Now they wait to see what happens where they go in the NCAA tournament. It will be weird to see them play on the road and not in Waco.

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By Kevin Lonnquist
Publisher
For as much as the first half against Iowa State looked like Baylor was going to vanquish the Cyclone demons, the second half became a reminder that this is just a bad matchup for the Bears.

Baylor had the tempo it wanted through the first half and opening moments of the second half. It was faster and the transition game looked better. However, the Cyclones used a key 26-9 run that turned a 50-42 deficit into a 78-72 victory in Thursday's Big 12 tournament quarterfinal in Kansas City's T-Mobile Arena. Iowa State won all three meetings from Baylor this season. This is also the second straight year the Bears have been eliminated on the tournament's opening night.

The No. 10 Bears return home to Waco and will await their seed in next week's NCAA tournament when it is announced on Sunday. The Bears have been projected to be a No. 2 seed in the latest bracketology forecasts. However, they have lost four of their last six.

It was indeed a tale of two halves. The Bears were red hot in the first half shooting 56.5 percent and 7-13 from deep. An Adam Flagler 3-pointer that beat the buzzer sent the Bears into the locker room leading, 41-38. It looked even better when they extended it to that 8-point lead thanks to a couple threes from Jalen Bridges, who finished with a career-high 28.

After that, the Cyclones locked down, crushed Baylor on the boards - 44-17 - and held the Bears to 35.7 shooting in the second half. Baylor led 53-46 when the Cyclones ran off eight straight to take a 54-53 lead with 11:11 to play. After a back-and-forth sequence over the next four-plus minutes, the Cyclones took the lead for good, 62-59 on Gabe Kalscheur 3-pointer with 6:54 remaining. Kalscheur was a tough stop with 24 points including 6-11 from the arc. Iowa State led by as many as 12 and shot 49 percent for the game.

It wasn't the glass that not only hurt the Bears but they're inability to keep the Cyclones out of the paint. For the second straight meeting, the Cyclones outscored the Bears in the block, 36-14. They also beat the Bears in second chance points, 22-11. The Bears were really good the arc throughout this one. They were 14-29. But this was about Iowa State getting more 2s than Baylor's 3s.

Baylor did not have guard Langston Love (cornea abrasion) for the second straight game. Scott Drew declared him out for the Big 12 tournament. The program is hoping Love can play in the NCAA tournament. One-and-done Keyonte George looked better in his second game coming off the sprained ankle he suffered Feb. 25 against Texas. But he fouled out and struggled shooting (3-10, 3-9 from the arc). Flagler finished with 14. L.J Cryer had 10.

Postgame Notes

• BU is 24-23 all time against the Cyclones.
• Baylor is 1-5 all time against the Cyclones in the Big 12 Tournament.
• Iowa State is just the sixth team in the Drew Era to beat the Bears three times in a season.
• BU is 8-9 all time in the Big 12 Quarterfinals.
• The Bears are 1-2 in the Drew Era when seeing a team to end the regular season and open the Big 12 Tournament.
• The Bears shot 56.5% in the first half, the highest first-half percentage of the season.
• Baylor’s 14 made three-pointers are its most in a Big 12 Tournament game in program history.
• Jalen Bridges set a new career high with 28 points.
• Bridges set a career high in three-pointers attempted (8) and made (7).
• Bridges .875 three-point field goal percentage is a new Big 12 Tournament record.
• Bridges set a program record for three-pointers made in a Big 12 Tournament game (7).
• Bridges shot .909 the highest in a Big 12 Tournament game in program history.
• Bridges is the 10th different player in program history with 8+ made threes in a game.
• With three made three-pointers,Keyonte George now has 76 on the season, the most by a freshman in program history.
• Adam Flagler’s eclipsed the double-figure scoring mark for a 27th time this season.
• Flagler led the team in assists (4) for a 21st time this season.
• George, LJ Cryer and Caleb Lohnerall made their Big 12 Tournament debuts.

By Kevin Lonnquist
Publisher
Maybe Baylor is simply due against Iowa State. Maybe the Cyclones are just a difficult matchup.

Whatever storyline you choose to follow for the No. 10 Bears’ Big 12 tournament quarterfinal rematch with the Cyclones Thursday in Kansas City’s T-Mobile Center is up to you. Regardless, the Bears would like a better showing than the one delivered last Saturday in the regular season finale at the Ferrell Center.

Oddly, the 4th-seed Baylor dropped the two meetings with 5th-seed Iowa State by the same margin (15) and by nearly the same scores (77-62 in Ames, 73-58 in Waco). It was a case where ISU controlled the tempo, forced the Bears to become a half-court team and eliminated one of their weapons, the transition game.

“We got to do a much better job attacking their defense and getting easier looks, protecting the ball,’’ Baylor coach Scott Drew said. “We always want to score in transition and want to make sure we're running whenever we can. But at the end of the day, defensively they're really good. So, we have to execute and do a better job of running our stuff and fighting for positions.’’

Baylor’s health is in play here as well. While Keyonte George (ankle) returned last Saturday, he still wasn’t himself (3-10 shooting, 1-7 3-pointers). Drew said his one-and-one has practiced better in the last couple of days. That could be good news.

What they don’t know is if guard Langston Love (cornea abrasion) will play. He missed last Saturday and is considered a game-time decision.

