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Baylor Basketball

No. 18 Bears Overcome Refs, No. 12 Iowa State for Thrilling 70-68 Win

February 3, 2024
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WACO, Texas — The No. 18 Baylor Men’s Basketball (16-5, 5-3) team survived 18 second-half fouls, a 20-0 run, and their head coach Scott Drew being thrown out of a game for the first time to beat the No. 12 Iowa State Cyclones (16-5, 5-3) by a score of 70-68.

While RayJ Dennis led the Bears in scoring with 18 points, it was Jayden Nunn’s night to shine.

The junior guard not only posted 16 points but made the game-winning layup through heavy contact with just seconds remaining.

Nunn missed key free throws and had an untimely turnover when he tweaked his ankle, but he powered through the adversity and delivered for the Bears when it mattered most.

The biggest story of the night — despite Nunn’s heroics, a waved-off buzzer beater for the Cyclones, and a 20-0 run for the visitors — was the refereeing. 

The crew for this game started the second half calling 10 fouls on Baylor and just three on Iowa State in the first 10 minutes of the half.

Those 10 fouls included Scott Drew’s second technical, getting him his first-ever ejection.

Once John Jakus took over as the lead man for Baylor, he was also hit with a technical within 21 seconds of game time.

All the foul calls directly led to the Cyclones going on a 20-0 run. The score went from 54-41 Baylor with 13:17 to play to 61-54 Iowa State with 7:56 to play. ISU hit 10 free throws in that run.

After the game, amidst the credit he gave to his players and Coach Jakus for regrouping and finding a way to win, Coach Drew said “I don’t think I got any explanations [from the refs] all game long.”

When Drew was done with his postgame press conference, Mack Rhoades stepped up to the front of the room and emphasized that in the best college basketball league in the nation, they must have the best officials. 

He point-blank said that the crew in tonight’s game was not good enough and promised to fight for Baylor University, their coaches, their players and their fans to get them the officiating level they deserve.

While Rhoades fights that fight, Scott Drew needs to get his squad ready for another top-25 matchup with No. 15 Texas Tech visiting Waco on Tuesday. That game tips off at 8 PM CT and will be televised on ESPN.

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No. 18 Bears Overcome Refs, No. 12 Iowa State for Thrilling 70-68 Win

9,213 Views | 14 Replies | Last: 9 mo ago by historian
MrGolfguy
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10:37p, 2/3/24
W
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DtrBear
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7:02a, 2/4/24
Proud of our team for how they maintained their focus, took control, and played like they practice. Proud of our assistant coaches for their calm in holding the team together and cooly taking over. Proud of Coach Drew for his unwavering demonstration of integrity in the public face of adversity and personal attack. Really proud of this team "W" on top of all of this. And … really proud to be a Baylor Bear! Sic 'em and continue to " light the ways of time!"
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HuttoBear
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7:10a, 2/4/24
Am happy for the win even though it was by .1 of a second.

Am disappointed with second half play.

Am disappointed in the turn overs and the continued problem of not making the free throws in the final minutes of the game.

Baylor is still a mediocre team at best....imo.


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R3G
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9:08a, 2/4/24
There are very few teams that can overcome a 30 to 0 run and 3 technical fouls late in the game to win the gamer. It is not only the free throws involved but you get possession as well. She you look at the disparity in calls you wonder how much money was on the line for Iowa State to win. I used to ref basketball and this was the most one sided called game I have ever seen/ especially with a home team. These guys should never call another collegiate level game.
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Crawfoso1973
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In reply to HuttoBear • 9:32a, 2/4/24
HuttoBear said:
Am happy for the win even though it was by .1 of a second.

Am disappointed with second half play.

Am disappointed in the turn overs and the continued problem of not making the free throws in the final minutes of the game.

Baylor is still a mediocre team at best....imo.


I am admittedly a glass half-full kind of fan, so I see it differently. I was extremely proud of our 2nd half play. Earlier in the season we probably would have folded playing 5 vs. 8. Instead we showed incredible grit and determination to fight through adversity and pull off the win. And no one with a winning record in this conference is a mediocre team.
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Mitch Henessey
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In reply to HuttoBear • 10:36a, 2/4/24
HuttoBear said:
Am happy for the win even though it was by .1 of a second.

Am disappointed with second half play.

Am disappointed in the turn overs and the continued problem of not making the free throws in the final minutes of the game.

Baylor is still a mediocre team at best....imo.
If a consensus Top 20 team (advanced metrics, as well as rankings) is "a mediocre team at best," to you, you must have an extremely high bar for what a "good team" is.
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Oldbear83
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In reply to HuttoBear • 10:47a, 2/4/24
HuttoBear said:
Am happy for the win even though it was by .1 of a second.

Am disappointed with second half play.

Am disappointed in the turn overs and the continued problem of not making the free throws in the final minutes of the game.

Baylor is still a mediocre team at best....imo.


Wow, sounds like you didn't bother to actually watch the game.

The game I saw, the Bears took control early 14-7, playing an effective zone and lights-out shooting from 3. The Bears took a 15 point lead almost to the locker room but ISU got a lucky shot at the buzzer.

All through the first half, the officials were increasingly weird. Drew got a tech on something every coach does - without consequence most of the time - and without the warning the league says is supposed to be issued. Soon after that an official told Everyday John he would tech him if he complained about a call. So in many ways we should have seen the second half events coming.

