The last time Baylor missed an NCAA Tournament, the Bears finished below .500 in conference play.
That came in 2018, and longtime Baylor coach Scott Drew undoubtedly is hoping his current team doesn’t suffer the same fate.
But that is where the Bears (10-5, 0-3 Big 12) find themselves as they meet Oklahoma State on Tuesday night in Stillwater, Okla.
Baylor is coming off back-to-back losses to ranked Big 12 opponents Iowa State and Houston. The No. 7 Cougars shellacked the Bears on Saturday 77-55, scoring 31 points off 16 Baylor turnovers.
Houston also had 23 offensive rebounds, which helped the Cougars attempt 74 shots compared to 41 for Baylor.
Guard Cameron Carr, Baylor’s leading scorer at 20.5 points per game, told reporters that he expects his teammates to turn their game around against the Cowboys.
“I feel like Oklahoma State, you guys are going to see a different team of Baylor. I think we are going to learn. And I feel like everybody’s open to accepting a new role or taking like a prideless approach. And so I’m excited to see where we go from this,” Carr said, adding, “Nobody wanted a 0-and-3 start to conference play.”
Oklahoma State (13-3, 1-2) is coming off Saturday’s 83-71 loss to then-No. 3 Iowa State, where rebounding also was the key for Cowboys coach Steve Lutz.
The Cyclones led 42-40 at halftime. Iowa State recorded two offensive and 10 defensive boards in the first half. For Oklahoma State, the numbers were three and 13, respectively.
But in the second half, Iowa State put in 10 second-chance points compared to none for Oklahoma State after outrebounding the Cowboys by 14.
“We’ve got to figure out a way when we miss shots to rebound the basketball,” Lutz said after the loss.
“In the first half, we rebounded the basketball,” he continued. “I mean, we were up four at the half on the boards and then we get our butts just trounced in the second half 24 to 10, and that’s the difference in the game.”
Oklahoma State is led in scoring by guard Anthony Roy, who averages 17.6 points per game.