Baylor-Iowa State isn’t the only odd season-finale, opening conference tournament matchup. And it benefitted the loser of the finale. Wake Forest lost at Syracuse last Saturday but turned around and beat the Orange in the first round of the ACC tournament Wednesday.

Does that give the Bears the advantage?

“The one blessing probably is (that) it was an easy prep,’’ Drew said. “I mean, you didn't have to watch the last five or six games they played because you already just did. And so, we know what they're there about and how they do things. They know what we do and a lot of times it comes down to who executes the best and wants it the most.”

Of course, the formula for the Bears to win is that they have to shoot the 3-ball better. They were 10-28 from the arc (35.8) and were dominated in the paint, 36-14. Baylor also has to be better on the offensive glass, which is such a big part of its philosophy.

The winner advances to Friday’s semifinal to meet the winner of Kansas-West Virginia.

Quotes

Scott Drew
(On Langston and how he’s progressing)
Really, you can't do much for that injury and it's more just when we hear the word ‘go’ and obviously we're praying that we hear that sooner rather than later.

(How’s Keyonte feeling)
I think that was a great game to get him back, get him in the flow, get him in the rhythm. Normally you come back off an injury, that first game back you're just trying to feel things out and figure things out, and then, (the) second (or) third game are a lot easier. He's practiced a lot better the last couple of days and I think that's a good thing to have that now.

(How is the team handling knowing that it’s win-or-go-home from here on out?)
I think we're excited for it. I think we were humbled last Saturday and it doesn't guarantee you we’ll win but I guarantee we'll give it our best shot.

(Any congrats text to Jerome?)
Yeah, I think we bought him lunch. *winks* So, him and his staff deserve it. They did a great job. And again, he's a brother for life. And as long as we don't play him, we're always cheering for him.

(Does having guys that are used to winning help for postseason play?)
I think it definitely can help. At the same time, it doesn't guarantee success. I mean, you look at teams that are veteran this year, you would have thought North Carolina, (the) preseason No. 1 team in the nation would’ve … . So, I mean, the chemistry, motivation, player leadership, a break here or there … I mean, a lot of times close games come down to free throws and I always love the KenPom analytics stat, ‘your free throw defense.’ And I mean at the end of the day, last game, we were 10-for-18, missed front ends and one-of-ones, things that we don't do. You can't win close games and do that. So, hopefully we all got that out of our system (and) we get back to being on point and controlling what we can control and giving our best effort (from) here on out.

(On having LJ back for postseason play this year, didn’t have that last year)
It was just satisfying having back all this year. I mean, there's a lot of teams we play that he's not played in those places. I mean, he's a junior, and (in his) freshman year, (he) didn't play a lot and (in his) second year (he) missed a lot. So, I remember one of the last games we were at, at Oklahoma State, it was the first time he's played at Oklahoma State. So I mean, he was kind of like a freshman going through some of that stuff, too. So, this will be his first Big 12 postseason experience because that freshman year, it was tough to get minutes with Davion (Mitchell), MaCio (Teague), Jared (Butler) and the likes.

(Different feeling once you hit postseason play?)
I tell you, you turn on the TV, you see the excitement around March, you see the buzzer beaters, the great games. And it really peaks up when you arrive in Kansas City. And when you arrive at the NCAA Tournament site, that's when it really goes to another level, but definitely, you can tell the players are excited about not having school with spring break and focus just on basketball.

(On Big 12 Tournament being more of an event this year)
I love it, I love it. The commissioner, one of his biggest strengths is that and I'd be really surprised if our tournament – which already was considered the best – isn't at another level. I mean, he wants to make it like a Super Bowl event and love his vision, love his passion, love his excitement. It makes it fun for all of us.

(You guys have good depth, how much does that help in a tournament setting)
I think everybody in the Big 12 has a chance to win this. Depth, no depth, I mean, why I say that is you got teams that are all capable of winning three games in a row. And this time of year, a lot of teams are only playing seven guys, eight guys. So, really it comes down to each and every night, who wants it the most, who's going to play the hardest, most of all, who's going to execute.

(On Jared Butler signing with the Thunder)
We told our team and everyone applauded and got excited and I mean, we talk to him often and (we’re) proud of how he’s persevered in the G-League to put himself back in this position to be successful. No doubt he will be.

Jalen Bridges
(What do y’all need to do better against Iowa State) I feel like the first two times we played them it was very uncharacteristic of how we play, the style of play we have. I feel like we came out flat both times, and you can’t do that at this level especially in a conference like ours where teams from top to bottom are all capable tournament teams. I feel like we’ve just got to have more energy, more enthusiasm and more effort, and it will take care of itself.

(Is it good to play them right after loss) I would say so. It’s always good to have an opportunity to right your wrongs. We all have things we could have done last game that could have helped us. Now we have the opportunity on Thursday to go take care of it and fix it.

(Facing variety of ISU defenses) Just going back and watching the film and seeing what they threw at us and seeing where we attacked it well and where we didn’t and what we can attack for next time.

(Postseason success) I feel like from here on out it’s one and done, so you’ve got to play every game like it’s your last. You never know what’s going to happen tomorrow or later on today. You just have to live in these moments and play every possession like it’s your last.

LJ Cryer
(Simulating crowd noise on road) We usually do that every time we go on the road. You never know how the environment is going to be. It’s typically always loud. That’s just something we always do.

