By Foster Nicholas | Sports Writer
After splashing a corner 3-pointer six minutes into the second half and giving No. 15 Baylor men’s basketball its first double-digit lead of the game, freshman guard Ja’Kobe Walter blew a kiss toward the TCU student section.
From there, it was all Bears as they snapped a two-game losing streak by taking down the Horned Frogs 62-54 on Monday night at Schollmaier Arena in Fort Worth.
“They were chanting ‘air ball’ after I missed, obviously I air-balled,” Walter said. “But next one I’m still shooting. Knocked it down, I had to shut them up, so I blew them a kiss.”
#Baylor players chanting “roadkill” all the way to the locker room after taking down #TCU, 62-54.
Ja’Kobe Walter said postgame Scott Drew put the Horned Frogs saying the same after their win in Waco on the TV & they had to rewatch the video leading into the game. #SicEm pic.twitter.com/Pmr0xtvosj
— Parker Rehm (@parker_rehm) February 27, 2024
Following a triple-overtime loss to the Horned Frogs in Waco on Jan. 28, head coach Scott Drew and Baylor (20-8, 9-6 Big 12) claimed possession of fourth place in the Big 12 with Monday’s win over TCU (19-9, 8-7).
“Normally every game comes down to one possession, and we were blessed defensively to contest some shots,” Drew said. “They missed some shots. Coach [Jamie] Dixon is a great coach; they had some good looks. 5 for 19 [shooting from deep] is not a typical outing by them. But I’d like to credit our defense a little bit too, and I thought we did a good job of making things difficult for [them] some of the time.
“The big thing is, when you play TCU, you have to do a good job on the glass and we did that. You have to do a good job in transition and we did a good job of keeping them out of transition for most of the night.”
Walter and fellow freshman center Yves Missi each led the Bears with 16 points apiece, while senior forward Jalen Bridges added 15. Although senior guard RayJ Dennis didn’t reach double-digit points, he ended the game on a triple-double watch with nine points, nine rebounds and nine assists.
"Without RayJ we're not the same team. He sacrifices a lot."#Baylor guard RayJ Dennis snagged 9 pts, 9 rebounds and 9 assists on the night against #TCU. He continues to be a lethal threat on both sides of the ball and his guys feel they "owe a lot to him". #SicEm | @BaylorMBB… pic.twitter.com/AoD4D022yy
— Nicole Shearin (@NicoleShearintv) February 27, 2024
Bridges helped slingshot Baylor out of the gate, knocking down all four of his 3-point shots in the first 8:04. However, after Bridges’ tear, both offenses stalled out with each team only making eight first-half field goals and forfeiting nine turnovers each. Neither team scored in nearly the final five minutes of the half, and the Bears clung to a 25-23 lead at halftime.
“I thought Jalen has really been consistent, but then in the last couple of games he’s been more aggressive, and we need that,” Drew said. “He has the most experience. We have four guys who are starting who have never played in a Big 12 game before [this year]. So we need his leadership, we need him to be assertive, and he was great tonight.”
The Bears held the Frogs to just 33.3% shooting and bounced between different zone schemes and man defenses all night.
Update: Langston Love is here with the team but is not dressed and will not play vs. TCU. #Baylor #SicEm https://t.co/NRqMrrB0PS pic.twitter.com/bRWcDY4VC4
— Parker Rehm (@parker_rehm) February 27, 2024
“I think it’s the mindset that we had coming into the game, considering we lost to them in triple-overtime last time,” Walter said when asked about the defensive effort. “We just had a lot of motivation and really wanted to focus on the defensive end, and just get out and score on the offensive end.”
Baylor mimicked its strong first-half start in the second half, going on a 10-0 run that was capped off by Walter’s kiss toward the TCU faithful. After finding their biggest lead of the game at the time — by a score of 42-31 — Dennis manned the ship and found Missi, who scored a bulk of his points in the painted area in the second half.
“If we can get in the paint, normally we get a pretty good shot,” Dennis said on ESPN 1660 Central Texas AM radio. “And I like to live in there anyway, and pass and make plays.”
The Bears fended off a late TCU run as Walter and Missi combined for more points in the second half (25) than the Frogs scored in the first 20 minutes of the game (23). In addition, Baylor tallied 16 points in the paint and 14 points off turnovers in the second half to roll to the 62-54 victory.
Tonight's win marks Baylor's fourth straight win over TCU in Fort Worth and the ninth win for the Bears in Fort Worth in their last 12 trips.
Those nine wins in Fort Worth alone since the 2012-13 season are more than TCU has total in the series since 2000. https://t.co/simsGfJ47X
— Eric Kelly (@EricKellyTV) February 27, 2024
The Bears will look for redemption on Saturday when No. 7 Kansas (21-6, 9-5) comes to town. The Jayhawks took the first duel of the season between the two 64-61 back on Feb. 10 in Manhattan, Kan. Tipoff is scheduled for noon at Foster Pavilion on ABC.
“We’re looking forward to it,” Dennis said. “Don’t want to lose at home, right? I mean, we know how tough it is to win on the road, so we want to protect home court.”
