MBB Earns Fifth-Straight Victory in Fort Worth over TCU

Tuesday, March 4

Fort Worth, TX

7 PM

Baylor

18-12,10-9Big 12

TCU

16-14,9-10Big 12

Baylor

TCU

MBB Earns Fifth-Straight Victory in Fort Worth over TCU

3/4/2025 9:35:00 PM | Men's Basketball

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By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider

FORT WORTH, Texas – Even with freshman Robert O. Wright III coming off a game where he shot 6-of-10 from the free throw line, Baylor coach Scott Drew said that "when the game is on the line, you don't bet on him."

With the game and potentially Baylor's NCAA Tournament hopes on the line, Wright calmly knocked down a pair of free throws with 2.2 seconds left as the Bears held on for a 61-58 win over the TCU Horned Frogs Tuesday night at Schollmaier Arena.

"What is great about this team . . . whoever has the open shot, whoever has the best look, that's who we want taking it," Drew said. "Everybody trusts everybody. One thing about Rob, and VJ (Edgecombe) will attest to this, because they're both cut from the same cloth: when the game is on the line, don't bet against him."

Nodding his head in approval, Edgecombe said he has "nothing but confidence in Rob."

"When he went to the free throw line, I was happy. I know he's clutch. I know he's going to make the free throws," said Edgecombe, who finished with 18 points, seven rebounds, three assists and two steals. "He's been working on it. Rob is in the gym every day, all day, trying to get better. I know he's going to produce, for sure."

Wright and Edgecombe were probably in third grade back in 2014, when Baylor's Big 12 championship football team defeated the Horned Frogs by that exact same score, 61-58.

"You know we're getting older," Drew said. "I find out with all my movie references that they weren't born yet. My bad."

In a rather bizarre oddity, this was the Bears' fifth-straight road win over the Horned Frogs (16-14, 8-10) in Fort Worth and the eighth-consecutive game in this series that the home team has lost.

"Probably, (TCU coach Jamie Dixon) and I need to make an agreement, because it stinks losing at home," Drew said. "But I'm happy at least that we got this win before we make the agreement. . . . Anytime you beat a Jamie Dixon-coached team, you've got to win it, because he does a phenomenal job."

Much like the Bears' three-point loss to TCU back on Jan. 19 in Waco, they held the lead for more than 30 minutes and seemed to be in control. At least until they weren't.

Edgecombe had a throw-down dunk off a steal to start a 12-4 run that pushed Baylor's lead to 56-45 when he hit a turnaround jumper right before the under-8 media timeout.

But the Horned Frogs (16-14, 9-10) didn't go quietly into the night. They answered with a 13-2 run of their own and tied it at 58-58 on a second-chance bucket by Trazarien White, who had 11 points and seven assists off the bench.

With a foul to give, TCU's Vasean Allette was whistled for back-to-back fouls that put Wright on the line for a 1-and-1 with 2.2 seconds left on the clock. Wright calmly sank them both to give the Bears the lead back, and Miami transfer Norchad Omier made 1-of-2 with 1.0 second left top this one away.

"When you play with passion, that's what it's going to take," Edgecombe said. "I'm just trying to do all the little things – diving into the bench, whatever it takes to win."

Drew said Edgecombe was "trying to get subbed out" when he dove into the Baylor bench trying to get a loose ball, "but I was like, 'No, I'm not letting you out.'''

Omier recorded his 18^th double-double of the season and 86^th in his career – tied for fourth all-time with Kenneth Faried of Montana State and Armando Baccott of North Carolina – with 19 points and 12 rebounds, hitting a pair of 3-pointers in a 12-2 second-half run and then icing it with a free throw with one second left.

"We've been close to the bubble area," Drew said of the Bears being one of the "last four with byes" in Joe Lunardi's basketball bracketology. "We're not used to being in this position and getting a road win like this was huge for that. And at the same time, you've got to get momentum, and you've got to be playing better."

Green Bay transfer Noah Reynolds led the Horned Frogs with 16 points and four assists.

Baylor closes out the regular season at home with a matchup against third-ranked Houston (26-4, 18-1) at 9 p.m. Saturday at Foster Pavilion. The Cougars have already wrapped up their second-consecutive Big 12 title and have won nine in a row, including Monday's 65-59 homecourt victory over Kansas.