No. 10 MBB Bested in Big 12 Quarterfinals by Iowa State, 78-72

Thursday, March 9

Kansas City, Mo

11:30 AM

Baylor

22-10,11-7Big 12

Iowa State

19-12,9-9Big 12

Iowa St.

Baylor

Jalen Bridges shoots a three in Big 12 Tournament quarterfinals

No. 10 MBB Bested in Big 12 Quarterfinals by Iowa State, 78-72

3/9/2023 2:08:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

Bridges hit career-high 28 points against Cyclones

By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
            KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Looking at the stat sheet in front of him, Baylor coach Scott Drew didn't have to search too hard to find the reason why his 10^th-ranked Bears lost to Iowa State for the second time in six days and the third time this season.
            "Game came down to rebounding," Drew said of the Bears being dominated on the glass, 44-17, in a 78-72 loss in Thursday's Big 12 Championship quarterfinal at the T-Mobile Center. "I think you have to credit Iowa State. Their coaches did a better job preparing their guys for the physicality and toughness. And credit their players for kicking our butt on the glass."
            Despite a career-high 28 points from West Virginia transfer Jalen Bridges, the fourth-seeded Bears (22-10) made an early exit at the Big 12 tournament for the second-straight year.
            Fueled by a 24-point performance from Gabe Kalscheur, the fifth-seeded Cyclones (19-12) advance to Friday's 6 p.m. semifinal and will face third-ranked and top-seeded Kansas (26-6). The Jayhawks blew out eighth-seeded West Virginia, 78-61, in the second game of the day.
            "Felt like in the areas we talked about – points in the paint, rebounding, things that we really focused on – our guys did a great job," said Iowa State coach T.J. Otzelberger. "And especially when we got down, keeping that poise in the second half."
            Bridges, whose previous career-high was 22 against TCU last season, hit his first nine shots overall and 6-of-6 from outside the arc in helping Baylor take a 41-38 halftime lead and go up 50-42 lead with 16:34 left in the game.
            "Credit my teammates for finding me when I was open, getting me easy looks," Bridges said. "I just knocked them down today."
            Baylor answered a quick 4-0 run by the Cyclones with a three-point play by Dale Bonner, making it a seven-point game, 53-46, at the under-16-minute break.
            Back-to-back 3-pointers by Kalscheur and Jaren Holmes gave Iowa State its first lead since the 6:45 mark of the first half.
            "Everything we knew coming into the game that they were good at, we didn't stop," said junior guard LJ Cryer, one of four double-figure scorers for the Bears with 10 points.
            Drew said you can't give Kalscheur 3-pointers, "and he went 6-for-11."
            "At the end of the day, the second shots, heart, toughness, want-to, put all you want in there," Drew said. "We have to do a better job as coaches making sure that we prep our guys to win the 50-50 battles."
            After an exchange of 3-point daggers by both teams, Kalscheur gave the Cyclones the lead for good, 62-59, with 6:54 left and started a pivotal 9-0 run. The clincher came with 2:30 remaining when Holmes missed the front end of a one-and-one and scored on a layup to put Iowa State up 74-62.
            "They were men today, and we were boys," Bridges said. "Obviously, them crashing the offensive glass, that's uncharacteristic for us."
            The Cyclones scored 22 second-chance points off their 21 offensive rebounds and outscored the Bears, 36-14, in the paint.
            "It's just a matter of being the toughest team, and they were," said Adam Flagler, who finished with 14 points, four assists and three steals.
            Ultimately, Bridges said, "we have to have a better sense of urgency, more pride."
            "Rebounding is just about toughness and want-to," he said. "And right now, we don't have that."
            Baylor's backcourt trio of Flagler, freshman Keyonte George and Cryer scored 14, 11 and 10 points, respectively, but were a collective 9-for-31 from the field.
            Guard Tamin Lipsey had a double-double for ISU with 13 points, 11 rebounds, five steals and five assists, while Holmes and Tre King had 17 and 10 points, respectively.
            The silver lining is that the Bears will get in extra practices before the start of the NCAA Tournament next week. Selections will be announced at 5 p.m. Sunday on CBS, with Baylor expected to get likely a 2 or 3 seed.
            "Of course, you want to make the championship," George said, "but we've got to look at it a different way. We've got a chance to go back and practice. Go back to Waco and work on our game."

GAME HIGHLIGHTS

Baylor is 22-10 (11-7) on the season.
BU is 24-23 all time against the Cyclones.
Baylor is 1-5 all time against the Cyclones in the Big 12 Tournament.
Iowa State is just the sixth team in the Drew Era to beat the Bears three times in a season.

BU is 8-9 all time in the Big 12 Quarterfinals.
The Bears are 1-2 in the Drew Era when seeing a team to end the regular season and open the Big 12 Tournament.
The Bears shot 56.5% in the first half, the highest first-half percentage of the season.
Baylor's 14 made three-pointers are its most in a Big 12 Tournament game in program history.
Jalen Bridges set a new career high with 28 points.
Bridges set a career high in three-pointers attempted (8) and made (7).
Bridges .875 three-point field goal percentage is a new Big 12 Tournament record.
Bridges set a program record for three-pointers made in a Big 12 Tournament game (7).
Bridges shot .909 the highest in a Big 12 Tournament game in program history.
Bridges is the 10^th different player in program history with 8+ made threes in a game.
With three made three-pointers, Keyonte George now has 76 on the season, the most by a freshman in program history.
Adam Flagler's eclipsed the double-figure scoring mark for a 27^th time this season.
Flagler led the team in assists (4) for a 21^st time this season.
George, LJ Cryer and Caleb Lohner all made their Big 12 Tournament debuts.