By Foster Nicholas | Sports Writer
In 704 career games at the helm, No. 18 Baylor men’s basketball head coach Scott Drew had never been ejected. That changed in game No. 705 as Drew was awarded his second technical foul for stepping out of the coach’s box and asking for clarification on a previous call. Clarification he never received.
“I don’t think I got explanations all game long,” Drew said. “And it’ll all be broken down. It’ll all be sent into the league. Mack [Rhoades] will comment on the officials. But we have the best basketball league in the country. And Curtis [Shaw, Big 12’s coordinator of officials] has a really tough job. And we expect him to do it.”
Visibly distraught, down and shocked after the Bears (16-5, 5-3 Big 12) were called for their ninth foul in the first eight minutes of the second half, Drew was ushered off the court by the officials after staying in the huddle for 30 seconds more and encouraging his coaches and team. With 11:20 to play in the second half, his team up 54-44, Drew walked arm in arm with Mack Rhoades — Baylor vice president and director of intercollegiate athletics— through the tunnel and into the locker room.
“I told AB [associate head coaches Alvin Brooks] and John [Jakus], I mean, every day in practice they coach. So, I told them, ‘Win’!” Drew said.
Scott Drew ejected for… stepping outside the coaching box pic.twitter.com/LXWA2XQmoW
— The Field of 68 (@TheFieldOf68) February 4, 2024
Despite the ejection, No. 18 Baylor men’s basketball escaped with a 70-68 win over No. 12 Iowa State on Saturday night in the Foster Pavilion.
But as Drew made his way off the court following being tossed, Baylor fans erupted in boos. But for every boo, there was a cheer ten times louder for each Baylor block, steal and score, spoiling the ending for Drew, who was in the locker room.
“We were watching the game, me and Mack, and the crowd was a second or two ahead of us. So, we knew if it was a missed free throw or made free throw. So, that’s even worse,” Drew said. “But if you ever get kicked out of a game, there’s nobody I’d rather watch a game with than Mack. He’s the best.”
As Drew sat in the locker room, Iowa State blew through the Baylor defense, as whistles stopped play seemingly every other possession, and went on a miraculous 20-0 run over nearly five-and-a-half minutes. Going through his emotions and fighting for his team from afar, the only thing the head coach in his 22nd year wanted to do was win.
“You pour so much into it, and if you’re the reason you lose, there’s no worse feeling. And I thank God he didn’t make me feel that tonight, because I know if we’d have lost and those technicals, those points, they add up,” Drew said. “I have to do better. We’ll send in the tape and see if the officials have to do better. And then go from there.”
As the final buzzer hit, Baylor found itself on top of Iowa State 70-68 and just a half game back of first place in the Big 12.
“Well, can you guys tell me what happened?” Drew joked as he walked into the press conference postgame. “Obviously, I’m pretty excited right now. Really proud of the staff and what they were able to accomplish, really excited about the players rallying. And, obviously, I’ve never been kicked out. I haven’t tried to get kicked out. Otherwise, I would have probably been kicked out before.”
Without Drew, senior guard RayJ Dennis led the team with 18 points on 6-of-10 shooting from the floor to pair with seven rebounds. Junior guard Jayden Nunn (16) and senior forward Jalen Bridges (14) were the only other Bears in double figures.
“Nah, this feels great. It’s the best feeling in the world,” Nunn said following the game.
The Bears stormed off to a quick first-half lead, knocking down their first four 3-point shots and finishing 7-of-11 from beyond the arc by the end of the first 20 minutes. Frustrated with the officiating early, Drew was given his first technical with 10:17 on the clock in the first half for stepping out of the coach’s box.
Baylor outrebounded the Cyclones 24-11 in the half and only gave up eight personal fouls during the physical play.
Trailing 40-25 with a few seconds left, Iowa State (16-5, 5-3 Big 12) junior guard Keshon Gilbert banked a half-court 3-pointer to beat the halftime buzzer and cut the Baylor lead to 12 points.
“I joked out there, but we’re changing whoever put the backboards in. Everybody we play uses them. We don’t get any banked-in half-courters, 3-pointers, any other thing. So, we’ll fix that problem,” Drew quipped when looking back at the shot.
Baylor came out of the half slow, at least offensively. In the first 9:30, the Bears were called for 11 fouls and during the period of frustration, Iowa State went on a 20-0 run and led by as much as seven with 7:56 to play in the second half.
“This team, we have not played our best basketball. What I mean by that, offensively and defensively we haven’t had a 40-minute game where we’ve been great,” Drew said. “That’s what you get when you have a younger team.”
Baylor clawed its way back into the game and held a 68-66 lead with 20 seconds left and Nunn at the free-throw line. The guard missed both and Iowa State found the equalizer with 10 seconds left on the game clock. Baylor was just 5-for-12 from the free-throw line in the second half.
Nunn raced back down the court and with two seconds left, he used his body and the glass to put the Bears ahead with a layup and took a hard foul. With the chance to put his team up by three, Nunn missed another free throw and Iowa State grabbed the rebound and called timeout with 1.2 seconds on the clock.
Jayden Nunn gives the Bears the lead. The roof is off this place. pic.twitter.com/8HeHTusWpq
— Michael Haag (@MichaelHaag_) February 4, 2024
After a lengthy delay in which the officials looked at the clock, Iowa State inbounded the ball and took a 3-pointer. The ball banked in, but no points were put on the scoreboard as the initial call was that the shooter didn’t get it off in time.
“I wasn’t sure,” Iowa State head coach T.J. Otzelberger said when asked if he thought the last-second shot would count. “With 1.2, you have to get it out quick. I thought we had time. Obviously it’s bang-bang play.
“You don’t know if the clock started at the right time or whatever, but it seemed like everything lined up and we were just a tenth of a second — or whatever it was — late.”
The three points were never put on the board and Iowa State — as well as the officials — walked off the court with security after falling 70-68.
Baylor will cap off the two-game homestand on Tuesday night against No. 15 Texas Tech (16-5, 5-3 Big 12). Tipoff is scheduled for 8 p.m. in the Foster Pavilion.
I mean, my goodness.
This is the atmosphere #Baylor was looking for. Just not sure under these circumstances. pic.twitter.com/iW0I72OZJ2
— Michael Haag (@MichaelHaag_) February 4, 2024
