By SicEmSports
TCU made the plays when it counted in the final seconds to pull out a huge road win at the Ferrell Center.
Charles O'Bannon's jumper near the baseline with four seconds to play gave the Horned Frogs the lead. Then forward XavIer Cork blocked Keyonte George's driving attempted game-winning layup as time expired.
Following a timeout at half court with 3.6 seconds remaining, George inbounded it to Josh Ojianwuna between the circles. Ojiawuna tapped it back to George who drove the left lane and had a clear path to the basket. However, Cork recovered just in time to swat it away.
Baylor gave TCU its chance when Jalen Bridges missed a 3-pointer from the wing with 10 seconds to play with the Bears leading, 87-86. On TCU's possession, Mike Miles drove and dished off to O'Bannon who freed himself up and calmly drilled the 19-footer.
The Bears (10-4, 0-2) now have some work to do if they have hopes of trying to push toward a third straight Big 12 title. They were unable to hold a 17-point lead built in the second half.
Miles, the preseason Big 12 Player of the Year, finished with a career-high 33 including a big 3-point that cut Baylor's lead to 87-86. He was 12-21 from the field.
It was a tale of two halves. The Bears were fluid on offense and moving well. Baylor shot 61.5 percent for the opening 20 minutes and 9-of-13 from the arc.
However, the Horned Frogs made shots difficult in the second half and were tough to stop on the fast break. TCU outscored Baylor in that department, 23-2 and crushed Baylor in the paint, 52-24. The Bears shot 33 percent in the second half and were just 2-11 from long distance.
George, who was quiet for most of the second half, made a couple of big plays in the final minutes to help the Bears maintain the advantage. He finished with a career-high 27. LJ Cryer and Adam Flagler each had 11.
Now, the Bears have the oddity of playing host to former associate head coach Jerome Tang and Kansas State at 5:00 p.m. Saturday at the Ferrell Center.
Transcripts
Keyonte George
(Last shot) We got a good look, I had it going all night, I got a look at the rim, it was a left-handed layup. You got to finish. That’s all I was thinking, I’ve got to finish and move on to the next.
(Going back and forth with Miles) Me and Mike got close this year. We were able to go to the Damian Lillard camp and kind of connect there. We’ve always seen each other around Dallas, but that was the first time we really got to talk and kind of bond. I’ve always been watching him in high school and in college before me. It’s fun to go against a high level player like that.
(0-2 to start Big 12) Just play hard like Coach Drew said, getting back and make a point of who you’ve got. Just sit down in a stance and guard, that’s all we’ve got to do. We’re figuring out the offense and scoring. That’s not the issue. We’ve really got to get connected on the defensive side of the ball if we want to win. We’ve got it in us. We do it every day in practice. We show flashes, but we’ve got to put together a good 40 to win in this league.
(Defense in the first half) I felt like we were connected and in our stance and talking. Mike got them going and was getting downhill and we couldn’t stop them. We got a lead and blew it. We’ve got to go back and get better.
Scott Drew
(Where does the points at the rim need to come from) Right now, we’re playing more freshmen (minutes) than anyone else in the league. So, they’re going to get better the more they get used to the competition. Hopefully, Josh improves. Keyonte was very good tonight, but hopefully throughout the year, again, he gets better, and Langston hopefully he gets better. Jalen made some 3’s, but Jalen is more than capable of being a double-figure scorer. We’ve got to get him get some easies at the rim or driving a little more, getting to the free throw line. He’s a really good free throw shooter, but you can’t make free throws if you don’t get there.
(Trouble with defense in the paint) No question, we gave up 88 points. Take out the transition, and let’s just say that they get 12 (instead of 23 or 28), then you win by double figures and you’re feeling pretty good about the game. Until we get back and get matched up . . . and again, Mike Miles has elite speed and quickness. Again, NBA guys don’t come here and say guys are prospects if they’re not. So, they’re legit, and Coach Dixon has done a great job with them.
TCU made the plays when it counted in the final seconds to pull out a huge road win at the Ferrell Center.
Charles O'Bannon's jumper near the baseline with four seconds to play gave the Horned Frogs the lead. Then forward XavIer Cork blocked Keyonte George's driving attempted game-winning layup as time expired.
Following a timeout at half court with 3.6 seconds remaining, George inbounded it to Josh Ojianwuna between the circles. Ojiawuna tapped it back to George who drove the left lane and had a clear path to the basket. However, Cork recovered just in time to swat it away.
Baylor gave TCU its chance when Jalen Bridges missed a 3-pointer from the wing with 10 seconds to play with the Bears leading, 87-86. On TCU's possession, Mike Miles drove and dished off to O'Bannon who freed himself up and calmly drilled the 19-footer.
The Bears (10-4, 0-2) now have some work to do if they have hopes of trying to push toward a third straight Big 12 title. They were unable to hold a 17-point lead built in the second half.
Miles, the preseason Big 12 Player of the Year, finished with a career-high 33 including a big 3-point that cut Baylor's lead to 87-86. He was 12-21 from the field.
It was a tale of two halves. The Bears were fluid on offense and moving well. Baylor shot 61.5 percent for the opening 20 minutes and 9-of-13 from the arc.
However, the Horned Frogs made shots difficult in the second half and were tough to stop on the fast break. TCU outscored Baylor in that department, 23-2 and crushed Baylor in the paint, 52-24. The Bears shot 33 percent in the second half and were just 2-11 from long distance.
