Baylor stays unbeaten after road battle against Texas Tech

LUBBOCK, Texas — The No. 2 Baylor men’s basketball team improved to 11-2 in their last 13 Big 12 road games by gutting out a 68-60 win over No. 15 Texas Tech in Lubbock.

Well, I hope you didn’t take the over. This game was a defensive battle from the start as both teams relied on gritty play from jump. With offense at a minimum, this game came down to who could hit the crucial shots late and Baylor did just that. 

On a night where Jared Butler was scoreless for the first 35 minutes of the game, Davion Mitchell exploded from his offensive slump with 17 points on 3-6 from deep. It can’t be discounted, however, that Butler would go on to finish with four steals. 

Scoring came at a minimum in the first half as neither team shot above 40% and only one player notched double-digits. Both teams combined for just 14 points in the first eight minutes of the game as Baylor jogged out to an 11-3 lead en route to finishing the half ahead 26-18. 

Mitchell led all scorers early with 10 points on a 4-4 performance, and the Bears needed it as Butler notched zero points on 0-6 shooting. That said, Baylor didn’t have to shoot extremely with their defense holding Tech to 8-30 from the field, 2-12 behind the arc and forcing 11 turnovers. 

Things started to get hairy early in the second half. The Red Raiders jumped out to a 37-34 lead seven minutes into the period and things went back and forth from there. Baylor would regain the lead at 38-37, but Tech just kept answering. 

It wasn’t until Butler finally got on the board with a couple of threes inside of five minutes left in the game when Baylor saw the narrowest separation, jumping ahead 56-49. From there, both teams endured a gut check like no other and the Bears hit just enough free throws to seal the 68-60 win.

This was a Big 12 dog fight between two teams that will surely make deep runs in March. The poise of Baylor to find a way to win while turning the ball over 16 times, shooting 13-22 at the line and being out rebounded 18-12 on the offensive glass is nothing short of impressive. 

In the end, though, it was the Bears’ depth that pushed them over the edge in this one. Baylor’s bench outscored Tech 26-5, spearheaded by Adam Flagler’s resurgence with 15. Not only that, but the Green and Gold’s experience kept the squad composed down the stretch. 

Whew.  If you didn’t scream at your television during this one, I question your Bear fandom.