Baylor basketball can run you over or slice you apart

Vanderbilt’s trip to Baylor offered a fascinating contrast in styles between two teams with Sweet 16 talent on Sunday night. The Commodores entered off to their most promising start in years behind two versatile 7-footers, a collection of spot-up shooters and impressive man defense. Baylor gets it done with athletic shot makers, incredible offensive rebounding and Scott Drew’s patented 1-3-1 zone.

This was a game where something had to give. Kevin Stallings and Drew spent 40 minutes devising counters to each others counters, with both teams going on lopsided runs in the second half. That Baylor survived with a 69-67 victory is a testament to the flexibility of its roster and Drew’s sudden willingness to use it.

“It’s hard to stay in a zone when they’re shooting NBA threes,” Drew told ESPN after the victory. That was essentially the game within the game. The Bears abandoned their zone as Vanderbilt went on a 17-0 run early in the second half, and answered with a 13-0 run of their own to tie it.

From there, Baylor’s superior individual scorers took over.

Taureen Waller-Prince was the difference-maker. Last year’s Big 12 Sixth Man of the Year has ascended to Baylor’s primary scoring option as a senior, giving Drew a 6’8, 220-pound combo forward who can hit tough shots off the bounce or spot-up from three. Vanderbilt simply had no answer for Prince as he went off for a career-high 30 points.

Baylor has every reason to start a front court combination of Rico Gathers and Jonathan Motley as two of the team’s best three players, but instead Drew has unlocked Prince by using him as a four and bringing Motley off the bench. Prince simply ran Vanderbilt’s Luke Kornet -- a 7-foot junior with deep range on his jumper -- right off the floor.

When Vandy countered to a smaller defender on Prince, that didn’t work, either. Prince was able to use his length (7-foot wingspan) to punish Vanderbilt inside and out:

What makes Baylor so formidable is how Prince’s versatility complements the inside punch of Gathers and Motley. Baylor is No. 4 in the country in offensive rebound rate mostly because Gathers and Motley are impossibly imposing on the college level: Gathers is built like an NFL lineman at 6’7, 275 pounds, while Motley is a long-armed (7’3 wingspan), active presence who can overwhelm opponents with length and athleticism.

Gathers and Motley combined for 18 points and 11 offensive rebounds on Sunday. Good luck stopping either of them when they have position inside.

With so many weapons up front, it’s up to point guard Lester Medford to keep everything moving for Baylor. He was spectacular in crunch time on Sunday, scoring 11 of his 15 points in the last eight minutes to help ice the victory.

Baylor has had many dynamic point guards under Drew in recent years, from Pierre Jackson to Brady Helsip to Kenny Chery. Medford isn’t as accomplished any of those guys to this point, but Baylor will need him to be productive to reach its ceiling.

Medford is undersized at 5’10, but made several fearless plays late in the game. His three-pointer from the corner with 42 seconds left turned a one-point deficit into a two-point lead that wouldn’t be relinquished:

Medford was able to go off late in part because Vanderbilt’s Wade Baldwin IV was playing with four fouls before eventually fouling out. Baldwin was fantastic for the Commodores throughout, finishing with 19 points and playing stout defense. Baldwin’s 6’10 wingspan was a game-changer against a player as small as Medford, but credit the Baylor point guard for staying aggressive and composed as the game wore on.

Given Baldwin’s stellar two-way play, Vanderbilt’s ability to make it rain from three (its 10 three-pointers were twice as many as Baylor finished with) and the inside presence of potential lottery pick Damian Jones, and it’s easy to see this game going the other way were these two teams to meet up again in March.

On Sunday, Prince’s hot shooting and the second chance opportunities the Baylor front court were able to secure just proved to be too much for Vandy. Drew has spent the last decade coaching talented teams at Baylor, and this one is no aberration. The difference this year might be Drew’s newfound readiness to put that talent in position to succeed.