The Kansas State Wildcats had a run to close the half, hitting a 3 as the buzzer sounded to go up 4 points. What were the Baylor Bears going to do? Surprisingly, they answered.
They finally answered. After unstoppable runs against Missouri and Kansas, the Bears stopped this run. Unfortunately, Kansas State answered as well. And then the Bears answered. And then the Wildcats answered. This game was a battle.
The Wildcats were getting the breaks, but the Bears fought and got the lead with 2:02 left. Then WIldcats came back to take the lead, 57-56. In the second most crucial play of the game, Quincy Acy came down the lane and was pushed in the back when going up for the strong finish. No call. Terrible no call. He was pushed in the back, he was hit, and the defender was moving. Even the analyst on the Big12 Network said that it should have been a foul.
Unfortunately, we have to conclude that the referees had a major impact on this game, and in a bad way for Baylor. Acy was fouled. The refs did call a blatant travel on KSU, a tough call to make in that situation, but more of a stupid play by the Wildcat. On the last play of the game, the Bears had a chance with a few seconds left. Quincy Miller got the ball and was hit catching it, hit throwing it up from behind. No call. Bears lose.
Terrible. This was a bad loss. The Bears just shot terribly, 20-52, and just 4-13 from behind the arc. Perry Jones III was invisible. We missed probably 15 layups.
Go to the jump to see how the Bears did on their 5 keys.
Let's take a look at how the Bears did on the 5 keys to the game.
1. Make the Wildcats take long shots.
They shot 20, they made 7. Good job by the Bears.
2. Stay even on the glass
Bears dominated the glass, especially on offense. However, they failed almost every time to convert to 2nd chance points. The bears won the rebounding battle 34-29.
3. Keep those assists flowing
Pierre had a very average first half. Just 2 assists at half for the Bears best passer. Pierre did a better job in the 2nd half, but the offense looked stagnant and slow most of the game. KSU is a really good defense, but it is easy to defend someone standing still, and our offense devolved into that too many times.
4. Active hands
The Bears were GREAT to start the game. They had forced 8 turnovers by the 12 minute mark of the 1st half. However, after that, Kansas State did a great job of protecting the ball and the Bears were not as active I though. 9 steals total. Good, but not great.
5. Bench points
Not good. Not good at all. At halftime, the bench just had 4 points. The bench did not give them much. Anthony Jones missed a few shots early, and just seemed off. Gray Franklin did not attack much either. Cory Jefferson did little on offense. 4 bench points total. Not good enough.
The Bears lost a bad one here. This one will probably move the Bears down a spot on most brackets, and now makes the UT game much bigger.