No. 3 Baylor drops game one in Big 12 tourney against Oklahoma 72-67

KANSAS CITY, Kansas – No. 3 Baylor men’s basketball (25-7, 14-4) falls in the quarterfinal of the Big 12 tournament against Oklahoma (18-14, 7-11) in Kansas City 72-67.

Well, that was less than ideal for the Bears. With an opportunity to bolster their case for a national one-seed, Baylor couldn't come up with the win against Porter Moser’s squad. Selection Sunday just got far more interesting for Bear fans. 

Recapping the first half, it certainly could’ve been a hotter start for the Bears. Oklahoma jolted out to a 7-0 quickly, and they would retain the lead for most of the half — the keyword being most. With 2:46 to play in the first, Dale Bonner hit his first shot of the game to tie things at 25-25. 

That was followed by a Bonner three-pointer, the first deep ball to rattle home for the Bears, to give Baylor the advantage and an ultimate 33-27 lead at the break. That’s all well and good, but the Green and Gold led the turnover battle 11-1, points off turnovers 13-0 and points in the paint 18-8. The score should’ve looked much worse. 

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The second half started in a less than ideal way. Rather than upholding the halftime lead, Baylor found themselves in a dogfight, slowly losing the momentum and thus the lead. Oklahoma outscored the Bears 34-21 to start the half. 

At the under four-minute timeout, Baylor trailed 61-56 and Adam Flagler had two points on 1-9 shooting overall. That’s not the best recipe to secure a win. However, the Bears were intent on taking this game to the wire, and a valiant effort by James Akinjo and company made it a one-point game at 63-62 with 2:39 remaining in the game. 

That’s when Oklahoma took over. Baylor would not score again until four seconds remained in the game. The Sooners used the late Bears drought to secure the 72-67 win. 

Baylor shot just 38% compared to Oklahoma’s 51%. Flagler finished with two points on 10% shooting and the Bears couldn’t take advantage of a 16-6 turnover advantage or a 38-28 lead in points in the paint. Despite plenty of favorable statistics, Baylor just could not find a stop when the game was at its climax. Oklahoma shot 6-7 to finish this one out and take the win.