Ohio @ Baylor preview

With star point guard Makai Mason graduated, No. 23 Baylor has new players handling the ball during crunch time this season and the Bears have gained a lot of experience in the past two games. The Bears will try to build on that experience Thursday when they travel to South Carolina to play Ohio in the Myrtle Beach Invitational.

Mason along with King McClure and Mario Kegler (currently injured) handled most of the end-of-the-game situations a year ago, but now sophomore Jared Butler, transfers Davion Mitchell and MaCio Teague and junior college transfer Devonte Bandoo are running the show down the stretch. Baylor led by as many as 18 points against Texas State on Friday but had to hold on for a 72-63 win. The Bears coughed a 13-point second-half lead in falling to Washington 67-64 on Nov. 8 in Anchorage, Alaska. "Now, we have different people, so it takes them a little time to get used to things down the stretch," Baylor head coach Scott Drew said. "It was great for our team to win a game where there's pressure and where we had to focus and perform in the end. Hopefully, we can build on that so we can do a little bit better in the last five minutes." Ohio opened with three wins before running into an embarrassed Villanova team that lost by 25 to Ohio State in its previous game and the Wildcats clubbed the Bobcats 78-54.

TV: 4:30 p.m. ET, ESPN2

ABOUT OHIO (3-1): Ben Vander Plas had 19 points and 10 rebounds against the Wildcats and Jason Preston added 16 points and eight assists but committed six turnovers. The Bobcats return just 25 percent of their scoring, but Preston, a 6-3 guard, is filling up the scoresheet with 17.5 points, 9.3 assists and 7.5 rebounds per game - the only player in Division I reaching those numbers in those three categories. Vander Plas (15.3 points, 6.3 rebounds) has increased his scoring average over seven points per game from last season.

ABOUT BAYLOR (2-1): Butler led the Bears in scoring for the third straight game against Texas State with 15 points and Freddie Gillespie added 11 points and 11 rebounds for his second double-double of the season. Butler leads the Big 12 in scoring (21.0) and 3-pointers (4.7), ranks second in 3-point percentage (56 percent) and is fourth in field-goal percentage (58.3). The Bears played without Tristan Clark (knee), who is averaging 5.0 points and 4.5 rebounds this year after tallying 14.6 points on 74 percent shooting last season.

TIP-INS

1. Thursday is Baylor's first time facing Ohio and just the fourth time the Bears have faced a current MAC team (1-2).

2. Baylor has trailed for only 3:39 of 120 minutes of game time this season, and never by more than three points.

3. Gillespie is one of four Big 12 players with multiple double-doubles, ranking third in the Big 12 in steals (2.7), fourth in blocks (2.0), fifth in rebounding (9.3) and sixth in field-goal percentage (53.6).

PREDICTION: Baylor 77, Ohio 61