it's the first time on an ESPN Power Four matchup like this. So, I thought after the beginning, we settled down. And hopefully, the more we compete and play, the better we'll start. But again, I think the crowd really played a big part in getting us over the hump. So, thanks for the blackout. Thanks for the turnout. Thanks for the energy. This was a big win.

And at the same time, the more experience we get in these types of games, the better we'll be at operating. And no one is coaching staff. Who do we go to? The players. What do I need to do? How do I need to perform? And again, there's so many things that were just in the beginning stages of communication-wise that we can get a lot better in. And excited to see us do that.

On Isaac Williams

Yeah, I thought he got some 50-50 balls. He got on the floor. He made some layups. And he puts pressure on the defense. He's very athletic. And he's somebody that will continue to get better and better the more he plays as well.

On Baylor's defense

Well, I think, again, with their size and length, hopefully, and Washington has a lot of talented players and a lot of players that have done it at the Division I level and the Power Four level. So we knew we had to make things difficult on them. And for the most part, we were able to do that. And again, a lot of players that last year scored double figures, player of the year in their conference, things like that.

They're used to playing well in big games. And credit our defense size, length, and scheme. I think our staff did a really good job. And Coach Sanchez, Coach Nunes, Coach Hunt really done a good job helping those guys with their communication.

On Michael Rataj playing against a fellow German friend

Yeah, I thought 5-for-5 from the free throw line was good. And he was really efficient. I know he was excited to play against Steinbach. He's somebody that most people feel will be a lottery pick at the end of this year. And a lot of scouts I trust say that. So he's a talented player. And I know Mikey was excited about the opportunity.