"The Big 12 is hard. The past four people we've played aren't really Big 12, high major, power 5 schools," said Baylor senior guard King McClure, "So, this is just going to give them a preview of what we're about to see for the rest of the season. So I think it can also be a confidence booster for them and I think it will be huge for the younger guys to see this level."
McClure was describing the step up in competition Baylor will see when they travel to the Emerald Coast Classic Thanksgiving weekend.
After playing non-power 5 teams to start the year, the Bears will open the tournament against Ole Miss. The Rebels feature veteran guards that can fill it up and Baylor will have to contend with a heavy dose of underclassmen.
Freshmen are used to spending the holidays at home with family, but head coach Scott Drew says they have to get past that feeling in a hurry.
"In tournaments, they're usually in nice places and the biggest thing is being able to focus and concentrating on it being a business trip instead of vacation and teams that are able to do that usually are more successful in those tournaments."
Baylor will tip off against Ole Miss Friday night at 8:30 in Niceville, Florida.
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