No. 9 Baylor Men’s Basketball Dismantles Stanford 86-48

WACO, Texas — No. 9 Baylor men’s basketball (4-0) blew past the Standford Cardinal (3-2) 86-48 Saturday afternoon in the Ferrel Center.

Freshman standout Kendall Brown scored eight early points on his way to 15 for the game. LJ Cryer led the Bears with 21 points, James Akinjo scored 11 while dishing 11 assists, and Jonathan Tchamwa Tchatchoua added 9 points and 7 boards to propel a great second half. 

Stanford started well, out-rebounding the Bears 8-3 through the first eight minutes of the game, and keeping the scoreline within a couple of baskets. Their first four buckets came from four different players, and they made Baylor work for their buckets at the other end.

SicEm365

LJ Cryer

The Cardinal were playing physically on both ends, trying to get points in the paint and making the Bears feel their presence when driving towards the Stanford basket. At one point in the first half, the Cardinal was called for three fouls in under 30 seconds of game time.

A 9-2 run by the Bears between the 5:50 and 3:45 minute marks gave the Bears a lead that they would only expand on, ending the half with Baylor up 34-28.

The Bears came out with amped-up intensity on defense to start the second half and the Cardinal couldn’t cope. 

Baylor made a 26-3 run in the first ten minutes of the second half to put the game out of reach.

The Bears’ defense did not allow a single field goal in that “third quarter” of the game. 

The run was propelled by a load of Baylor steals and Stanford turnovers. The Bears finished the game forcing 22 turnovers and grabbing 16 steals.

SicEm365

Jeremy Sochan

The Bears shot 55% from the field on the day, their best so far this season, and they went 10-26 from 3-point range. 

Scott Drew is now 14-5 against the PAC-12 at Baylor, and the Bears have now won 28 straight non-conference games. This is also the 17^th straight home victory for the Bears, part of a 29-1 record in the Ferrel Center since 2019.

Adam Flagler did not play today, but the Bears did not miss a beat. Both Flagler and the team should be that much better prepared for Arizona State and the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament as a whole starting next Wednesday.