TCU Beats Baylor in Overtime 81-78

In a game of runs, TCU made the final one to earn their first ever Big 12 victory over Baylor 81-78. The loss drops the Bears to 10-4 and 0-2 in Big 12 play. Baylor next plays at 1:00 on Saturday against Texas. The Bears really need to win that game.

Baylor was in the game early. The Bears offense wasn’t rolling; they got enough from a few guys though. Jo Lual-Acuil returned after missing the Texas Tech game with a sprained foot. He had 11 first half points. Tristan Clark and Terry Maston combined to go 4-of-5 from the field in the first half. That was good. Jake Lindsey’s block was also fantastic:

TCU went on an 11-0 run to build a 27-16 lead. Baylor finished the first half 0-of-6 from deep and just 44% from the field. They turned it over six times and only nabbed three offensive rebounds. It was a different ugly than Friday against Texas Tech, but it was still ugly.

The Horned Frogs built a 12 point lead to start the half. Baylor destroyed TCU on the offensive glass, which was a nice sign against a team that entered the game 11th in defensive rebounding. But the Horned Frogs started 4-of-4 from the field. Even though Baylor had taken seven more shots, TCU expanded their lead.

But the Bears fought back. Lecomte got into the paint and Lual-Acuil kept scoring. The Bears somehow were only down five points to a TCU team shooting 56% from the field and 45% from the perimeter. They kept fighting. With Lual-Acuil’s 28 points and 11 rebounds, the Bears built a 60-56 lead thanks to a 14-0 second half run.

TCU would answer and seemed destined to win in regulation.

Jake Lindsey found a way to force overtime though. With his team trailing by two, the junior guard knifed his way through the paint and made it.

Unfortunately, the Horned Frogs hit a few too many shots in overtime. Vladimir Brodziansky—a big man who entered the game with just 10 made triples—hit another one. The Bears had some nice moments from Lual-Acuil and Maston, but it just wasn’t enough.

Baylor trailed by three with 20 second left. Lecomte couldn’t make a tough look at the hoop, and the Horned Frogs left with an 81-78 victory.

This was a tough loss for Baylor. They took 11 more shots than TCU in regulation. But the Bears went 1-of-12 from deep. The first number will almost always win the game. The second will almost always lose it. Unfortunately, the second one made it so the first one couldn’t win the game. In a close overtime—a deserved finish for such a good game—the Bears came up a little short.