LJ Cryer hit the first of his four 3-pointers just 17 seconds into the game, giving the Bears (12-5, 2-3) a lead they would never relinquish. Baylor scored the first 13 points and led by as many as 28 in a rare Big 12 blowout, beating the Cowboys (9-8, 1-4) for the 13th time in the last 16 meetings.
Shooting 53% from 3-point range in the first half (8-of-15), Baylor rode the hot hands of Cryer and Flagler to go into the break with a comfortable 39-23 lead.
Working the ball inside more at the start of the second half, the Bears stretched it to a 25-point cushion, 59-34, at the 12:26 mark when freshman Josh Ojianwuna knocked down a fade-away jumper.
Less than two minutes later, the lights in the Ferrell Center went out with Keyonte George at the free throw line with 11:00 left in the game. The teams returned to the locker rooms during a 22-minute delay while power was restored.
Looking for its third-straight win, Baylor will go back on the road to face Texas Tech (10-7, 0-5) at 8 p.m. Tuesday at United Supermarkets Arena in Lubbock. The Red Raiders had a nine-point halftime lead on the road at 10th-ranked Texas, but dropped their fifth in a row, 72-70.
Scott Drew
I can tell you the lights going out, coaches don’t know what to say for a third time. We’re good for two, you know before the game and halftime. But the third one, credit the guys for coming out and finishing the game and not letting Oklahoma State make a run after a city-wide power outage. So it was city-wide, it wasn’t just a Ferrell Center thing. Appreciate everybody working to get the lights back on.
We haven’t had a complete game like this yet in conference, so it was great that we were able to defensively and rebounding and taking care of the basketball do those things at a high level. Very balanced scoring attack. Any win like this is a blessing. You’ve got to thank God for every win, and these are extra.
(Better defense) Gradually our staff and our upperclassmen have done a really good job of buying in and trying to improve and make things more difficult, and bit by bit we’re getting there. This league is so good that you can improve and not show up in the win-loss column. But we are doing the things required to give us a better chance to win now.
(Rebounding edge) That’s always something we pride ourselves in and so does every team in the Big 12. It’s a man’s league, so you’ve got to bring it if you’re going to survive and win on the glass. They got us on second-chance points, but the effort was there for us.
(Keyonte getting ball to teammates) Coaches really appreciate this when young players have a great game, normally they come out and if they’re not getting shots or they’re not scoring, they try to force things. He really let the game come to him. He rebounded, he defended, he had five assists and zero turnovers, and because of that he has a plus-26, and that’s really impressive. Every night you’re not going to score 32, and when defenses key on you, you’re now getting other people opportunities to score and be successful. I thought Keyonte really did a great job in that.
(What does Keyonte give you) He gives you somebody who can really pass. I know there’s an adjustment turnover-wise, and he’s getting better at that. His ability to make ball-screen reads, his ability to find open people and hit the bigs. We talk about three-level scorers, he’s a three-level passer. He can hit any pass on the court, and that’s great too.
(OSU run in first half with BU subs in) I think we went ahead and changed that the next time, and we didn’t try to sub three or four guys in. It’s really tough at the beginning of the game. You go on a run and you want to keep that running going, and once the run ends you got everybody tired at the same time. It’s really hard coming in with four guys because you’re not in the feel. In hindsight, I should have done a better job subbing a little bit quicker so we wouldn’t have thrown four guys in. A lot of times we learn as everyone learns because in practice you don’t really simulate those things because you’re a lot of times playing best on best, and this time of year you don’t practice a lot of stuff in game, and our team will continue to evolve and hopefully get better at finding better rotations that work. We’re blessed to have multiple guys coming in. The bench has done a great job in practice preparing us. Because of that we’ve been successful.
Shooting 53% from 3-point range in the first half (8-of-15), Baylor rode the hot hands of Cryer and Flagler to go into the break with a comfortable 39-23 lead.
Working the ball inside more at the start of the second half, the Bears stretched it to a 25-point cushion, 59-34, at the 12:26 mark when freshman Josh Ojianwuna knocked down a fade-away jumper.
Less than two minutes later, the lights in the Ferrell Center went out with Keyonte George at the free throw line with 11:00 left in the game. The teams returned to the locker rooms during a 22-minute delay while power was restored.
