No. 4 Baylor men's basketball falls to Alabama on the road 87-78

No. 4 Baylor men’s basketball (18-3, 6-2) is no longer undefeated on the road after a 87-78 loss at Alabama (14-7, 4-4). 

Road game. Hostile environment. These things don’t dictate who the better team on the floor is, but these factors showed Baylor’s mortality. And that’s ok. Teams lose basketball games. That just happens. 

The first half. Dude. That was actually really exciting basketball. Both teams shot 45% or better, and the Bears shot 13 free throws to Alabama’s seven. 

Individually, Baylor had even scoring across the board with Jeremy Sochan notching eight but having multiple Bears close behind. With an even stat book and eight lead changes, the only difference in the game was a 20-10 points in the paint advantage for the Tide that offered a 38-34 lead at the break. 

Did I mention points in the paint being bad? That didn’t change. Welcome to the second half. 

Alabama led by as many as 15 points. Baylor pulled things within four at the under five minute mark, but a 6-0 Tide run pushed things all but out of reach. Yes, many a factor went into this loss, but Alabama made shots when they mattered most. 

The Tide shot 17 free throws in the second half to Baylor’s eight prior to late game fouling. Alabama had 12 more points in the paint overall. And the Crimson fans showed up. Despite 17 and eight from Sochan, Baylor fell 87-78. 

Hey, this doesn’t count for Big 12 standings!