MBB Uses Strong Second Half to Beat Back Cincinnati

Thursday, March 14

Kansas City, Mo

8:30 pm

Baylor

Cincinnati

MBB Uses Strong Second Half to Beat Back Cincinnati

3/15/2024 12:36:00 AM | Men's Basketball

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BU advances to the Big 12 Championship Semifinals for the first time since 2021

By: Jerry Hill

By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – While the 14^th-ranked and third-seeded Baylor Bears sat around for two days, getting "a little jittery," the 11^th-seeded Cincinnati Bearcats were playing two games in as many days and reaching the quarterfinals with an upset of 16^th-ranked but shorthanded Kansas.

That formula played out in Thursday's Big 12 Championship quarterfinals with an excruciatingly slow start by the Bears and maybe tired legs by the Bearcats at the end, as Baylor (23-9) hit eight-straight shots at one point in the second half and went on a pivotal 12-2 run en route to a 68-56 win at the T-Mobile Center.

"We knew nothing would be easy," Baylor coach Scott Drew said. "The only downside to the double bye (as a top-4 seed) is that first half, you've got to get them jitters out and get used to everything. And I think second half was a lot truer to what we are offensively. We scored 44 points instead of 24. Defensively, we were really good. On the glass, we were good. Turnovers were too high to advance in postseason. Hopefully, we're better (Friday)."

With the Bears missing their first nine shots from the field, Cincinnati (20-14) jumped out to a 12-3 lead in a pattern of slow starts that have plagued Baylor, particularly over the last month.

In the first half, Baylor didn't make its first field goal until 8 ½ minutes and shot just 25% overall and 1-of-10 from 3-point range. The Bearcats led pretty much from the opening tip and were up 26-24 at the break.

"I think coaches are always nervous about everything. So, definitely not a sense of peace," Drew said of trailing by just two points despite such a rough start. "First half was rough on us all, but we were pleased with the defense; we were pleased with the rebounding."

Checking in for the first time at the 11:57 mark in the first half, Caleb Lohner played a key role in "keeping us in the game," Toledo transfer RayJ Dennis said. Lohner made an immediate impact with three rebounds in a 52-second stretch and made a pair of free throws and a layup that tied the game at 12-12.

"Caleb is probably one of the best teammates I've ever played with," said Dennis, who scored 11 of his team-high 13 points in the second half and had six of the Bears' 11 assists. "He's always really positive, a really good dude. Tonight, he played extended minutes and honestly kept us in the game, kept our energy in the first half and was great all night."

For much of the second half, it didn't even look like the same game. After hitting just six first-half field goals, the Bears made eight-straight shots in a 19-4 run that included a pair of 3-pointers by freshman Ja'Kobe Walter and a step-back 3 by Dennis that made it 47-33 with 11 ½ minutes left.

"For my coaches and my teammates always putting confidence in me, and they all keep their composure," said Dennis, who was 5-for-6 from the field in the second half, "so there is no reason for me to lose mine. And that's why the game is played as two halves."

A combined 0-for-14 in the first half with six of the Bears' 10 turnovers, Dennis, Walter and senior forward Jalen Bridges were 12-for-21 in the second half and scored 32 of Baylor's 44 points. Bridges finished a rebound shy of a double-double with 12 points and nine boards.

The difference, though, was a Baylor zone defense that helped cool off a Cincinnati team that had made 25 3-pointers in the first two games of the Big 12 tournament.

"We are definitely aware of how well (Cincinnati has) shot it and what they're capable of," Drew said, "but why the zone was effective – the guys, the players, really played hard, competed, and tried to challenge, contest as many shots. I thought Yves (Missi) blocked a couple, altered a couple, and the guards really did a good job in not giving them too many easies, because they've been on fire from 3."

The Bearcats responded with a 10-0 run that made it a four-point game, but they never got any closer. After Simas Lukosius hit a high-arching 3-pointer to make it a two-possession game with his first points of the night, Baylor outscored Cincinnati, 8-2, over the last 2 ½ minutes.

Matched against fellow 7-footer Aziz Bandago, Missi had 12 points, six assists and a pair of blocks.

"He's an elite shot blocker," Drew said of Bandago, who had four blocks in 15 minutes before fouling out. "I think Yves and Josh (Ojianwuna) did a good job of being aggressive and putting hm in tough positions so he could get in foul trouble, because obviously he really affects the game at the rim when he's in."

Walter finished with 12 points, six rebounds, two blocks and a steal, while Jayden Nunn chipped in with nine points, five steals, four rebounds and two assists.

The Bearcats were led by Dan Skillings Jr. with a game-high 15 points. John Newman III and Jizzle James, the son of former NFL running back Edgerrin James, scored 12 points apiece.

Baylor advances to Friday's 8:30 p.m. semifinal versus seventh-ranked and second-seeded Iowa State (25-7), which dominated Kansas State, 76-57, in the other evening quarterfinal game.

In an all-scratch semifinal round, top-ranked Houston (29-3) will face fourth-seeded and 25^th-ranked Texas Tech at 6 p.m. Friday, with the championship set for 5 p.m. Saturday.