The 1-3-1: No. 23 Baylor vs TCU in Big 12 Opener

On Saturday afternoon, No. 23 Baylor (9-3) will begin the pursuit of their thirteenth consecutive Big 12 Championship as they host TCU (6-5) at 2:00 p.m. in the Ferrell Center. The Bears won the last meeting with the Frogs 93-63 last February when both teams were ranked in the Top 25.

On the health front, Baylor fans can be at ease with any concerns regarding the status of Jaden Ownes. After missing the non-conference finally against Long Beach State, Ownes was in great spirits when she met with the media on Thursday.

“I’m good, I’m good,” said a smiling Ownes. “My absence last time out was really just for preventive purposes. Now that we’re hitting conference play I’m ready to go, no problems at all.”

Here is the 1-3-1 on Baylor vs TCU.

One Player:

While Baylor boasts the more talented roster across the board, they can’t afford to sleep on TCU guard Tomi Taiwo. The grad transfer from Iowa leads the Horned Frogs in scoring with 14.5PPG and has experience playing high-level competition with seven NCAA Tournament games under her belt.

When she’s not scoring, Taiwo does an excellent job of distributing the rock with 20 assists on the season — she also leads TCU in steals with 19. Taiwo’s success this season has earned the respect of Baylor head coach Nicki Collen.

“Taiwo is definitely their most aggressive scorer,” said Collen. “She does a good job of shooting the three and taking the ball to the rim and drawing fouls, where she is making 90% of her free throws.”

Three Nuggets:

• Saturday will mark the 50th time in a series that dates back to the 1982-83 season.
•   The Bears have won 34 straight games against TCU – a streak that dates back to Jan. 12, 1991.
•  In the last 22 meetings against TCU, the Bears have been ranked inside the AP Top-25 poll all 22 times.

One Quote:

As Coach Collen addressed the media, she was really honest about the adversity this season and the toll it’s taken at times. While the Bears have an idea of what they would like for their identity to become, injuries and outside factors have made putting that together on the floor difficult so far this season.

“We’ve definitely talked about how we haven’t done enough this season to put a championship banner for the 2023 season up in the practice gym,” said Collen. “The tough part for me as a coach has been that a year ago we started the same lineup every game and knew who we were.”

“When I watch Kansas, I know who they are. When I watch Oklahoma, they know who they are and who they’re going to play to and through,” said Collen. “By the nature that our non-conference has gone, we’re still trying to figure that out. I hate saying that, but when you’ve played twelve games with seven starting lineups, maybe I have to get comfortable with being uncomfortable from game to game.”

The contest is available for streaming via Big 12 Now on ESPN+ and live in-game updates will also be provided via Twitter or live stats.