Baylor could have scored 80 fewer points tonight

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And still won their game against Texas State.

 

[BabHorn]

throw in Texas' 61 pt win and UConn's 67 over Seton Hall (91-24)and there were some serious blowouts today.

Heard that Griner had several dunks, also.

 

[tott10]

yeah and i thought Seton Hall putting up just 24 against UConn was embarrassing. wow Texas State. i watched a few of their games last year, and they had a pretty solid team.....i guess not so much this year. yikes!

 

[TXtoCO]

Those Griner dunks were impressive, especially the drop step on the baseline! The two-hander is the one that will make all of the highlight shows but the one-hander with no running start is REALLY impressive. WOW...how do you stop that? And her shooting touch is possibly the best I have ever seen by a post player. Stopping her will be a challenge...to say the least. If she ever develops a baby hook...watch out.

 

[BabHorn]

Baylor's win was the eyeopener, especially with Griner's dunks. Others have had routs this season. Seems to be a season for them this year.

 

[TXSNOS]

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[jamaebarrow]

I have a feeling Baylor is going to blow this team off the floor similar to UConn and Tennessee

 

[tott10]

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[BabHorn]

I would be surprised if we don’t split with Baylor. Horns have a big defensive presence in Ashley that can bother Griner with her strength and height. I don’t expect Ashley to block any shots on Griner but I do expect her to push her and make her work hard for her shots. That will allow the others to play D without needing to help inside. That will cause problems for the BU players to get the ball inside and in scoring without a hand in their face. A&M and OU will use similar strategies with the personnel they have, especially A&M.

Look at the scores against good Div. 1 teams they played in Dec: BU 77 La Tech 67 (12/05); BU 68 Boston College 55 (12/13); BU 70 Arizona State 66(12/20). BU is certainly not steamrolling every team they face. They can be beat but that will be awfully tough to do. Don’t forget, unlike Moore of UConn, someone has to get the ball to Griner. Although I guess she could play a variation of the C. Paris card, rebounding misses and scoring off those.

Actually, her defensive presence is far more game changing than her offense. She will force teams to shoot more from midrange and from BTA than from inside. I think our post players can score on her, maybe not all the time but often enough. As long as the Horns can hit their normal shots, Horns will have a good shot at winning.

 

[True2Horns]

I absolutely think we can do a good job of containing Griner...she just doesn't seem all that strong. I think between Cokie and AG, we can give her some fits.

 

[jusme828]

+1 in agreement with tott10, BabHorn, and True2Horns!!!!!!!

 

[Statalyzer]

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[BabHorn]

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[TXtoCO]

I've watched a couple of the Baylor games and they don't pass to Griner that well. I would think that with Mulkey being one of the best point guards ever that they would pass better to her. And some of the players seem not to want to pass to her. Maybe there is a little jealousy on that team. Not everyone can play with a great player like that without getting upset that they are no longer the star.

 

[mb227]

I'm definitely not sure I would agree with the assessment that Baylor would blow the current squad out. Looking at the stat box from the Baylor-Texas State game, there is no question that TSU struggled to hit shots (it was 51-5 at the half on shooting that I don't think even was in double-digit percentages). Texas State was marginally closer in their game against aggy (still a ~50 point loss but aggy scored in a range similar to BU).

Of greater concern with Griner is what another half-year will do to help her improve her game. Remember that at Nimitz, she WAS the offense (as was aptly demonstrated in the State finals when an ill-fated attempt was made by the coach to spread the offense around). A Baylor, she is surrounded by a team that is capable of playing as a team, which places Griner in a role that she has to grow into. I'm not sure that she would be able to maintain a full-game pace if Texas threw the up-tempo offense at Baylor.

I also expect to see significant differences in the caliber of play on both squads between the game here later in the month (31st?) and the one that closes out the Big12 season to head into the tournament.

 

[TXtoCO]

In the games that I have watched I have never seen Griner looked even close to fatigued. She must have great lung capacity because she seems to never get winded.