(Do you look at this as a road game) Honestly I feel like every game that isn’t at the Ferrell is an away game, no matter if it’s a neutral site because they typically have more fans than us. It just feels like us against them at the end of the day.

(Back playing in postseason after missing it last year) It’s a blessing, it’s something I always dream of. Last year obviously it was taken from me. That was real upsetting but I’m happy that I got to make it this far and I’m going to soak it all in.

(What did you learn from Jared, Davion and MaCio about having success) At the end of the day, you have to go out there and be a leader and trust your work. You put in a lot of work throughout the season and you just can’t be scared of the moment. You have to go out there and play like you’ve been there before. That’s what they did. They led by example, so hopefully I can do that too.

Storylines

• Thursday marks the first time since 2010 that BU has played a Big 12 opponent in back-to-back games. Baylor beat Texas to end the regular season and then beat the Horns again in Kansas City in the Big 12 quarterfinals.

• The Bears also played Nebraska in back-to-back games in 2009, losing to the Cornhuskers to end the regular season and beating them in the first round of the Big 12 Tournament in route to the Finals.

• Baylor is 8-8 all time (7-7 in the Scott Drew era) in the Big 12 Quarterfinals.

• The Bears are 1-4 against the Cyclones in the Big 12 Tournament, with BU's only win coming in 2001.

• Baylor is aiming to win its first Big 12 Tournament title (three title-game appearances).

• BU has only lost three games in a season to one team five times in the Drew Era (2007, Texas; 2012, Mizzou; 2015, Kansas; 2016, Kansas; 2018, WVU).

• Thursday is the 47th all-time series meeting – with Baylor holding a 24-22 series advantage.

• The last meeting between these two in the Big 12 Tournament was a 74-65 ISU win in the Championship game in 2015.

• In the last meeting, The Cyclones held the Bears to a season-low 58 points in a 73-58 Cyclone win.

• Baylor's Adam Flagler (First Team), Keyonte George (Second, All-Freshman and All-Newcomer Teams) and LJ Cryer (Third Team) were named All-Big 12 selections by league's coaches.

• Twelve of Baylor's 13 starting point guards during the Drew era have earned All-Big 12 recognition.

• Flagler is one of two Big 12 shooting guards on a five-man list of finalists for the Jerry West Award (nation's top shooting guard).

• Additionally, George was named the Big 12 Freshman of the Year, BU's first since Quincy Miller in 2012.

• With 479 points, George is just 30 points from Baylor's freshman record of 509 held by Aaron Bruce.

• George's 16.0 points per game rank sixth among freshman in Division I.

• BU is the only Power-Six team to have a guard trio each averaging more than 14.5 points per game.

• BU's 11 quad-one wins are tied for the second-most in the nation behind Kansas.

I'm kinda taking the approach of doing these periodically. I figure if I put them up as they come up, it will be hard to keep track on an individual thread situation.

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Timothy Lawson, 2024 TE, Bishop Veret Catholic HS Fort Myers, FL
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WACO, Texas -- Baylor Athletics has partnered with Playfly Sports Properties, the emerging leader in sports marketing, media and technology, to announce a new 10-year multimedia rights agreement. Playfly will take over complete management of Baylor Athletics' multimedia rights on June 1, 2023, but a designated transition team will immediately begin laying the groundwork for future success.

"We are excited to partner with Playfly Sports," Baylor Vice President and Director of Intercollegiate Athletics Mack Rhoades said. "The relationship with Playfly will help us continue to elevate our brand, while creating new sponsorship opportunities through innovative methods. We look forward to working collaboratively with Playfly to expand the Baylor brand and take the next step forward in our mission of Preparing Champions for Life."

Baylor's partnership with Playfly will leverage the company's multimedia rights expertise and its expansive suite of marketing and media solutions to further grow the Bears brand multi-dimensionally. Playfly Sports will target existing platforms and identify new opportunities for corporate partners to engage fans, while helping Baylor Athletics expand its fanbase. Playfly will manage all sponsorships for Baylor Athletics, along with making strategic capital investments to improve the overall experience for both fans and corporate partners.

In addition to selecting and onboarding a staff dedicated to fostering and developing strategic partnerships for the department, Playfly will fund a full-time data and analytics team member to help fuel smarter, data-driven solutions.

Baylor is also a Founding Member of the new Playfly Innovation Lab, a collection of athletics thought leaders and hand-raisers intent on driving the next wave of innovation across the collegiate landscape. This advisory will work together to ideate and incubate new ideas aimed at universal priorities including fan development and revenue generation among others.

Listen fast, cause on Thursday morning, the Bears play ISU, and the first half of this podcast will be obsolete.
We cover the prospects for the basketball B12 tournament, and in football, the quarterback room and offensive line.


Baylor graduating seniors on Senior day, with Coach Drew


Came in at 25:33

Listen to the podcast here

Patriots took the lead with the run of the top of the 12th. The Bears answer with two in the bottom of the inning and win consecutive games for the first time this season.

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Baylor senior guard Adam Flagler has been selected as one of five finalists for the 2023 Jerry West Shooting Guard of the Year Award, as announced Tuesday by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

Named after Class of 1980 Hall of Famer and 1959 NCAA Final Four Most Valuable Player Jerry West, the annual honor in its ninth year recognizes the top shooting guards in the country.

