3 takeaways from Baylor’s loss to Texas: Tyrese Hunter’s buzzer-beater stuns Bears
Baylor #Baylor
Here are three takeaways from No. 9 Baylor’s second-straight conference loss on Saturday in the Moody Center in Austin.
3-point frenzy
For most of Saturday’s game, it felt like neither team could miss a 3-point shot. Both squads were a combined (48.7%) from deep. It seems the Bears (14-4, 3-2 Big 12) saved all their makes for this one, as they’ve m 10 of 48 shots from distance over their last two games.
Baylor entered the contest with the third-best 3-point percentage in the nation (40.4%), but even with a 10-for-23 day against then-No. 18 BYU on Jan. 9, the squad is shooting 22-of-86 in Big 12 play. This meeting with Texas (13-5, 2-3 Big 12) is a reminder that the Bears’ success across nonconference games was no fluke, even in the midst of a loss.
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Baylor just went scoreless for too long, as a game-tying 3-pointer by Jalen Bridges with five seconds left in the game was their first field goal since Langston Love made a layup at the 9:10 mark.
Adios, Austin
Saturday marked the final Big 12 meeting between Baylor and Texas in Austin. The Horns came away with the victory in the 262nd all-time matchup — the most-played rivalry in Baylor history that dates back 108 years. Head coach Scott Drew now holds a 21-23 record against Texas.
The victory came in dramatic fashion, as Texas guard Tyrese Hunter scored the game-winning layup as time expired.
The two programs will get one more crack at it as conference foes when the Horns visit the Foster Pavilion on March 4. This won’t be the end of the rivalry, though. Drew has already said this will be a great nonconference game for the future, given the 100-mile difference between Austin and Waco.
OK, rook
Big 12 play hasn’t been Ja’Kobe Walter’s best friend, as he even mentioned being in a “slump” during a press conference on Friday. But the true freshman regained his stroke on Saturday, putting up 22 points on 3 of 7 shooting from beyond the arc. Walter, a projected lottery pick in the 2024 NBA draft, entered the game as the 11th-best scorer in the league at 14.8 points per game.
This is a huge confidence booster for the McKinney native, as he’ll look to continue that hot-shooting when the Bears host TCU a week from now in the Foster Pavilion.
Twitter/X: @MichaelHaag_
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