Baylor Falls Off Pace in Big 12 Title Race with Loss to KSU, 75-65
MANHATTAN, Kansas — The No. 9 Baylor Men’s Basketball Team (20-8, 9-6) dropped the second half of their Sunflower State road trip thanks to a 75-65 loss at the No. 14 Kansas State Wildcats (21-7, 9-6).
Keyonte George scored 23, but K-State had the game firmly in hand with about eight minutes to go.
The Bears struggle in the paint on both ends tonight, and they coughed the ball up too often to make up for a below-average shooting performance.
The first half started fairly slow, with neither team reaching the 20-point threshold until 12 minutes had elapsed.
That is when Kansas State went on a 7-0 run to build a 10-point lead.
After a timeout from Scott Drew, the Bears responded with a three-point barrage.
LJ Cryer started the sharpshooting and Keyonte George kept it going to make an 11-0 run for the Bears.
In the final seven minutes of the half, Cryer, George, and Jonathan Thcamwa Tchatchoua combined to nail six triples.
When Everyday Jon and Cryer went back to back from deep under the two-minute mark the green and gold were able to take a small lead.
That lead got as large at eight points before KSU narrowed it to the halftime mark of 34-31.
And just like at Kansas on Saturday, the second half got away from the Bears.
With the score 40-39 Baylor at 16:32, the Wildcats embarked on an 18-4 run to take a 55-44 lead that they would not come close to surrendering.
Much of that lead was built behind KSU attacking the paint after finding a matchup they liked on the perimeter.
From there, layups were all too easy for the driver or cutters.
By the end of the night, the points in the paint battle was a lopsided 42-16 in favor of KSU.
After the game, when asked about the defense, Baylor head coach Scott Drew said “Every game we’re going to keep switching up what we do until we find something that works.”
On offense, Adam Flagler also had a particularly rough night shooting the ball, going just 1-for-13 from the floor.
The Wildcat defense was very physical defending their paint, making sure Baylor took the majority of its shots from deep.
The Bears who did hit from deep led the Bears in scoring, like George with his 23 including six threes. Cryer scored 16 with four triples, and Tchamwa Tchatchoua scored 11 including one three.
With a second losing streak not underway, the green and gold will look to end this one earlier than the first as they face off with No. 8 Texas on Saturday. That game will tip off at 1 PM on ESPN.