Flagler is joined on the list by Kansas’ Gradey Dick, Houston’s Marcus Sasser, Miami’s Isaiah Wong and UConn’s Jordan Hawkins. The senior is BU’s second West-Award finalist in the last three seasons as MaCio Teague made the cut in 2021. The unanimous First Team All-Big 12 selection is aiming to become the second player in program history to win a national individual award, following Johnathan Motley's 2017 Karl Malone Power Forward of the Year honor.

*******

Adam Flagler and Keyonte George represented Baylor on the media's All-Big 12 teams announced Tuesday by the Associated Press. Flagler was named to the first team, while George was a second-team selection.

A Duluth, Ga., native, Flagler made the AP All-Big 12 Team for the second-straight season after being selected to the Second Team a season ago. The senior tied for the conference lead in three-point field goals per game (2.6) while finishing second in assist-turnover ratio (2.8) and three-point field goal percentage (.411). The Jerry West Award Top-10 candidate also led the team in assists 21 times this season.

The unanimous first-team selection by the league’s coaches has been Baylor’s primary point guard this season, meaning 12 of Baylor’s last 13 starting point guards under Scott Drew have earned All-Big 12 recognition.

Named Big 12 Freshman of the Year by the head coaches, George sits sixth in the conference in scoring (16.0), fifth in three-point field goals made (2.4) and sixth in free throw percentage (.794). George holds the program record for most 20-point games by a freshman (12), and his 16.0 points per game are the sixth-most among all freshmen in NCAA Division I. The Lewisville native is just 30 points away (479) from BU’s freshman scoring record of 509 points held by Aaron Bruce.

Our Rob Cassidy has the details. Click the link.

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By Kevin Lonnquist
Publisher
Kris Wokomah’s primary challenges this football offseason are to determine where he wants to visit this spring and how much better he can improve as a defensive back.

The Arlington Bowie 2024 has turned into one of those Baylor targets that the staff still wants to know better. Of course, they already know a healthy amount with the time Wokomah has spent with them.

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Baylor offered Wokomah at its June 25 camp in 2022. BU showed it wanted to get to know him better when it invited to the Junior Day on Jan. 29.

“The Baylor visit was great! Got to spend some time with the coaches and they family,’’ he said. “What stood out to me was Coach Aranda how he is a great coach and man.’’

However, the important part of Wokomah’s visit was that he had an opportunity to spend time with new Baylor defensive coordinator Matthew Powledge. The Bears appear to like him at safety as that’s where he has played his entire high school career.

With Powledge’s history of running the safeties – he should be doing that along with running the defense – now is the time to get an idea for Wokomah to understand the philosophy.

“I like to play in run support. I like to hit,’’ Wokomah said. “I also got to spend some time with the DC Coach Powledge who is a good people person. I’m excited about the future of Baylor football.

“But when I was at the camp, I enjoyed working with Coach Kevin Curtis very attention to detail coach. I also liked his drills.”

Wokomah has been making the rounds at different schools. He recently checked out Texas Tech for its Junior Day on March 5 and is set to make visits to North Texas, March 24 at SMU and on March 25 to Texas State. No Baylor visit has been set yet.

However, with the Bears starting spring ball on March 21, there’s time to take the quick visit Waco. Arkansas, Kansas and Kansas State visits are being discussed as well.

He will also spend his spring on the Bowie track team. Wokomah is rated at 5.6 with three stars for Rivals.

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Just like we thought it would play out as the day was unfolding. Make your plans for a long lunch Thursday when the Bears and Cyclones do it again.

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PROBABLE STARTERS
• Friday, March 3 • 6:30 p.m. • RHP Blake Helton (0-1, 14.14 ERA) vs. RHP Travis Perry (1-0, 5.73 ERA)
• Saturday, March 4 • 2:00 p.m. • RHP Mason Marriott (0-1, 6.23 ERA) vs. RHP Nick Perez (0-2, 10.00 ERA)
• Saturday, March 4 • TBD • LHP Cam Caley (0-2, 11.57 ERA) vs. RHP Brandon Mikos (0-2, 9.90 ERA)
• Sunday, March 5 • 1:00 p.m. • TBD vs. TBD


STORYLINES
• Baylor Baseball continues its 14-game homestand this weekend with a four-game series against Youngstown State. The home stretch lasts until March 24, when the Bears travel to take on Oklahoma State in Stillwater, Okla., in the second week of Big 12 play.

• The Bears have eclipsed double-digit strikeouts on the mound in six of their eight games so far this season.

• Baylor enters the weekend tied for second in the Big 12 with 85 strikeouts

• The Bears are celebrating the 25th season at Baylor Ballpark with a special logo and planned promotions throughout the 2023 campaign.

• Eighteen of the Bears' first 21 games this season are home games. The Bears leave the state of Texas just three times this year, all before April 3 (at Duke, at Oklahoma State, at Kansas).

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IRVING, Tx — Baylor women’s basketball earned several postseason accolades from the Big 12 on Monday, highlighted by Darianna Littlepage-Buggs collecting the league’s Freshman of the Year award.

Sarah Andrews was named to the All-Big 12 First Team, while Caitlin Bickle landed a spot on the second team and Littlepage-Buggs earned an honorable mention. Additionally, Bickle was tabbed a Big 12 All-Defensive Team pick, while Littlepage-Buggs and Bella Fontleroy were voted unanimous Big 12 All-Freshman Team selections.

