No. 7 Baylor falls against No. 11 Texas Tech in Lubbock 83-73

LUBBOCK, Texas — No. 7 Baylor men’s basketball (21-5, 9-4) succumbs to No. 11 Texas Tech (20-6, 9-4) in a rowdy road environment 83-73. Despite leading by seven points at the break, the Bears just couldn’t close it out on the road. 

Recapping the first half, the Bears ascended to their largest lead of the game at the culmination of the opening 20. Leading most of the half, Baylor hit its peak right where it needed to thanks to nine overall from James Akinjo and eight from Matthew Mayer. 

Defense was also at a premium. Tech shot just 8-of-24 and 2-of-9 from deep, acquiring a large sum of points via a 14-18 clip from the free throw line. An 11-4 lead in bench points, though, showed Baylor’s ability to get the bench involved and set up the abillity for Scott Drew’s squad to pace the second half with a 39-32 halftime lead. 

That’s not exactly what happened. The Red Raiders retook the lead by the 15-minute mark of the second half. The birage did not end there. 

Texas Tech outscored Baylor 51-34 in the second half. That, my friends, is not good. In the second half alone, the Red Raiders led total rebounds, 23-14, second chance points, 13-6, and points in teh paint 20-10. The team also shot 18-32 and 5-12 from three. 

While Baylor would pull within five with under a minute remaining, Tech led by as many as 13 in the second half, and the lead was too much to overcome. The Bears fell 83-73.