By Kevin Lonnquist
Publisher
THE RECAP: Down 64-62 with 3:51 to play, Baylor finished the game with a 13-4 run to earn back-to-back Big 12 Championships Saturday at the Ferrell Center.
It is the seventh conference title in program history. The others were in 1932, 1946, 1948, 1949, 1950 and 2021.
Baylor, which has won its last five heading into the postseason, earns a share of the conference title with Kansas. The Bears go to the Big 12 tournament starting Thursday in Kansas City as the No. 2 seed. They will face No. 7 seed Oklahoma in the quarterfinals.
A key James Akinjo 3-pointer gave the Bears the lead for good at 65-64 with 3:34. Moments later Akinjo followed with a driving layup to extend the lead to 67-64. From there, the Cyclones had to play catchup and never could.
Akinjo finished the game with a game-high 20 points. Adam Flagler added 13 points, Jeremy Sochan chipped in 12.
The oddity of this victory was while the Bears won the rebounding battle, 37-27, they didn’t win points in the paint, points in the paint and bench points. However, they did win second chance points, 11-4.
Baylor started the game quickly and jumped out to 29-4 and 31-8 leads. However, Iowa State finished the half on 21-8 run – 12-1 in the final two minutes – cut the lead at the half to 39-29.
The Bears also managed to hang on to this victory despite a poor performance at the foul line. They were just 15-26. But two Flagler free throws with 18 seconds remaining finished this one.
Baylor has reached the 25-win milestone in each of the last 3 seasons and in 7 of the last 13 years.
PLAYER OF THE GAME: Kendall Brown played arguably his best game of his Baylor career with a double double of 16 points and 10 rebounds. He made two key plays in the final 3:34. First, he came up with a key offensive rebound following a Flo Thamba missed free throw. That led to an Akino layup. Brown then added a little jumper in the lane with 2:33 remaining that extended the Bears lead to 69-64. Brown was 6-8 from the field.
SCOTT DREW PRESSER
(First non-Kansas Big 12 school to win consecutive titles since Iowa State in 2001) I think going back to the winningest Power 5 team in the last three years and what the guys have been able to achieve. One of my favorite stats is since 2008 only us and Kansas have won 18 or more every year. The consistency is what you appreciate as a coaching staff because that’s what you want from your players. You want someone who you know what you’re going to get from each and every day, and you strive to be consistently excellent. That starts with the administration in helping us to have everything we need to be the best. Then all the way from strength and conditioning to Charlie Melton, Dave Snyder and our assistant coaches. Obviously your players deserve most of the credit, and past players who come back and pour into the guys. The homecourt advantage, the fans, they earned this championship as much as we did because we wouldn’t have won it without them.
(This title compared to last year) Last year, you kind of liked winning it with four games to go or whatever. This was a little more drama involved, made for TV and then the celebration was a little more passionate. To be able to do it in front of your past players, your fans, family, and being able to pull it out at the end of the game makes it even more rewarding.
(Did you let them know Kansas won) I didn’t even know about Kansas. So I didn’t want to know. I’m not dumb, I figured if Texas would have won there would have been an announcement or someone who have said congrats. But I wasn’t going to find out. I finally asked at the very end of the celebration.
(Back to back conference championships for the first time at BU since three from 1948-50) Well I think I just saw a tweet that the best football and basketball programs in the country are Baylor No. 1. You look at all the resources and all the alumni and all the traditions that so many schools have and it’s so competitive, you just see how guys at Baylor University. This our platform and we honor them with it.
NEXT GAME: No. 2 seed Baylor meets No. 7 Oklahoma in the Big 12 tournament quarterfinals at 6:00 p.m. Thursday at the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City (ESPN2).
POSTGAME NOTES
Publisher
THE RECAP: Down 64-62 with 3:51 to play, Baylor finished the game with a 13-4 run to earn back-to-back Big 12 Championships Saturday at the Ferrell Center.
It is the seventh conference title in program history. The others were in 1932, 1946, 1948, 1949, 1950 and 2021.
Baylor, which has won its last five heading into the postseason, earns a share of the conference title with Kansas. The Bears go to the Big 12 tournament starting Thursday in Kansas City as the No. 2 seed. They will face No. 7 seed Oklahoma in the quarterfinals.
A key James Akinjo 3-pointer gave the Bears the lead for good at 65-64 with 3:34. Moments later Akinjo followed with a driving layup to extend the lead to 67-64. From there, the Cyclones had to play catchup and never could.
Akinjo finished the game with a game-high 20 points. Adam Flagler added 13 points, Jeremy Sochan chipped in 12.
