The Baylor Bears had too much power from behind the 3-point line.
After going 5-of-9 from behind the 3-point line in the first half, the Bears hit and another six in the second half. The number of 3-pointers made by Baylor in the game (19) outdid what TCU even attempted (7).
But that was the least of the Frogs’ worries in their 82-56 loss to Baylor Saturday.
“Good old fashion butt whipping,” TCU head coach Trent Johnson said. “They beat us every which way but loose.”
The Bears had four players score in double digits including guard Pierre Jackson with 20. Center Isaiah Austin chipped in 18, forward Rico Gathers had 15 and guard Gary Franklin put up 12.
“You give a team like that another possession or two, meaning we had empty possessions offensively—come up with a good shot doesn’t good down or a bad shot and they run out on you—they’re tough to guard,” Johnson said.
Forward Adrick McKinney led the Frogs with 15 points and eight rebounds while guard Connell Crossland had 12 points. This was the second straight game Crossland scored in double digits.
“I thought Connell had great energy, played pretty well,” Johnson said. “I thought Adrick was pretty consistent. Probably our most consistent player probably last seven or eight games.
“Yes, he gets ahead of himself sometimes in the post and has some ill-advised turnovers, some ill-advised shots, but he’s done a decent job of regrouping and staying with the program–staying with the system both offensively and defensively against good players.”
The game looked vastly different than the 51-40 showdown on Jan. 12 a feat that Baylor head coach Scott Drew attributed to the Bear’s ability to get better shots on offense.
“TCU’s a very good defensive team and I thought we made the extra pass today and found the open man,” Drew said. “That’s what you got to do if you want to be effective against a team that really defends well.”
McKinney said the Frogs put up long shots that gave Baylor the ability to score on the run off of rebounds.
“Coach [Johnson] was trying to tell everybody to go to the hole,” McKinney said. “We were trying to go to the rack so [Baylor] wouldn’t get out and run.”
Baylor had 25 fast break points compared to seven for TCU and outrebounded the Frogs 40-30.
The Bears(14-5, 5-1 Big 12) took a 43-26 halftime lead after going on an 18-0 run capped off by a pair of free throw shots from Pierre Jackson after a technical foul was called on Johnson.
Jackson hit a 3-pointer right after halftime to extend the lead to 20. The lead ballooned to 29 with 8:15 left in the game.
TCU (9-11, 0-7) will have a week off before they travel to Austin to take on the Texas Longhorns on Feb. 2. Johnson said the break comes at a good time for the Frogs so they can get rested and focus on academics.
“We need to get some guys fresh and get guys back in the gym working on individual stuff,” Johnson said. “It’s hard to simulate in practice what we go up against in this league because of our lack of depth or whatever you may call it.”
