By Pierson Luscy | LTVN Reporter/Anchor
After its fifth-straight win, No. 17 Baylor men’s basketball became tied with No. 7 University of Virginia for the second-longest current winning streak in the country among Power Five programs. In that five-game stretch, three of the Bears’ wins came on the road.
Head coach Scott Drew said the team was fatigued having played three out of four games on the road before No. 9 University of Kansas. Drew added that it was “a quick turnaround” since the Bears had faced the University of Oklahoma less than two days prior.
“When you played three out of four on the road, you’re a little tired,” Drew said.
In the midst of Baylor’s (15-5, 5-3 Big 12) winning streak, there was a 10-day stretch from Jan. 10 to Jan. 20 in which the Bears were the only team in the Big 12 to win a game on the road. Baylor did it twice, beating West Virginia University and Texas Tech University, while all other conference members failed to win away from home.
Baylor started conference play winless after three games, but Drew said that wasn’t solely reflective of the team’s talent.
“Obviously when we were 0-3, people want to know what changed,” Drew said. “Part of it was two [different] one-possession games, so it wasn’t like we were terrible.”
As of Jan. 26, the Bears are only one game back of first place in the conference with over a month left in the regular season.
Redshirt senior guard Adam Flagler said the group has been able to rally together because of the trust the coaching staff has built with the athletes.
“We’ve continued to work really hard, and Coach Drew believes in us and continued to put us in good situations where we can thrive,” Flagler said. “We’re thankful to be in this situation where we continue to compete at a high level.”
The entire Big 12 with have its resilience put to the test this weekend against the SEC. If the Big 12 can come out of the weekend with more wins than the SEC, then the Big 12 will win for the first time since the 2018-2019 season.
Baylor’s portion of the challenge will be against the University of Arkansas on Saturday at 3 p.m. in the Ferrell Center.
