BEEN THERE, DONE THAT
3/13/2025 11:18:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Omier, zone defense spark second-half comeback that falls just short, 76-74
Jerry Hill, BaylorBears.com
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Maybe it helps that Baylor's been here and done that.
Digging big holes early, the Bears were blown out in losses to Gonzaga and Tennessee and came back to beat St. John's on a buzzer-beating 3-pointer.
Even when ninth-ranked Texas Tech (25-7) hit eight shots in a row and built a double-digit lead in the first five minutes of Thursday's quarterfinal in the Big 12 Championship, the Bears (19-14) never went away.
Getting back into it with a suffocating zone defense, much like the St. John's game, Baylor had a chance for another buzzer-beater. But freshman VJ Edgecombe was long on a running 3-pointer as the Bears bowed out of the tournament with a 76-74 loss at the T-Mobile Center.
"Credit the guys for getting the shot up and executing, trusting each other," Baylor coach Scott Drew said. "By the time you get the rebound (off a missed free throw), pass it . . . you don't have much time to do anything else. I was just proud of the effort to come back and be in that position."
As much as Baylor's comeback was built on the switch from a man-to-man defense to the zone – after Tech hit 12-of-19 from 3-point range to build a 52-39 halftime lead – the Bears also got a combined 21 second-half points from Miami transfer Norchad Omier and senior guard Jayden Nunn.
Recording his school-record 21st double-double and 89th of his career, Omier scored a season-high 29 points and grabbed 15 rebounds, including five of Baylor's 13 offensive boards. He now ranks second in NCAA history and is seven shy of the record set 70 years ago by La Salle's Tom Gola.
"You know that they're a great team coming in," Omier said of Tech, which handed third-ranked Houston its only conference loss of the season. "Nobody saw that coming in, five players were hitting 3's. It was amazing. But at the same time, I came into the locker room and told the guys (Tech) couldn't play better than that."
After lights-out shooting in the first half, the Red Raiders hit just 19.4% in the second half and 3-of-15 from outside the arc, getting outscored 35-24.
"Really, the key was the players really communicated, really bought in and helped each other and really contested shots, made things tough," Drew said. "And then, for the most part, we did a better job of rebounding, and we were able to get in transition. Norchad and VJ are two of the best talkers you will find, and in the huddles, they were tremendous and did a great job leading the team."
It took Baylor less than five minutes to get within single digits. Finishing off a 6-0 run, Edgecombe had a fastbreak layup to pull the Bears back within eight, 60-52.
"Just defense," Nunn said of what sparked the second-half comeback. "Going out there and giving our all on the defensive end, taking care of ourselves on both offense and defense. But defense, for sure. I know they shot 19% in the second half, so that was a big factor."
Scoreless in the first half after an 18-point performance in Baylor's second-round win over Kansas State, Nunn had 10 second-half points and drained a 3-pointer with 13.1 seconds left that made it a one-possession game, 74-72.
"It was big, just getting it under two (possessions)," Nunn said, "giving us a closer chance at winning. That was big. I just took my time, got in rhythm and just shot it."
Frustrated by Baylor's zone, Tech missed its last 10 shots from the field, hit one of its last 14 and didn't make a field goal in the last seven minutes. The Red Raiders kept the lead by hitting six-straight free throws, but freshman Christian Anderson left the door open when he missed a pair of free throws with 4.5 seconds left.
Out of timeouts, Omier grabbed the rebound off the second miss and made a quick outlet pass to Edgecombe, who got the shot off just before the final buzzer.
"I'm for sure thinking buzzer-beater, no matter who shot it," Nunn said. "I'm thinking it's going in because I trust my teammates. Anybody could have taken that last shot, and I would have thought it was going in. God had a different plan for the end of the game."
Edgecombe finished with 11 points, seven rebounds and five assists, while Duke transfer Jeremy Roach and freshman Robert O. Wright III chipped in nine and eight points, respectively.
"First half, we were worried about finding a way to get stops," Drew said. "And second half, I think we really showed what we're capable of. And we've been playing really good basketball. Need to get Langston (Love) healthy and need to get everybody dialed in for the tournament, because it's a little different feeling when you lose that game, and you know it's the last time.
"I want to coach these guys longer. I think they want to play longer. So, we will work to get better so we can."
In all-chalk semifinals, top-seeded Houston (28-4) will face fourth-seeded and 17th-ranked BYU (24-8) at 6 p.m. Friday, followed by Tech versus third-seeded Arizona (21-11) at 8:30.
Baylor now awaits the NCAA Tournament selections, which will be announced at 5 p.m. Sunday on CBS.
"I think the win last night ended the bubble talk," said Drew, whose team moved up to a No. 9 seed in Joe Lunardi's latest bracketology. "As far as where we will play, when we will play, we will find out like everybody else."
Omier, who went to a Final Four with Miami, said "there is no better feeling than playing in March."
