3 Immediate Takeaways from Baylor's Brutal Loss to No. 7 Texas
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Down one point, the Bears had a sideline out-of-bounds play with 13 seconds on the clock. The ball found an open Isaac Celiscar in the corner, who launched an uncomfortable shot that hit the front of the iron.
The long-awaited rematch of Texas and Baylor on the hardwood arrived in San Antonio at the Frost Bank Center. The Bears have dominated the rivalry in recent history, winning 12 of the previous 15 games, but the Longhorns clipped Baylor 75-72 in the nail-biting game.
Baylor pulled ahead early with excellent shooting from beyond the arc, but Texas answered with a late first-half push and carried the momentum for most of the game. Here are three takeaways:
The Kayden Mingo vs. Isaiah Johnson matchup was fun to watch
The point guards stepped up on both sides of the ball. Baylor's Kayden Mingo showed out with 23 points along with six rebounds and assists.
On the other side, Texas guard Isaiah Johnson posted 26 points and shot a perfect 4-for-4 from deep. The performances were both stellar, and there is a lot to be excited about for Mingo this season, but Johnson gets to go home with the win.
Huge physicality test against Matas Vokietaitis
The Longhorns are a different team when junior center Matas Vokietaitis isn't on the court (+/- stat). He was throwing elbows and using his 7-foot frame to do the dirty work under the basket.
The Bears' veteran frontcourt tandem of fifth-year Caden Powell and senior Juslin Bodo Bodo had a hard test against Vokietaitis, who got to be just about as physical as he wanted in the paint. The Texas big man did early damage but was only allowed three points in the second half.
The adjustment gave the Bears a great chance, but they couldn't find an answer on other parts of the court.
The dynamic of the physicality changed when the refs lost all control early in the second half. Baylor's best defenders Evan Chatman and Dylan Mingo had a very quick whistle, and both teams began flopping; it got ugly, and the 44 calls in the afternoon took away from the momentum of the game.
Get Isaac Williams or Kayden Mingo the rock
Although he doesn't start, junior Isaac Williams IV is the guy that wants the ball when the Bears need a bucket. During a 0-8 FG drought in the first half, Williams was the one to hit a pair of impressive shots to stop the bleeding.
Kayden Mingo is likely the most talented player on the floor for the Bears. He can light it up from all three levels and came up with several huge shots in the afternoon.
Perhaps most notably was Mingo's go-ahead 3-pointer to draw a Longhorns timeout with 4:30 to play. He never got a chance for the game winner.
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Bennett is an undergrad student at Baylor University, studying journalism on the sports track. He is from the DFW area and grew up playing and watching sports, which inspired him to pursue sports writing.
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