No. 10 Baylor beats No. 20 Texas 80-63 after losing big man

Published Feb. 12, 2022 2:33 p.m. ET

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WACO, Texas (AP) — Adam Flagler had 20 points with four 3-pointers and 10th-ranked Baylor, after losing big man Jonathan Tchamwa Tchatchoua to a gruesome left knee injury, went on to beat No. 20 Texas 80-63 on Saturday.

Flagler made his first five shots, including three 3s, while scoring 13 points in the first half when Baylor (21-4, 9-3 Big 12) had two huge spurts — first a 12-0 run, and later a stretch of 13 consecutive points.

James Akinjo added 15 points with seven assists and six rebounds for the Bears. Flo Thamba, the 6-foot-10 forward forced into extended minutes with Tchamwa Tchatchoua hurt, had 12 points and 11 rebounds in a career-high 30 minutes. Kendall Brown had 10 points and eight rebounds.

Andrew Jones had 11 points for the Longhorns (18-7, 7-4), their most lopsided loss in coach Chris Beard's first season coming five days after a home win over eighth-ranked Kansas. Five other Texas players finished with eight points as the Longhorns shot only 32.8% (20 of 61).

Tchamwa Tchatchoua, the 6-foot-8 forward from Cameroon known as “Everyday Jon” because of his high-energy play, was going down the court after a missed shot by the Bears when he got hurt. His left leg turned awkwardly and he crumbled to the floor near midcourt with just under 12 minutes left in the first half.

Beard quickly checked on the Bears player, who was in obvious pain and didn't put any weight on his left leg when helped to the locker room after being tended to on the court for several minutes. A school spokesman said Tchamwa Tchatchoua had a significant injury and was out indefinitely.

The Longhorns had an early 8-4 run and Baylor had missed six of its first seven shots before a 3-pointer from the right wing by Flagler. That was the first of eight points in less than a minute to start that 12-0 run.

Tchamwa Tchatchoua grabbed a defensive rebound that led to a 3 by Mayer. Sochan then had a steal on a bad pass by Timmy Allen, and Akinjo made an alley-oop pass to Tchamwa Tchatchoua for an easy basket.

Flagler had seven points in the 13-0 run by the Bears that put them up 31-15 after two free throws by Dale Bonner.

Jones hit a pair of 3-pointers in a 10-0 run for the Longhorns midway through the second half. They were within 62-51 after two free throws by Timmy Allen with 9:18 left but never got closer.

BIG PICTURE

Texas: The Longhorns, set to play two more ranked teams this week, have gone 3-2 their last five games — all against Top 25 opponents. All the wins were at home, including the win over Kansas last Monday night, and both losses were on the road.

Baylor: The Bears shot 50% (26 of 52) from the field. ... Tchamwa Tchatchoua was coming off a career-high 21 points in Baylor’s win Wednesday night at Kansas State.

POLL IMPLICATIONS

Baylor will extend its school-record streak of consecutive AP polls in the top 10 to 44 in a row. It will be the 52nd consecutive poll overall with the Bears ranked. The Longhorns likely will drop a couple of spots, but the Kansas win should be enough to keep them from falling out of the poll.

UP NEXT

Texas: At No. 12 Oklahoma on Tuesday night.

Baylor: At No. 9 Texas Tech on Wednesday night.

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More AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball and https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25

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Flo Thamba

Andrew Jones

Jonathan Tchamwa Tchatchoua

Adam Flagler

Texas Longhorns

Baylor Bears