Baylor stumbles in 82-72 loss to TCU, puts pressure on next two games

TCU now holds bragging rights for the clean sweep in football and basketball after beating Baylor 82-72 in Fort Worth today.

It’s up to Steve Rodriguez and the baseball team to end that streak. In the meantime, coach Scott Drew has his work cut out for him in the closing games of the season to get Baylor back on track for March.

Playing it safe doesn’t pay off

Coming into the game, TCU was a top 10 three-point shooting team. That was certainly evident in the first meeting, hitting 40 percent from outside. Rather than put up treys to match the Frogs, Baylor played it safe shooting just seven times beyond the arc in contrast to TCU’s 19 attempts.

The strategy avoiding the perimeter worked for a time as the frontcourt worked the paint wonderfully. Jo Lual-Acuil put his hook shot to task at every corner, walking away with a team-best 22 points. Mark Vital put in similar action, adding 10 points to the board working the glass, grabbing all four of his rebounds on offense. 

With those two and Terry Maston drawing double teams, Tristan Clark had a resurgent game with 14 points and a team-high five rebounds. 

All that kept Baylor within striking distance for through most of the second half until TCU’s Kouat Noi made a three-point jumper to take a 59-57 lead following Acuil free throws at the nine-minute mark. A few ticks later, Noi hit another three, extending the lead to three while Baylor continued to work in the paint and at the foul line. Driving the lane couldn't quite keep up the pace with one of the hottest hands in the country, especially as TCU also matched Baylor's ability from mid-range and at the glass.

Will the real Manu Lecomte please stand up?

This isn’t the first time Lecomte has been an offensive non-factor, taking almost the entire first half to get on the board. Lecomte missed all five of his shots in the first half, perhaps most frustrating was his shot in traffic in the closing minute rather than dish it out to the outside to potentially get within two points before halftime.

While TCU’s guards Alex Robinson and Desmond Bane were putting in work, Lecomte was missing in action. 

He surfaced in the second half with a three-point jumper to bring Baylor within one point at 36-35. Only two free throws followed as he continued to miss from the floor, shooting just 1-of-10.

It’s an egregious dry spell for Lecomte who hasn’t scored over 15 points the past three games. Over the past three games, he has made just 12-of-51 (23.5 percent) field goals, putting Baylor behind the eight ball. 

Lecomte had a similar sour streak back in January as he was dealing with a re-injured shoulder. No word if that has flared up again, but it seemed to be solved a month ago. 

Turnovers cut down, Free throws up

This is a continued indictment of Baylor’s non-existent perimeter offense.

For the first time all season, the Bears converted over 80 percent of free throws while turning over under 12 possessions. It was as efficient as they’ve been all season on those counts, making 16-of-18 from the line and allowing just eight takeaways- That’s an astonishing 12 percent turnover rate, well outside Baylor’s norm.

While those are mostly independent of each other, it is a testament that Baylor can cut down on its mistakes typically responsible for previous losses. Additionally, Baylor had eight steals. The past two games the Bears have had their hands on the ball that often, they've won.