Takeaways from Baylor’s win over Southern

The Baylor Bears opened up their Christmas week with a Sunday matinee and a nice present, as they got their second win in 48 hours, this time over Southern University, 111-67. Their opponent hailed from a border state, as they welcomed the Jaguars of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, to help wind down the 2025 portion of their season. With Sunday's victory, the Bears extended their home non-conference win streak to 51 games, the second-longest in the country after a big second-half. With that, let's see what we can unwrap about Baylor's 9th win of the year.

Another slow start

Even in wins against Washington and Sacramento State, and in their two losses against St. John's and Memphis, the Bears took time to warm up and get into the action, giving lesser opponents confidence. This time, the Jaguars took a 12-6 lead into the first media timeout, and the energy, effort, and ball movement led to four assists on their first six field goals and three of their first five three pointers. Southern was selected second in the preseason conference SWAC poll, and no showed no signs of intimidation coming into Foster Pavilion.

The settings for a classic trap game were all in place, with this the Bears' last game before Christmas, a half-full gym with students having started the holiday break, and a noon tip. However, with this trend having persisted through their first 10 games, the Bears should look to emphasize coming out with energy, as their conference play opener against rival TCU sits on the horizon.

Three, please?

That slow start rolled into what was a clunky first half for the Bears. They ended the first half shooting just 39% from the field, and were content to settle for jumpers, with 15 of their 33 first-half attempts coming from behind the arc. Even against an FCS opponent, the Bears struggled to consistently get paint touches and create transition opportunities for themselves, with just four fastbreak points through the first 20 minutes.

The main reason for this stemmed from the lack of offense created in the first half outside of Tounde Yessoufou and Cameron Carr. While the duo combined for over 40 points in the win, neither is a true facilitator for others on the floor. While Obi Agbim, Dan Skillings, and Michael Rataj all finished in double digits after the second half turned into a blowout, the Bears are still looking for a reliable third option in the half-court outside of their two standout wings when things get tight.

Christmas shopping for Scott Drew?

Even 10 games in, while Baylor's high-end talent has shone, their lack of depth has been as apparent. The Bears are the only power conference teams with at least four players averaging at least 28 minutes a game, and injuries to guard JJ White and big man Juslin Bodo Bodo have the Bear rotation to just seven players.

TNT's Jared Greenberg commented on the broadcast on how Scott Drew plans to address that. Greenberg reported during the game that, in his conversations with Drew, he is actively looking to add a mid-season transfer to add depth to this squad. With Caden Powell as the Bears' only big man, it will almost certainly be an interior big man that Drew will look to add. How quickly a potential transfer can be added (said transfer would need to have graduated from their previous school to be immediately eligible), and how big he could potentially play in the rotation, would potentially raise the ceiling for this team.

Another slow start

Three, please?

Christmas shopping for Scott Drew?

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