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Texas Tech basketball: Scouting the No. 4 Baylor Bears

By Matthew Conner

LAWRENCE, KS - JANUARY 20: Head coach Scott Drew of the Baylor Bears coaches from the bench during the game against the Kansas Jayhawks at Allen Fieldhouse on January 20, 2018 in Lawrence, Kansas. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)
LAWRENCE, KS - JANUARY 20: Head coach Scott Drew of the Baylor Bears coaches from the bench during the game against the Kansas Jayhawks at Allen Fieldhouse on January 20, 2018 in Lawrence, Kansas. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images) /
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The mascot for the Baylor Bears (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images)
The mascot for the Baylor Bears (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images) /

Baylor utilizes the 3-pointer rather well

After last year, the Bears lost one of the best 3-point shooters in the nation in grad transfer Makai Mason, who hit 2.1 deep shots per game in his lone season in Waco.  But that doesn’t mean that they have taken a step back from 3-point range.

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This year, Baylor is second in the Big 12 in both 3’s made and 3-point percentage.  They have hit 8.5 shots from behind the arc per game and are shooting 36% from deep as a team.

At 42.2%, Butler is their best outside threat.  He’s 35 long-range shots this year, that’s seven more than Tech’s most prolific shooter, Davide Moretti.

Right behind him is Devonte Bandoo.  The senior guard is shooting 42.1% from deep this year and has 16 3s on the year.

But while Baylor has always been strong against the 3-pointer, Tech has been unusually susceptible to being burned from deep this year.  After being one of the nation’s top teams in defending the 3-ball last year, Beard’s squad is just 8th in the Big 12 allowing teams to shoot 33.6% from behind the arc.

Only four teams in the conference, Oklahoma, Iowa State, Kansas, and Oklahoma State have surrendered more 3-pointers this year than the Red Raiders.  Much of that is likely due to the fact that teams are preferring to shoot 3s against the vaunted Tech half-court defense rather than try to figure out how to solve the riddle that is assistant coach Mark Adam’s scheme.

Next. Critical moments in Tech's victory over Oklahoma State. dark

As always, the 3-point line will be crucial tonight.  This is a Baylor team that will try to space the floor and get hot from deep.  And with shooters at multiple positions on the court, the Bears will challenge Tech in an area where this young team has shaky at times this season.

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