George, who was quiet for most of the second half, made a couple of big plays in the final minutes to help the Bears maintain the advantage. He finished with a career-high 27. LJ Cryer and Adam Flagler each had 11.
Now, the Bears have the oddity of playing host to former associate head coach Jerome Tang and Kansas State at 5:00 p.m. Saturday at the Ferrell Center.
- Baylor is now 10-4 on the season, 0-2 in conference play. TCU is 13-1, 2-0 in the Big 12.
- Baylor had its 13-game home winning streak snapped, the fourth-longest in program history.
- The top eight Ferrell Center winning streaks have all come under Coach Scott Drew and five of the top eight have come in the last seven seasons.
- The Bears are 80-5 in the last 85 home games.
- Baylor leads the series with TCU, 105-86, including a 57-40 mark in games played in Waco.
- BU is 8-2 vs. TCU in Waco since the Frogs joined the Big 12.
- Coach Scott Drew is 16-5 vs. TCU.
- Baylor is 24-8 against AP top-25 teams over the last four seasons.
- Baylor is 42-10 in the Big 12 over the last three seasons, the best league record among power five conference teams.
- Baylor is 156-91 in Big 12 play in the last 13+ seasons since 2010, after going 54-149 in the league's first 13 seasons
- Drew is 427-237 in his 21st season as a head coach and a school-record 407-226 in his 20 years at Baylor. Since playing without scholarship limitations, Baylor is 373-157 (since 2007-08) under Drew.
- The Bears are 105-10 when leading at halftime over the last six seasons and 74-7 over the last four years.
- Baylor's 49 first-half points are the second-most in 2022-23 and the most since going for 61 vs. Mississippi Valley State in the season lid-lifter. It is the most for BU in a half vs. a league foe since scoring 50 in the second stanza vs. West Virginia in 2021.
- The Bears started Adam Flagler, Keyonte George, LJ Cryer, Jalen Bridges and Flo Thamba for the team-leading 10th time on the year, going 7-3 with this starting lineup.
- Adam Flagler had 13 points, six assists and two rebounds in 31 minutes without a turnover. It was his 13th-straight double-figure scoring effort, including each game of the year, and has scored in double figures in 51 career games, with the Bears going 42-9 in those contests.
- Flagler has now scored in double figures in 13-straight games.
- Keyonte George had a career-high 27 points on just six made baskets, going 4 of 7 from deep and 11 of 12 from the free-throw line, adding six rebounds and two assists in 27 minutes.
- George notched a double-figure scoring effort for the 12th time this season. He had 16 first-half points, his season-best for points in a first half.
- George reached 20+ points for the team-leading fifth time on the year.
- LJ Cryer finished with 13 points and two assists. He scored in double figures for the eighth time on the year and the 23rd time in his career, with the Bears going 18-5 in those games.
- Langston Love had 10 points in 15 minutes. He scored in double figures for the sixth time on the year, with BU owning a 5-1 record in those games.
- Jalen Bridges made his 66th-consecutive start (14th at Baylor).
- Josh Ojianwuna had a career-high tying 11 points with seven rebounds in 21 minutes, adding a block, assist and a steal. He scored in double figures for the second time on the year and the second time in the last three games.
- Caleb Lohner played in his 76th-consecutive game (14th at Baylor).
- The program's all-time winningest player, Flo Thamba made his 78th-straight start and played in his 130thcareer game, which ties him with Cory Jefferson for seventh most in program history.
Transcripts
Keyonte George
(Last shot) We got a good look, I had it going all night, I got a look at the rim, it was a left-handed layup. You got to finish. That’s all I was thinking, I’ve got to finish and move on to the next.
(Going back and forth with Miles) Me and Mike got close this year. We were able to go to the Damian Lillard camp and kind of connect there. We’ve always seen each other around Dallas, but that was the first time we really got to talk and kind of bond. I’ve always been watching him in high school and in college before me. It’s fun to go against a high level player like that.
(0-2 to start Big 12) Just play hard like Coach Drew said, getting back and make a point of who you’ve got. Just sit down in a stance and guard, that’s all we’ve got to do. We’re figuring out the offense and scoring. That’s not the issue. We’ve really got to get connected on the defensive side of the ball if we want to win. We’ve got it in us. We do it every day in practice. We show flashes, but we’ve got to put together a good 40 to win in this league.
(Defense in the first half) I felt like we were connected and in our stance and talking. Mike got them going and was getting downhill and we couldn’t stop them. We got a lead and blew it. We’ve got to go back and get better.
Scott Drew
(Where does the points at the rim need to come from) Right now, we’re playing more freshmen (minutes) than anyone else in the league. So, they’re going to get better the more they get used to the competition. Hopefully, Josh improves. Keyonte was very good tonight, but hopefully throughout the year, again, he gets better, and Langston hopefully he gets better. Jalen made some 3’s, but Jalen is more than capable of being a double-figure scorer. We’ve got to get him get some easies at the rim or driving a little more, getting to the free throw line. He’s a really good free throw shooter, but you can’t make free throws if you don’t get there.
(Trouble with defense in the paint) No question, we gave up 88 points. Take out the transition, and let’s just say that they get 12 (instead of 23 or 28), then you win by double figures and you’re feeling pretty good about the game. Until we get back and get matched up . . . and again, Mike Miles has elite speed and quickness. Again, NBA guys don’t come here and say guys are prospects if they’re not. So, they’re legit, and Coach Dixon has done a great job with them.
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