Bears drop from No. 7 after the loss to Iowa State.

Rankings

By Kevin Lonnquist
Publisher
This was the reason he wanted to stay in high school and finish running track.

Baylor 2023 defensive back signee Tay’Shawn Wilson could have been tempted to join 10 others as an early enrollee this past January.

However, track is in his DNA. The Katy Mayde Creek product wanted to stay and try and compete for a state gold medal.

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“I would say it’s going really well,’’ Wilson said. “We have one of the fastest 4x100 relay teams in the state. And my 200 is at 21.7 (seconds) which is ahead of where it was at this time last year.’’

But back in the fall there wasn’t any certainty that he would be able to compete this spring. Wilson, a four-star standout, suffered a dislocated kneecap early in the season and was lost for the remainder of 2022.

There was great anticipation to see Wilson perform as Baylor had won collected one of the biggest additions to its 2023 class. The Bears won a contested battle against Texas and to a certain extent Houston. Now, that anticipation will come when he is at Baylor. Wilson arrives in early June.

Wilson never wavered from his commitment to the Bears last June and signed in December.

“Just the relationship I had with [defensive backs coach Kevin] Curtis and and head coach Dave Aranda] and the rest of the staff sealed the deal,’’ Wilson said. “I love the way how they allow you to be you from a personal standpoint.’’

Wilson went through his rehab was cleared in early November. That was plenty of time to start training in December and January when the track season began in February. Track and football are intertwined because speed, agility and burst all translate from the oval to the football field.

There is the drive to return to the Class 6A Texas State Track and Field meet in May in Austin. He ran with his relay teammates last year and finished sixth. However, he’s pushing himself to get there as an individual.

Wilson just missed state in the 100 when he finished third in regionals.

So far, the relay team’s 41.53 posted over the weekend at the Grand Oaks Grizzly Senior Relays is a great time and considered one of the top in the state. The 4x200 team’s 1:27.24 is also a school record.

While his best time in the 100 this spring is 11.11, don’t be alarmed. Wilson ran 10.62 in 2022 and is working his way toward that.

“What helped me in rehab is that I just really got stronger and worked on areas that I didn’t before,’’ Wilson said.

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This was a game where I was glad Kevin got to write the story and I could take the photographs.

IRVING - Adam Flagler and LJ Cryer picked up All-Big 12 Honors, led by George, who became BU's first conference Freshman of the Year since Quincy Miller in 2012, the league office announced Sunday.

The Big 12 awards were voted on by the league’s head coaches, who were not permitted to vote for their own players.

Flagler was a unanimous All-Big 12 First Team selection, while Cryer made the Third Team. In addition to Freshman of the Year, George was named to the Second Team, All-Freshman Team and All-Newcomer Team.

A preseason All-Big 12 selection, Flagler tied for the conference lead in three-point field goals per game (2.6), while finishing second in assist-turnover ratio (2.8) and three-point field goal percentage (.411). The Jerry West Award Top-10 candidate also led the team in assists 21 times this season.

George, named the Big 12 Preseason Freshman of the Year, is sixth in the conference in scoring (16.0), fifth in three-point field goals made (2.4) and sixth in free throw percentage (.794). George holds the program record for most 20-point games by a freshman (12), and his 16.0 points per game are the sixth-most among all freshmen in NCAA Division I.

The Lewisville native is just 30 points away (479) from BU’s freshman scoring record of 509 points held by Aaron Bruce. George is the seventh player in BU history to be named conference Freshman of the Year, joining Miller and Southwest Conference Freshmen of the Year Brian Skinner, Jerode Banks, Willie Sublett, Michael Williams and Terry Teagle.

Cryer upped his scoring average for a third-straight season, finishing third on the Bears and ninth in the conference in scoring (14.6) during the regular season. The Preseason All-Big 12 Honorable Mention selection also led the league in three-point field goal percentage (.421), and tied for the lead in three-point field goals per game (2.6). This season, the junior set single-game career highs in points (28), rebounds (5), assists (6) and minutes played (40).

No. 4 seed Baylor opens play at the 2023 Big 12 Championship with a quarterfinal matchup against No. 5 seed Iowa State at 11:30 a.m. CT on ESPN or ESPN2. The winner of that game will face the winner of Thursday's 2 p.m. quarterfinal between No. 1 seed Kansas and either No. 8 seed West Virginia or No. 9 seed Texas Tech. That semifinal game is scheduled for 6 p.m. Friday, and the championship game is at 5 p.m. Saturday.

2022 ALL-BIG 12 AWARDS
Coach of the Year: Jerome Tang, Kansas State
Player of the Year: Jalen Wilson, Kansas*
Sixth Man Award: Sir’Jabari Rice, Texas
Most Improved Player: KJ Adams, Kansas
Defensive Player of the Year: Dajuan Harris Jr., Kansas
Newcomer of the Year: Keyontae Johnson, Kansas State*
Freshman of the Year: Keyonte George, Baylor

All-Big 12 First Team
Adam Flagler, Baylor*
Jalen Wilson, Kansas*
Keyontae Johnson, Kansas State
Markquis Nowell, Kansas State
Marcus Carr, Texas

All-Big 12 Second Team
Keyonte George, Baylor
Gabe Kalscheur, Iowa State
Gradey Dick, Kansas
Damion Baugh, TCU
Mike Miles, TCU

All-Big 12 Third Team
LJ Cryer, Baylor
Kevin McCullar Jr., Kansas
Kalib Boone, Oklahoma State
Sir’Jabari Rice, Texas

Erik Stevenson, West Virginia

Everything begins this afternoon at 1 pm. Defensive line hopefuls are on the field Thursday. That includes Baylor NT Apu Ika. Offensive tackle Connor Galvin is slated to go on Sunday afternoon.