Early in the second half, the officials started calling fouls on Baylor which notably were not called for the same behavior by ISU. When the Bears maintained a 13 point lead anyway, the officials then decided to tech Drew a second time, again without warning and again without explanation. They immediately teched the Baylor bench after that, and again no explanation. This flurry of calls changed a 54-41 Baylor lead at 13:17 into 61-54 ISU lead at 7:56, and all of those calls were questionable at best.

It was this condition, with ISU given a double-bonus gift, four Baylor players with four fouls, and an officiating crew which had proved itself blatantly hostile against the Bears in which Baylor engineered a comeback where they outscored Iowa State 16 to 7.

Anyone "disappointed" in the way Baylor played in the second half last night was not paying attention, is an ISU fan, or is an incompetent basketball official.
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bexar country
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In reply to HuttoBear • 11:32a, 2/4/24
HuttoBear said:
Am happy for the win even though it was by .1 of a second.

Am disappointed with second half play.

Am disappointed in the turn overs and the continued problem of not making the free throws in the final minutes of the game.

Baylor is still a mediocre team at best....imo.

If you think this is a mediocre team you need to quit watching basketball.


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historian
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In reply to Oldbear83 • 12:16p, 2/4/24
Oldbear83 said:
HuttoBear said:
Am happy for the win even though it was by .1 of a second.

Am disappointed with second half play.

Am disappointed in the turn overs and the continued problem of not making the free throws in the final minutes of the game.

Baylor is still a mediocre team at best....imo.


Wow, sounds like you didn't bother to actually watch the game.

The game I saw, the Bears took control early 14-7, playing an effective zone and lights-out shooting from 3. The Bears took a 15 point lead almost to the locker room but ISU got a lucky shot at the buzzer.

All through the first half, the officials were increasingly weird. Drew got a tech on something every coach does - without consequence most of the time - and without the warning the league says is supposed to be issued. Soon after that an official told Everyday John he would tech him if he complained about a call. So in many ways we should have seen the second half events coming.

Early in the second half, the officials started calling fouls on Baylor which notably were not called for the same behavior by ISU. When the Bears maintained a 13 point lead anyway, the officials then decided to tech Drew a second time, again without warning and again without explanation. They immediately teched the Baylor bench after that, and again no explanation. This flurry of calls changed a 54-41 Baylor lead at 13:17 into 61-54 ISU lead at 7:56, and all of those calls were questionable at best.

It was this condition, with ISU given a double-bonus gift, four Baylor players with four fouls, and an officiating crew which had proved itself blatantly hostile against the Bears in which Baylor engineered a comeback where they outscored Iowa State 16 to 7.

Anyone "disappointed" in the way Baylor played in the second half last night was not paying attention, is an ISU fan, or is an incompetent basketball official.

This needs more stars. Absolutely nailed it
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Quinton
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In reply to Oldbear83 • 2:03p, 2/4/24
I agree. I can't put that on them. Frustrating because I think they had it in them to finally close out a decent team had the game been officiated cleanly. We haven't done that all year and lost the opportunity to do it here. Would like to see this squad really put a team away. Tuesday would be a great time to start.
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blackie
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In reply to bexar country • 5:04p, 2/4/24
bexar country said:
HuttoBear said:
Am happy for the win even though it was by .1 of a second.

Am disappointed with second half play.

Am disappointed in the turn overs and the continued problem of not making the free throws in the final minutes of the game.

Baylor is still a mediocre team at best....imo.

If you think this is a mediocre team you need to quit watching basketball.


Give the guy a "break". He is negative on all of our major boards...football, MBB, WBB. He is just being consistent. Nothing is ever good enough. And certainly don't bring in game situations that affect the play or quality of the competition into the conversation. Those don't matter.
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KOKQB70
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7:32p, 2/4/24
Historian nailed it, ha, normal for him!
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TinFoilHatPreacherBear
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In reply to Oldbear83 • 9:21a, 2/5/24
Oldbear83 said:
HuttoBear said:
Am happy for the win even though it was by .1 of a second.

Am disappointed with second half play.

Am disappointed in the turn overs and the continued problem of not making the free throws in the final minutes of the game.

Baylor is still a mediocre team at best....imo.


Wow, sounds like you didn't bother to actually watch the game.

The game I saw, the Bears took control early 14-7, playing an effective zone and lights-out shooting from 3. The Bears took a 15 point lead almost to the locker room but ISU got a lucky shot at the buzzer.

All through the first half, the officials were increasingly weird. Drew got a tech on something every coach does - without consequence most of the time - and without the warning the league says is supposed to be issued. Soon after that an official told Everyday John he would tech him if he complained about a call. So in many ways we should have seen the second half events coming.

Early in the second half, the officials started calling fouls on Baylor which notably were not called for the same behavior by ISU. When the Bears maintained a 13 point lead anyway, the officials then decided to tech Drew a second time, again without warning and again without explanation. They immediately teched the Baylor bench after that, and again no explanation. This flurry of calls changed a 54-41 Baylor lead at 13:17 into 61-54 ISU lead at 7:56, and all of those calls were questionable at best.

It was this condition, with ISU given a double-bonus gift, four Baylor players with four fouls, and an officiating crew which had proved itself blatantly hostile against the Bears in which Baylor engineered a comeback where they outscored Iowa State 16 to 7.

Anyone "disappointed" in the way Baylor played in the second half last night was not paying attention, is an ISU fan, or is an incompetent basketball official.


Very well said. Team struggled through serious adversity to get the W.

Refs had to get "increasingly weird" to keep ISU in it. Our team was the far better team that night.
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historian
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In reply to KOKQB70 • 5:34p, 2/5/24
Thanks but actually it was Oldbear83
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