"Playing basketball is fun, but getting a win in March, there is no better feeling than that," he said. "That's all I can say. I'm excited."
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Maybe it helps that Baylor's been here and done that.
Digging big holes early, the Bears were blown out in losses to Gonzaga and Tennessee and came back to beat St. John's on a buzzer-beating 3-pointer.
Even when ninth-ranked Texas Tech (25-7) hit eight shots in a row and built a double-digit lead in the first five minutes of Thursday's quarterfinal in the Big 12 Championship, the Bears (19-14) never went away.
Getting back into it with a suffocating zone defense, much like the St. John's game, Baylor had a chance for another buzzer-beater. But freshman VJ Edgecombe was long on a running 3-pointer as the Bears bowed out of the tournament with a 76-74 loss at the T-Mobile Center.
"Credit the guys for getting the shot up and executing, trusting each other," Baylor coach Scott Drew said. "By the time you get the rebound (off a missed free throw), pass it . . . you don't have much time to do anything else. I was just proud of the effort to come back and be in that position."
As much as Baylor's comeback was built on the switch from a man-to-man defense to the zone – after Tech hit 12-of-19 from 3-point range to build a 52-39 halftime lead – the Bears also got a combined 21 second-half points from Miami transfer Norchad Omier and senior guard Jayden Nunn.
Recording his school-record 21st double-double and 89th of his career, Omier scored a season-high 29 points and grabbed 15 rebounds, including five of Baylor's 13 offensive boards. He now ranks second in NCAA history and is seven shy of the record set 70 years ago by La Salle's Tom Gola.
"You know that they're a great team coming in," Omier said of Tech, which handed third-ranked Houston its only conference loss of the season. "Nobody saw that coming in, five players were hitting 3's. It was amazing. But at the same time, I came into the locker room and told the guys (Tech) couldn't play better than that."
After lights-out shooting in the first half, the Red Raiders hit just 19.4% in the second half and 3-of-15 from outside the arc, getting outscored 35-24.
"Really, the key was the players really communicated, really bought in and helped each other and really contested shots, made things tough," Drew said. "And then, for the most part, we did a better job of rebounding, and we were able to get in transition. Norchad and VJ are two of the best talkers you will find, and in the huddles, they were tremendous and did a great job leading the team."
It took Baylor less than five minutes to get within single digits. Finishing off a 6-0 run, Edgecombe had a fastbreak layup to pull the Bears back within eight, 60-52.
"Just defense," Nunn said of what sparked the second-half comeback. "Going out there and giving our all on the defensive end, taking care of ourselves on both offense and defense. But defense, for sure. I know they shot 19% in the second half, so that was a big factor."
Scoreless in the first half after an 18-point performance in Baylor's second-round win over Kansas State, Nunn had 10 second-half points and drained a 3-pointer with 13.1 seconds left that made it a one-possession game, 74-72.
"It was big, just getting it under two (possessions)," Nunn said, "giving us a closer chance at winning. That was big. I just took my time, got in rhythm and just shot it."
Frustrated by Baylor's zone, Tech missed its last 10 shots from the field, hit one of its last 14 and didn't make a field goal in the last seven minutes. The Red Raiders kept the lead by hitting six-straight free throws, but freshman Christian Anderson left the door open when he missed a pair of free throws with 4.5 seconds left.
Out of timeouts, Omier grabbed the rebound off the second miss and made a quick outlet pass to Edgecombe, who got the shot off just before the final buzzer.
"I'm for sure thinking buzzer-beater, no matter who shot it," Nunn said. "I'm thinking it's going in because I trust my teammates. Anybody could have taken that last shot, and I would have thought it was going in. God had a different plan for the end of the game."
Edgecombe finished with 11 points, seven rebounds and five assists, while Duke transfer Jeremy Roach and freshman Robert O. Wright III chipped in nine and eight points, respectively.
"First half, we were worried about finding a way to get stops," Drew said. "And second half, I think we really showed what we're capable of. And we've been playing really good basketball. Need to get Langston (Love) healthy and need to get everybody dialed in for the tournament, because it's a little different feeling when you lose that game, and you know it's the last time.
"I want to coach these guys longer. I think they want to play longer. So, we will work to get better so we can."
In all-chalk semifinals, top-seeded Houston (28-4) will face fourth-seeded and 17th-ranked BYU (24-8) at 6 p.m. Friday, followed by Tech versus third-seeded Arizona (21-11) at 8:30.
Baylor now awaits the NCAA Tournament selections, which will be announced at 5 p.m. Sunday on CBS.
"I think the win last night ended the bubble talk," said Drew, whose team moved up to a No. 9 seed in Joe Lunardi's latest bracketology. "As far as where we will play, when we will play, we will find out like everybody else."
Omier, who went to a Final Four with Miami, said "there is no better feeling than playing in March."
"Playing basketball is fun, but getting a win in March, there is no better feeling than that," he said. "That's all I can say. I'm excited."
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