KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Baylor got to experience the downside of earning a double-bye in the Big 12 Tournament on Thursday night. It was a slow start when the Bears were finally able to get on the floor against Cincinnati in the quarterfinal round. .
The Bearcats experienced the downside of playing in the opener. It was a leg fatigue that made him play 3 games in 3 days.
The No. 14 Bears finally got going in the second half when Ray J. Dennis and Jalen Bridges got the majority of the points, and Cincinnati ultimately lost momentum late, giving Baylor a 68-56 victory. and earned a spot in the semi-finals. .
The third seed in the tournament will play No. 7 Iowa State, the second seed, for a spot in the championship game.
“Unfortunately, there are a lot of teams that want to win,” Bears coach Scott Drew said. The team has never hoisted a trophy at the end of a conference tournament. “The second half is how we have to play tomorrow and move forward. If we play the other half the way we played the first half, we probably won't survive.”
Dennis led Baylor with 13 points, Bridges had 12 points and eight boards, Yves Missi also had 12 points, and the Bears (23-9) advanced to their eighth semifinal since Drew took over the program. advanced. He is 0-3 in championship games.
“We know that,” Drew said. “That’s something we would love to do.”
Dan Skillings Jr. had 15 points for the 11th-seeded Bearcats (20-14). John Newman III and Jizzle James each added 12.
Cincinnati coach Wes Miller said, “I'm proud of our team this week.” “They've been a resilient team all year and they were really resilient this week, but we just weren't good enough in the second half. We couldn't sustain it.”
The Bearcats were forced to begin their Big 12 Tournament march against West Virginia on Tuesday in a high-scoring game that expended a ton of energy. However, taking advantage of a team without All-American candidates Hunter Dickinson and Kevin McCuller Jr., they bounced back the next night and defeated No. 16 Kansas.
In the first few minutes of the Bears game, they were still rolling, as if they had been caught off guard. Skillings picked up where he left off with a 25-point performance against the Jayhawks, and Cincinnati built an early lead.
Baylor eventually regained its composure and was tied 26-24 by halftime in a low-scoring game.
The tired legs, and perhaps the tired hearts, finally seemed to show for the Bearcats in the second half.
When they weren't turning the ball over with sloppy passes or slippery fingers, they were making shots, but they weren't even close. Cincinnati looked to be a step behind defensively, but Dennis hit a series of floaters to shake off a first half where he was 0-for-7 from the field, then sank a 3-pointer to put Baylor up 11 1/2, 47-33. gave the lead. A few minutes left.
In the second half, the Bearcats struggled against the Bears' zone defense and managed to put together a 10-0 run to get back into contention, but were unable to regain the lead.
“We knew how well they could shoot. We knew their abilities,” Drew said. “The great thing is we have players who are really coachable. They don't make the same mistakes over and over again and they're also at a stage in the season where they coach themselves. That's a blessing.” .
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Cincinnati hasn't been to the NCAA Tournament since 2019, when Mick Cronin was still the coach. The Bearcats will find out Sunday if they survive or play in the NIT for the second straight year.
Baylor defeated the Cyclones in their only meeting earlier this season in Waco, Texas, winning 70-68 after Jaden Dunn scored with two seconds left. This game is probably best remembered as Drew's first career ejection.
