Advertisement

sportsBaylor Bears

3 takeaways from Baylor’s loss to Creighton: Bears’ 3-point struggles doom them

The No. 3 seed Bears were upset by the No. 6 Bluejays in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

Here are three takeaways from No. 3 seed Baylor’s disappointing 85-76 loss to No. 6 seed Creighton in the round of 32 of the NCAA Tournament Sunday evening in the Ball Arena in Denver:

Tough way to go out

Baylor has fallen in the second round of the NCAA Tournament for the second-straight season.

Advertisement

This one didn’t feel quite like last year, as the 2021-22 group rallied back against North Carolina and narrowly lost to the eventual runner-up national champion. On Sunday, the Bears were outplayed from tipoff until the end. They severely struggled to hit the three-ball, and it cost them in a big way.

Sports Roundup

Get the latest D-FW sports news, analysis, scores and more.

Or with:

That’s been the story of the season, though, as this team can beat just about anyone when it hits at the clip that it’s capable of. The fact of the matter is, that’s an unrealistic expectation come March. Players and rosters alike are subject to an off night and the only way to overcome that is with an elite defense.

Advertisement

This squad hasn’t had that all season long. It bought into that defensive mindset for spurts or halves but never in a consistent manner. No one wanted it to end this early, but Creighton found its separation in the way most people thought Baylor would have: 3-point shooting.

The Bears ended up shooting 46% from the floor, which is good enough to win ballgames. But a 23% mark from deep won’t cut it, especially when this team is catered to that shot from distance.

Looking ahead, head coach Scott Drew will have to replace Flo Thamba and likely Adam Flagler. Thamba has exhausted his eligibility, but Flagler can return for one more year if he so chooses. Jonathan Tchamwa Tchatchoua and Dale Bonner are two more seniors that are expected to return for another season but could leave the program if they desired.

Advertisement

Let everyone else beat you

It was pretty clear from the jump that head coach Scott Drew and his staff decided on how it would approach Creighton’s standout center, Ryan Kalkbrenner: Let everyone else beat you, but limit the “Big Fella.”

Kalkbrenner, who stands at an imposing frame of 7-foot-1, 260 pounds, was coming off a career-high 31-point outing against No. 12 seed NC State on Friday. The Bears were limiting him by suffocating the lane and allowing perimeter shooters to get good looks.

The Bluejays made them pay, as they hit 7-of-16 shots from deep in the first half.

That’s the price you pay when you make that decision. Kalkbrenner was limited to 10 points on 4-of-10 shooting, but three other double-digit scorers, highlighted by Ryan Nembhard’s 30 points, were able to support the lack of dominance from the inside.

Drop coverage

Creighton played drop coverage on most ball screens Baylor ran for its guards. Kalkbrenner would play way off the guard using the screen, and usually, the on-ball Bluejay defender was going over the pick. This created a lot of space in the mid-range for the Bears to try to utilize, but only Cryer seemed to get much going in the action.

Advertisement

With Keyonte George’s NCAA Tournament struggles, Adam Flagler and Cryer were the most feasible options in that soft spot off the pick-and-roll action. Cryer excelled in that department, as he finished with a career-high 30 points on 13-of-22 from the floor and 4-of-11 from beyond the arc.

Once Creighton found its game-clinching separation in the second half, there wasn’t much that the Bears could generate offensively. It tried once it got to desperation mode, but the Bluejays did their job and await the Princeton Tigers in the Sweet 16 in Louisville, Ky.

Twitter: @MichaelHaag_

Related Stories
View More
Advertisement

Find more Baylor coverage from The Dallas Morning News here.

Find more college sports coverage from The Dallas Morning News here.