The Baylor Bears came into the season ranked #2 and are living up to all expectations. After two blowouts, they had a statement win against Illinois. They have a deep rotation, which is talented from 1 to 9. Among the lower rotational players is junior Matthew Mayer.

The 6’9 guard joined Baylor in 2018, despite being from Austin. During a recent conversation with Good Sports Media, Mayer explained how his decision was fueled by multiple factors, both personal and spiritual.

He said, “When I went for my Baylor visit, I liked how the players and coaches treated me. I liked the Christian environment too, that’s something I really liked. Something that’s great about Baylor is that we can talk about that stuff openly. We do chapel before every game; it fires us up, but it calms us down at the same time. It gets us ready for the game.”

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Mayer believes in the Baylor Bears’ winning culture

Later, Mayer was asked why he chose to stay at Baylor despite playing just 12 minutes per game. Being a junior, he could have had better offers, but Mayer said the winning culture at Baylor is one of the reasons he stayed.

He said, “Playing 12 minutes on the number one team in the country isn’t too bad of a gig either. But I really like the idea of being on a winning team, and I like the winning culture. I like how everyone carries themselves around here. You see how you can really be a pro.”

“Playing 30 minutes will be nice, but I feel at some point I’ll be able to do that here. It might not be this year, but I’m willing to stake it out.”

Mayer and co will have to now be at their best to beat the best. They face the #1 Gonzaga Bulldogs in their next game. Similar to the Bears, the Bulldogs are also 3-0 currently. They have had impressive wins against two top sides in Kansas and WVU already. So this is their toughest game so far as well.

The Bears need their star Jared Butler can return to form after an underwhelming performance in the previous game. Their team has been clicking well so far, and they will be hoping they can pull off the upset.

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