By Jackson Posey | Sports Writer
Freshman wing VJ Edgecombe walked into Tuesday’s press conference in a black T-Shirt, emblazoned with a simple message, spelled out in block letters: “Be better. Be different.”
“It’s important for us to go out there and get a W – it’s mandatory, to be honest,” Edgecombe said of Wednesday’s matchup with Kansas State. “We’re just trying to get back on the right track, get everything flowing back in the direction we need it to go.”
Sunday night, Edgecombe hit a layup to take a 56-47 lead over rival TCU with under 12 minutes to play. But the Horned Frogs blazed back, going on a 20-5 run to take a lead they’d never relinquish. The win moved TCU to 2-0 at the Bears’ new arena after last year’s triple-overtime thriller.
After earning a preseason top-10 spot in the AP poll, the Bears (11-6, 3-3) may now be fighting for an NCAA Tournament spot.
“It was a wake-up call for sure,” graduate wing Jalen Celestine said. “I wouldn’t say we needed it, because I feel like we needed the win more. But obviously we learned a lot from that game, and hopefully we’ll learn to translate [that] to going on a little win streak.”
That path is made tougher by a spate of recent injuries. Fifth-year point guard Jeremy Roach went down against TCU and head coach Scott Drew listed him as “doubtful” for Wednesday’s game. Langston Love has dealt with recurring injuries since last season. Edgecombe and Celestine have missed time as well. With so little continuity, it’s been difficult to find consistent chemistry within the rotation.
“A bunch of people have been hurt, so we haven’t really been full strength,” Celestine said. “But at the end of the day, it’s the cards we’re dealt. We can’t sit up here and make excuses, we just gotta figure it out. Get the job done.”
Baylor is a double-digit favorite over former assistant coach Jerome Tang and Kansas State (7-10, 1-5), which has struggled to replicate Tang’s magical first season. Stretching back to last season, the Wildcats are 1-9 in their past 10 games against power-conference foes, and rank outside the top 200 in scoring offense (No. 227) and defense (No. 204).
Still, with a grueling Big 12 schedule remaining, the pressure is high in Waco. Sitting at No. 28 in the NET rankings, the Bears are on NCAA Tournament bubble watch.
“It’s a tough thing in coaching,” Drew said of emphasizing tournament positioning during the regular season. “You want the urgency and you want the focus, and to understand the importance — but at the same time, you don’t want it to become where that becomes pressure, and then now you get tight and don’t play well.”
Wednesday would be an ideal time for a win. Next week, the Bears start a three-game stretch against BYU, Kansas and Texas Tech. A loss would hand Baylor its first three-game losing streak in over two calendar years. It’ll come down to a matchup between Drew and the former assistant who’s bested him in all three matchups.
“I think there’s a fine line,” Drew said of drawing out postseason implications. “Are they aware? Absolutely. Do we wanna string a bunch of wins together? Absolutely. But so does everybody in the Big 12.”
Tipoff against the Wildcats is scheduled for 8 p.m. Wednesday at Foster Pavilion.