Here are their NFL draft evaluations. Good for Ika who may be a second day selection (2nd & 3rd). For Galvin, he's right on the edge of being taken at the end of the 3rd day of the draft (7th round) or could sign as a free agent. But he's shown enough to get the invite. A chance for him to improve his stock.

We'll keep you posted but if you want to see how they and the rest of the prospects are performing I am providing the link. Unless I missed something, I have not seen a date for Baylor's pro day. I'll keep looking but pass along if you see it.

The draft is April 27-29 in Kansas City.

Combine updates

Wants to spend more time with family.

By Kevin Lonnquist
Publisher
If this turned out to be the final game Baylor plays in the Big 12 at the Ferrell Center, the feel-good script never got past the cutting room floor.

Near flawless execution by Iowa State coupled by Baylor's lethargic overall performance on Senior Day at the Ferrell Center led to the ailing Cyclones stunning the No. 7 Bears, 73-58. Baylor's hopes for earning the No. 2 seed at next week's Big 12 tournament in Kansas City ended. The Bears likely are looking at the No. 4 seed depending on the outcome of Kansas State and Texas' games. A near capacity crowd of 10,105 watched in somewhat disbelief as the Cyclones swept the season series. Should construction for the Foster Pavilion hold, Baylor is expected to start Big 12 play in January 2024.

Iowa State, which had lost seven of eight and earlier this week dismissed third-leading scorer Caleb Grill, controlled the pace from the opening moments and never allowed the Bears to find any transition opportunities and turn it into a volume possession game. They also shot 54.8 percent (26-48) and were good enough from the arc (6-16) to keep Baylor's defense guessing. Jaren Holmes led ISU with 16. Tre King had 13 and Gabe Kalscheur added 12.

ISU followed the blueprint shown by Kansas and Kansas State by attacking the Bears in the paint. The Cyclones outscored Baylor inside, 36-14 and outrebounded the Bears, 36-24.

Dealing with a sprained ankle suffered last week against Texas, one-and-done Keyonte George played what should be his final game in Waco. But it was clear he wasn't himself finishing with seven points on 3-10 shooting (1-7 deep). And while Adam Flagler finished with a game-high 20 points, a healthy portion of those came with the outcome decided. Stunningly, he missed all three free throws after he was fouled on a 3-point attempt late in the game.

Iowa State used its methodical pace to take a 33-22 lead at the break. It was the lowest point total Baylor has had in any half this year. However, the Bears used a 10-0 run in the early part of the second half to cut the lead to 36-32. Flagler and LJ Cryer 3-pointers fueled it. The Cyclones responded with an 11-0 run to push it back to 47-32 to regain command. The closest Baylor ever came again was 49-40 with 8:10 to play on a George three.

Baylor finished the game shooting 35.8 percent and 35.7 from deep (10-28) and only 55.7 from the foul line (10-18). The Bears were missing Langston Love (cornea abrasion). He is considered day-to-day.

Baylor will learn its quarterfinal opponent later on Saturday.

Postgame Quotes

Scott Drew
First, I want to thank the seniors for all their contributions. Second, I want to thank the fans at spring break those that chose to come to the game. Third, sorry we couldn’t give them anything to cheer about. It’s one of those games that anytime we got something going we couldn’t sustain it. As a coach, the only good news was that hopefully everyone had a bad game at once and got it out of the system and has a chance to refocus and reset for the conference tournament. At the same time, I want to give Iowa State a lot of credit. I think TJ did a great job with his team. They were motivated, prepared. The No. 1 defense in conference for a reason, so they do a great job. Obviously, we didn’t play our best game. Even as good as their defense was, they didn’t guard us at the free throw line and we haven’t shot 55 percent from the free throw line I think all year. It was one of those days where it just wasn’t happening.

(ISU different defenses) They’re pretty unpredictable in their unpredictability, meaning every time at dead ball they’re going to switch defenses. They do a good job keep you on your heels. But their primary defense is their primary defense and that’s really good.

(Grill dismissed) Sometimes that really rallies a team, and I think definitely you saw a real inspired team and a really focused, motivated team. And again credit TJ and those guys for competing and playing like they did.

(ISU pushing Baylor away from perimeter) They’re a physical defense and defenses in the Big 12 are physical. We didn’t do a good enough job running our offense and fighting to get our offense lower and executing, we didn’t hit the roller, our bigs enough when they put two on the ball. When we did get good looks, and we didn’t have enough of them, we didn’t make them. It looked like everything was short today. The things that have made us a good team we didn’t do. I mean we gave up 54 percent, we got outrebounded 36-24. It’s one of those games that the only blessing was that nobody got injured today. So I guess there’s always a silver lining.