The oddity of this victory was while the Bears won the rebounding battle, 37-27, they didn’t win points in the paint, points in the paint and bench points. However, they did win second chance points, 11-4.
Baylor started the game quickly and jumped out to 29-4 and 31-8 leads. However, Iowa State finished the half on 21-8 run – 12-1 in the final two minutes – cut the lead at the half to 39-29.
The Bears also managed to hang on to this victory despite a poor performance at the foul line. They were just 15-26. But two Flagler free throws with 18 seconds remaining finished this one.
Baylor has reached the 25-win milestone in each of the last 3 seasons and in 7 of the last 13 years.
PLAYER OF THE GAME: Kendall Brown played arguably his best game of his Baylor career with a double double of 16 points and 10 rebounds. He made two key plays in the final 3:34. First, he came up with a key offensive rebound following a Flo Thamba missed free throw. That led to an Akino layup. Brown then added a little jumper in the lane with 2:33 remaining that extended the Bears lead to 69-64. Brown was 6-8 from the field.
SCOTT DREW PRESSER
(First non-Kansas Big 12 school to win consecutive titles since Iowa State in 2001) I think going back to the winningest Power 5 team in the last three years and what the guys have been able to achieve. One of my favorite stats is since 2008 only us and Kansas have won 18 or more every year. The consistency is what you appreciate as a coaching staff because that’s what you want from your players. You want someone who you know what you’re going to get from each and every day, and you strive to be consistently excellent. That starts with the administration in helping us to have everything we need to be the best. Then all the way from strength and conditioning to Charlie Melton, Dave Snyder and our assistant coaches. Obviously your players deserve most of the credit, and past players who come back and pour into the guys. The homecourt advantage, the fans, they earned this championship as much as we did because we wouldn’t have won it without them.
(This title compared to last year) Last year, you kind of liked winning it with four games to go or whatever. This was a little more drama involved, made for TV and then the celebration was a little more passionate. To be able to do it in front of your past players, your fans, family, and being able to pull it out at the end of the game makes it even more rewarding.
(Did you let them know Kansas won) I didn’t even know about Kansas. So I didn’t want to know. I’m not dumb, I figured if Texas would have won there would have been an announcement or someone who have said congrats. But I wasn’t going to find out. I finally asked at the very end of the celebration.
(Back to back conference championships for the first time at BU since three from 1948-50) Well I think I just saw a tweet that the best football and basketball programs in the country are Baylor No. 1. You look at all the resources and all the alumni and all the traditions that so many schools have and it’s so competitive, you just see how guys at Baylor University. This our platform and we honor them with it.
NEXT GAME: No. 2 seed Baylor meets No. 7 Oklahoma in the Big 12 tournament quarterfinals at 6:00 p.m. Thursday at the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City (ESPN2).
POSTGAME NOTES
- Baylor Athletics is the first program in Big 12 Conference history to win football, men’s basketball and women’s basketball regular-season titles in the same academic year. Baylor previously because the first time win all three in the same calendar year (2021).
- Baylor improved to 14-3 against Iowa State since 2015 and 20-13 vs. ISU during the Scott Drew era. The Bears are 17-2 all-time at home against Iowa State.
- Baylor finished the season 15-2 in home games and is now 26-2 at home over the last 2 seasons and 40-3 at home over the last 3 seasons.
- Baylor is now 80-6 over the last 3 seasons when taking a holding a 2nd-half lead.
- Baylor played without three injured scholarship players – LJ Cryer, Jonathan Tchamwa Tchatchoua, Langston Love.
- Baylor’s 42-8 Big 12 record over the last 3 seasons is the nation’s best league record among Power-5 teams.
- Baylor is 54-7 over the last 2 seasons, the nation’s best record by a Power-5 team.
- Baylor is 80-11 over the last 3 seasons, the nation’s best record by a Power-5 team.
- Kendall Brown (16 points, 10 rebounds) had his team-high 3rd double-double of the season. He scored in double-figures for the 19th time and had his 2nd game with double-digit rebounds. It was his most points scored in a Big 12 game
- Adam Flagler (13 points) scored in double-figures for a team-high 23rd time this season, 37th time in his BU career and 69th time in his collegiate career.
- Flagler has scored in double-figures in 12-straight games and 20 of his last 21 games played.
- James Akinjo (20 points) scored in double-figures for the 20th time this season and 69th time in his collegiate career.
- Akinjo had his 5th 20-point game of the season and the 17th of his collegiate career.
- Jeremy Sochan (12 points) scored in double-figures for the 11th time this season.
