No. 10 Baylor overcomes injury, routs Texas at home 80-63

WACO, Texas — No. 10 Baylor men’s basketball (21-4, 9-3) blasted Texas (18-7, 7-5) in Waco, 80-63, despite losing Jonathan Tchamwa-Tchatchoua to a significant injury. 

The A1 storyline in this matchup is the loss of Tchamwa-Tchatchoua — almost certainly for a long period of time — and how it changed the trajectory of this game. Rather than folding after a crushing blow to the team’s success and morale, Flo Thamba and company hit another level. 

Crashing the glass, forcing the break, scoring in the paint and getting to the line came with ease. Those are effort aspects of the game, and this team brought a level of effort we’ve been waiting for.

And, thanks to that, Chris Beard has still never won in Waco.

Let’s talk about the first half. The Bears came out flat — surprise. But as soon as Tchamwa-Tchatchoua checked into the game, the tide completely turned. The big man sparked an immediate 8-0 run that ignited the Ferrell. 

That ignition, though, was stunted when Tchamwa-Tchatchoua fell at midcourt after a non-contact injury — and everyone in the place knew it was bad. Without Everyday Jon for the rest of the game, an injury of that caliber would’ve been excuse enough to roll over.

However, the Bears started pouring. it. on. Baylor outscored Texas 28-18 the remainder of the half. Adam Flagler had 13 on 5-6 from the field. Flo Thamba was 6-6 from the line and had five boards. The team was 14-15 as a whole from the line and led rebounding 19-13. 

Baylor led 44-21 at the break. 

The second half was a pummeling. This was a replay of Baylor’s game at Kansas last Saturday, but the script was completely flipped. A mercy rule would’ve behooved the Horns, and everyone was free to beat the traffic by the eight-minute media timeout. 

At 77-56 with under four minutes to play, all that was left was an S-E-C chant from the students and the warming of the UT bus. Baylor did not blink and sent Texas packing at 80-63. 

Flagler had a field day with 20 points, complimented by James Akinjo’s 15, but Thamba was the real story. This was the best he’s played since April 5^th, 2021. He finished with 12 points, 11 boards, four blocks and an 8-11 mark from the line. He was the difference. 

Baylor shot 50% from the field and ran Texas off the Ferrell Center floor. Replicating this effort moving forward will equate to a lot of winning — healthy or not.