Postgame Notes

• BU is 24-22 all time against the Cyclones.
• Baylor is 17-3 and 9-1 in the last 10 against the Cyclones in Waco.
• Iowa State swept the season series from Baylor for the first time since 2013.
• BU had its seven-game home winning streak snapped.
• Baylor is 12-8 on Senior Day under Scott Drew.
• Saturday marked BU’s first Senior-Day loss since 3/6/19 against Oklahoma State.
• Baylor is 54-15 in Big 12 play over the last four years.
• BU’s 22 points in the first half were a season low. The previous low was 24 against Northwestern State.
• 58 points ties a season low (58 against Northwestern State).
• BU is 20-4 when holding teams under 80 points this season.
• Baylor used the starting lineup of Adam Flagler, Keyonte George, LJ Cryer, Jalen Bridges and Flo Thamba for the 26th time this season.
• That lineup combo is 18-8 this season
• Flagler, Thamba, Dale Bonner, Zach Loveday, Jordan Turner and Jonathan Tchamwa Tchatchoua all participated in Senior Day ceremonies before the game.
• Flagler scored a game-high 20 points. The ninth 20+ point game of the season and the 16th of his career.
• The senior tied a season high with five made threes, the 14th game of his career with 5+ three pointers.
• LJ Cryer scored 13 points to notch his 20th double-figure scoring game this season.
• Tchamwa Tchatchoua tied a game high with seven rebounds.
• Saturday marked the fourth time in 8 games that Tchamwa Tchatchoua led the Bears in rebounds.
• Dale Bonner led the team in bench points for a third-straight game.
• Keyonte George returned to the starting lineup after missing a game with a mild ankle sprain.

By Kevin Lonnquist
Publisher
Another year has come and gone at the Ferrell Center. And yet strangely, the 2022-23 closer feels a little different.

No. 7 Baylor plays its final Big 12 game in this building as it plays host to Iowa State Saturday morning. Construction of the Foster Pavilion is moving in such pace that the 2024 Big 12 opener likely will be played in the new home.

But first things first for this Baylor team. The program is honoring six seniors on Senior Day between Dale Bonner, Adam Flagler, Zach Loveday, Jonathan Tchamwa Tchatchoua, Flo Thamba and Jordan Turner.

Five of the six players have remaining eligibility and could return next season. Thamba is the only player who is not eligible to return despite going through Senior Day last year.

“The big emotion is the seniors,’’ Baylor head coach Scott Drew said. “I’m not going to jinx anything, but construction doesn’t always finish on time. So, I’m not really getting wrapped up into the last conference game. But what I am getting wrapped up in is that it is the last seniors’ game here.’’

Then there’s the health of this team. One-and-done Keyonte George (ankle) missed Monday’s game at Oklahoma State while guard Langton Love (cornea abrasion) left that game early. Baylor head coach Scott Drew said Friday that both would be a game-time decision. There are reports that Love’s season is over. Time will tell.

Finally, the Bears know they can’t claim or share a third consecutive conference title. That ended when Kansas, which actually wound up winning the outright championship, defeated Texas Tech on Tuesday.

What they can do is win and see what happens with Texas and Kansas State – Baylor, Texas and Kansas State are tied for second at 11-6 – on Saturday to learn if they can earn the No. 2 seed in next week’s Big 12 tournament.

A Baylor win coupled with a Texas loss to Kansas and Kansas State loss at West Virginia gives the Bears the No. 2 seed. Anything less than that and the Bears are probably looking at the No. 4 seed because the tiebreakers don’t favor them between Texas and Kansas State. That’s why they play the games.

Then, there’s Iowa State. The Cyclones are reeling and have fallen in the second division in the conference standings because of a four-game losing streak.

Head coach T.J. Otzelberger dismissed the team’s third-leading scorer Caleb Grill earlier this week for team violations. Grill, who played Monday against West Virginia, disclosed on social media that he has been battling a mental illness.

"Unfortunately, I said something that I regret which has cost me the opportunity to finish out my dream at Iowa State," he wrote. "I hope that all the players and Iowa State fans can find it in their hearts to forgive me."

The Bears defense has been better in these two wins over Texas and Oklahoma State. The Longhorns shot 45 percent – decent but not great – and the Cowboys finished at just below 40 percent.

Following this one, it’s time for the postseason and a trip to Kansas City for the Big 12 tournament. Baylor’s opponent will be determined by how the rest of the Big 12 games conclude.

Storylines

• BU has played in the Ferrell Center since 1988, and holds a 393-168 record all-time.

• The Bears will honors six players on Senior Day: Dale Bonner, Adam Flagler, Zach Loveday, Jonathan Tchamwa Tchatchoua, Flo Thamba and Jordan Turner.

• Five of the six players have remaining eligibility and could return next season. Thamba is the only player who is not eligibile to return (went through Senior Day last year).

• This is the second-straight season the Bears are hosting the Cyclones on Senior Day. BU has won three-straight games on Senior Day and five of the last six.

• Saturday is the 46th all-time series meeting – with Baylor holding a 24-21 series advantage.

• BU has won nine-straight and is 17-2 all time against the Cyclones in Waco.

• This is the second-straight season that Iowa State and Baylor have met to open and then close the conference slate for each team.

• In the last meeting, playing without L.J. Cryer, ISU snapped Baylor's four-game winning streak in Ames, the longest road winning streak by either team in the series.

• In the last meeting in Waco, Baylor clinched its second-consecutive Big 12 title with a 75-68 win over the Cyclones.

