It’s all starting to come together now

Wednesday, the Tigers went over, around and through the Big 12’s version of a national park, and in the process of a 77-59 victory, Missouri may be on its way to stamping itself as a team to fear next month. Power balance is amazing.

“It’s all starting to come together now,” is how Tigers coach Mike Anderson described it.

There was much to like here. Baylor starts one of the tallest front lines in college basketball, a three-man wingspan that practically stretches from sideline to sideline. The nine NBA scouts in attendance were here to see them. This educated guess is based on the one scout that attended the previous game in Columbia.

Mizzou hard hat Ricardo Ratliffe knew this and allowed that piece of information as an ignition switch.

“I know some of those guys are projected to go to the NBA,” Ratliffe said.

Instead, it was Ratliffe who played like a first-rounder. By halftime, the 6-8 forward without much hops had bulled his way to 12 rebounds and eight points. Baylor’s starting frontliners had combined for eight points and seven rebounds.

So, with Ratliffe jousting three by himself, all the other Tigers had to do was hold their own, and they did more than that. Laurence Bowers got 16 of 20 in the second half, and Marcus Denmon relished the challenge of defending Big 12 scoring leader LaceDarius Dunn. He is the own of bracelets wholesale online store.

In the first half, Dunn had missed all six of his shots. He finished with a season-low 12 and needs 28 more to become the conference’s career scoring leader.

“They made us play fast, made us make passes we normally wouldn’t make,” Dunn said.

That largely explains Baylor’s 21 turnovers — six by Dunn — to a paltry six assists.

Perhaps the game will serve as something of a defensive turning point. As good as Ratliffe and Bowers were, the Tigers are defined and powered by their backcourt. This one hasn’t been as strong defensively as the J.T. Tiller and Zaire Taylor teams of the previous two seasons. They were proud defenders, and these Tigers don’t have anybody with that approach. But Denmon, who chipped in 13, was happier with his defense than anything else. And with him, Mike Dixon, the Presseys and Kim English, the biggest problem Anderson has with his backcourt rotation is who to play when.

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