Looking for its third-straight win, Baylor will go back on the road to face Texas Tech (10-7, 0-5) at 8 p.m. Tuesday at United Supermarkets Arena in Lubbock. The Red Raiders had a nine-point halftime lead on the road at 10th-ranked Texas, but dropped their fifth in a row, 72-70.
- Baylor is Now 12-5 (2-3) on the season.
- BU is 35-57 all time against OSU, but leads 32-25 since becoming Big 12 rivals.
- The Bears have won 13 of the last 16 meetings against the Cowboys
- Baylor’s 44-11 Big 12 record over the last 3+ seasons is the 2nd best of any Power-5 team.
- The Bears are 153-9 under Scott Drew (5-0 this season) when holding teams to below 60 points.
- Drew has a winning percentage of .700 (374-158) since BU’s first year with no scholarship restrictions in 2007-08.
- BU has won 73-straight when shooting a higher percentage than its opponent (last loss March 2, 2019 at K-State).
- Baylor is 47-7 vs. unranked teams over the last three seasons.
- Baylor has taken a lead in 136-consecutive games (last wire-to-wire loss Dec. 1, 2018 at Wichita State).
- LJ Cryer scored a game-high 16 points his most since he scored 19 at Marquette on 11/29.
- Cryer matched a career high with 35 minutes played.
- Flo Thamba played in his 133rd career game, one behind LaceDarius Dunn for fourth-most in program history
- Thamba scored in double figures (12) for the second time this season and the 12th time in his career. The Bears are 10-2 when he reaches 10+ points.
- Keyonte George notched career highs in assists (8) and rebounds (8).
- With 11 points, Adam Flagler extended his streak of 10+ point games to 17.
- Flagler’s eight assists were his most since he had nine against McNeese on 11/23/22. It was also the 10th time he led the team in assists this season.
- Jalen Bridges scored in double figures for a third-straight game and a seventh time this season.
Scott Drew
I can tell you the lights going out, coaches don’t know what to say for a third time. We’re good for two, you know before the game and halftime. But the third one, credit the guys for coming out and finishing the game and not letting Oklahoma State make a run after a city-wide power outage. So it was city-wide, it wasn’t just a Ferrell Center thing. Appreciate everybody working to get the lights back on.
We haven’t had a complete game like this yet in conference, so it was great that we were able to defensively and rebounding and taking care of the basketball do those things at a high level. Very balanced scoring attack. Any win like this is a blessing. You’ve got to thank God for every win, and these are extra.
(Better defense) Gradually our staff and our upperclassmen have done a really good job of buying in and trying to improve and make things more difficult, and bit by bit we’re getting there. This league is so good that you can improve and not show up in the win-loss column. But we are doing the things required to give us a better chance to win now.
(Rebounding edge) That’s always something we pride ourselves in and so does every team in the Big 12. It’s a man’s league, so you’ve got to bring it if you’re going to survive and win on the glass. They got us on second-chance points, but the effort was there for us.
(Keyonte getting ball to teammates) Coaches really appreciate this when young players have a great game, normally they come out and if they’re not getting shots or they’re not scoring, they try to force things. He really let the game come to him. He rebounded, he defended, he had five assists and zero turnovers, and because of that he has a plus-26, and that’s really impressive. Every night you’re not going to score 32, and when defenses key on you, you’re now getting other people opportunities to score and be successful. I thought Keyonte really did a great job in that.
(What does Keyonte give you) He gives you somebody who can really pass. I know there’s an adjustment turnover-wise, and he’s getting better at that. His ability to make ball-screen reads, his ability to find open people and hit the bigs. We talk about three-level scorers, he’s a three-level passer. He can hit any pass on the court, and that’s great too.
(OSU run in first half with BU subs in) I think we went ahead and changed that the next time, and we didn’t try to sub three or four guys in. It’s really tough at the beginning of the game. You go on a run and you want to keep that running going, and once the run ends you got everybody tired at the same time. It’s really hard coming in with four guys because you’re not in the feel. In hindsight, I should have done a better job subbing a little bit quicker so we wouldn’t have thrown four guys in. A lot of times we learn as everyone learns because in practice you don’t really simulate those things because you’re a lot of times playing best on best, and this time of year you don’t practice a lot of stuff in game, and our team will continue to evolve and hopefully get better at finding better rotations that work. We’re blessed to have multiple guys coming in. The bench has done a great job in practice preparing us. Because of that we’ve been successful.
Last edited:
