College Hoops Player of the Day for Wednesday, February 8, 2017
#6 Baylor defeated Oklahoma State Wednesday, keeping the Bears a game back of Kansas in the Big 12. Kansas is 9-2 in conference action; Baylor is right behind at 8-3.
Johnathan Motley dominated inside play with 24 points in the 72-69 win at Oklahoma State. Motley was 9-for-12, all of his scoring coming from inside the paint or the foul line, where he nailed 6 of 8 free throws.
A 6'10" junior from Houston Texas, Motley has become one of the most overpowering figures in college hoops. With 11 boards Motley registered his third straight double-double, though the prior two were in losses to Kansas (73-68) and Kansas State (56-54).
This was also the tenth double-double for the big man, his most dominating performance coming in a 74-64, January 17 win over the Texas Longhorns, where he notched career highs with 32 points and 20 rebounds. Motley, who has improved his scoring a rebounding averages each of his three years at Baylor, leads the team in scoring at 16.6 points and 9.8 rebounds per outing.
The 21-3 Bears host TCU on Saturday and travel to Texas Tech on Wednesday prior to their February 18 showdown with the Kansas Jayhawks. The prior loss to the Jayhawks was in Kansas. Baylor will be home for the rematch, which is shaping up to be one of the most highly-anticipated games of the season.