Here is everything Baylor’s Scott Drew said about Arkansas after the No. 8 Bears beat the 16th-ranked Razorbacks, 72-67, at the American Airlines Center in Dallas on Saturday.
Responding To Several Razorback Runs
Arkansas never led on Saturday, but the Razorbacks made several big runs to tie or cut their deficit to one-possession throughout. Every time, Baylor had an answer…
Drew was impressed with his team’s ability to handle Arkansas’ pressure, limit turnovers and improve their execution against a team he had plenty of high praise for afterwards.
“That starts with first you’ve got to take care of the ball. So it’s not a run all the time. Against Gonzaga, I mean, it was an avalanche, and we didn’t want to go back down that rabbit hole. To have eight turnovers against the Arkansas pressure, I mean, their guys are really, really good. When they get in transition, it’s a highlight show, so credit our guys for taking care of the ball.
“And then executing, we were a lot better in our half-court offense today. We got some stops, so we could get out in transition. We’re really good when we get out and go.
Us and Arkansas are two peas in a pod, meaning you’ve got a lot of talented players, but it’s kind of like back in the day with the Olympics when you’d put all-star game teams together and it was a lot harder to win rather than teams that played years together.
I think Arkansas and us just improve each and every day, and we’ll be at our best in February and not right now.
Hard Not To Walk Away Impressed With Adou Thiero
Junior wing Adou Thiero was certainly a silver-lining in the losing effort for Arkansas on Saturday. He was sensational on both ends of the floor, impacting the game in every way. He finished with 24 points on 10 of 15 shooting and pitched in six rebounds, two assists and two blocks.
“Man, I tell you, I love that kid. Coaches love guys that play with a motor and play hard. And we recruited his dad. We lost him, too. So really, really, really, really talented player, and somebody that I’ll cheer for because I love how he plays.”
Taking Advantage Of Arkansas’ 3-Point Woes
It was clear from the tip when Baylor opened the game in a zone defense that Drew was going to dare the Razorbacks to beat them from beyond the arc. His gamble paid off as Arkansas struggled again from 3-point range with just five makes on 20 attempts.
“I think they can make threes, we know that. We just wanted to contest those and we really wanted — I know they make dunks and layups easier. So just try to do as good of a job at contesting threes. They’re going to shoot it a lot better than they did in the first two games too.
“Here’s the thing when you have new players, they’re running what you want and how to run stuff so they’re thinking, and if you’re thinking you’re not playing. Returning players already know what you want so they’re able to play.
“So that’s why these guys who perform better, shoot it better as the season goes on as they’re more comfortable in what they’re looking for rather than trying to figure out where and I supposed to go and what am I supposed to do.”