• The last time out, Baylor held off a hard-charging Oklahoma State team for a 74-68 win, BU's 11th quad-one win (2nd-most in the nation behind Kansas).

• Baylor never trailed at any point in either game against Oklahoma State this season, it led for 78:53 out of a possible 80 minutes.

• In a 75-65 loss to Kansas State, Tchamwa Tchatchoua recorded his first double-double in 392 days with 11 points and 12 rebounds.

• Keyonte George had a game-high 23 points against the Cats, setting a new program record for the most 20-point games by a freshman (12).

• George's 16.3 points per game rank fifth among freshman in Division I.

• Scott Drew has won 20+ games in 14 of the last 16 years — the Bears had 3 seasons of 20+ wins prior to his arrival.

• Baylor has double-digit Big 12 wins in 8 of the last 9 years. Only Kansas has more double-digit conference seasons in that span. BU didn't reach double-digit Big 12 wins in any of its first 13 years in the league.

Quotes

Adam Flagler

(What confidence does Dale give on the floor) The work that he puts in and the character he has. He’s a selfless guy who just wants to win. When his name is called, he just wants to do what it takes to win. We have all the most confidence when he’s out there that he’s going to do what he has to do to help us out there.

(Is Dale’s defense contagious) I wouldn’t say it’s just the defense, it’s the energy he puts out there. Offensively, he’s going to make the right play to get in the paint and be able to finish or get an assist. He flies around on both ends, so that’s very contagious to have that type of energy and feel for the game. A lot of people gravitate to it and try to step up their game as well because you know he’s putting his best foot forward.

(Have you guys thought about whether you’re going to return next season)


Adam Flagler: I haven’t thought too much about it. I’ve been trying to completely focus. I think we have a championship caliber team. We want to get there, so it’s really hard to focus on that and get the job done.

Dale Bonner: I haven’t put that much thought into it. I’ll worry about that when the season ends. Right now I’m just focusing on winning games.


Scott Drew

(Keyonte and Langston update) Both will be game-time decisions. Both are doing well, so that’s encouraging. We didn’t get anybody else injured in practice today, so it was a good day.

(What can you do on corneal injury) You’ve got to talk to Dave Snyder, I’m not an eye expert. Normal injuries, here’s laser, stem, whatever. Certain injuries there’s not as much for.

(Six guys going through Senior Day) It’s definitely different. Everyone’s experiencing the same thing. How do you approach it with your guys. Some you know are coming back, some you don’t know. At the end of the day, the one thing you want to do as a coach is you want to make a senior’s last memory a positive one. So every coach wants their last game at home to be a good one. As far as who comes back and who doesn’t, hopefully we don’t have to worry about that for another month because the goal is to finish playing as long as you can and not focus on the future.

(What has Flo given the program) Flo is somebody that first of all is really solid as a rock, and what I mean by that is I can’t remember him missing practices or games from injuries or illnesses. He’s sick or injured, he bounces back quick. He’s got great toughness to him and great stability. One of our players, Jake Lindsey, always said the best ability is availability, and Flo is always available and dependable.

(do you wait till after the season to sit down and talk with them about what their plans are) 100%, because you never know what’s going to happen between now and the end of the season. And a lot of that determines what they might think, what their intentions might be, based on that. Again, probably during the course of the season, it’s human nature, grass is always greener on the other side in a lot of different areas and ways. And then, when it’s over, you’re like, ‘Man, that was pretty fun. I want to come back,’ or ‘I want to do this.’ So, I think it’s something where if you’re too caught up in the future, you miss the present, and that’s why we try to really focus on the present, make the most of today.

(does it change Iowa State with Caleb Grill no longer with the team) He’s been in and out because of a back injury. So, they’re used to playing without him. At the same time, we know when he’s playing well . . . making shots, just what he’s capable of, and that was giving them a great lift. But one thing in basketball is it’s that next-man-up mentality. And everybody has different strengths. So, whoever’s on the court, they might not shoot it like him, but they might bring something else to the table that he doesn’t and a strength that he doesn’t. That’s why it always takes a team to win. You look at us in the last two games, just how well Dale’s played and the lift it’s given us. I know with Iowa State, TJ does a tremendous job. They’re really well-coached, they really compete. No. 1 defense in conference, they’ve forced the No. 1-most turnovers. Last year, we had to win to win conference, and I think we were up by 25, and they came back and took a lead on us in the second half. So, it just shows you they’re never going to give up, never going to quit.

(playing Iowa State in the first and last conference game) Watching that game, there’s a lot of things that we do better than we did then. And I’m sure there’s a lot of things they do better than they do now. But it is rewarding as a coach to see you’ve gotten better and doesn’t mean you’ll play better tomorrow. But we execute and we do things at a higher rate than we did back then. And that means our team has improved, which coaches’ jobs are to show improvement and get players to improve, so proud of where we were from 0-3 to where we are now.

(could be the last conference game in the Ferrell Center, with the Foster Pavilion scheduled to open Jan. 4, any emotion in that) The big emotion is the seniors. I’m not going to jinx anything but construction doesn’t always finish on time. So, I’m not really getting wrapped up into the last conference game. But what I am getting wrapped up in is that it is the last seniors’ game here.

(seeing it come along) Whenever there’s bad weather, you’re like, ‘Crud, we just lost a day.’ But definitely, it’s always fun when they’re putting up the structure because it moves so quickly and it starts to take shape. It’s really exciting.