No. 4 Baylor Escapes No. 22 Texas Tech's Upset Bid in 57-52 Win

Texas Tech's 15-game home win streak is no more.

The No. 22 Red Raiders fell 57-52 to the No. 4 Baylor Bears at United Supermarkets Arena on Tuesday, dropping its first conference game this season and allowing another Big 12 contender to get a leg up as January ramps up in college basketball.

A home loss in the Big 12 doesn't exactly disqualify teams from winning a title, but in a league where teams play a home-and-home with every school in the conference, it creates some ground that's tough to make up.

In TTU's case, it's especially concerning given that three of the Red Raiders' next four games come on the road.

The loss drops Tech to 10-4 (1-1, Big 12) on the year and likely knocks it out of the Top 25. Aside from the stunning neutral-court upset against No. 1 Louisville in early December, head coach Chris Beard's squad is short on resume-building wins. A victory over Baylor would have certainly done the trick. Now Tech will have to prove it can win in hostile environments if it hopes to defend its share of the 2019 Big 12 title.

Notable Performers

• Mark Vital, G, Bears: 8 points, 13 rebounds, 3 steals
• Davion Mitchell, G, Bears: 14 points, 4 rebounds
• Kyler Edwards, G, Red Raiders: 10 points, 4 blocks, 3 assists, 2 rebounds
• Jahmi'us Ramsey, G, Red Raiders: 20 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists

Baylor Briefly Brings Back the Zone

Baylor coach Scott Drew has said that his current Bears team doesn't have the length or agility to play his patented zone defense and has relied on man-to-man for most of the year. So it showed a bit of growth when twice in crunch time Tuesday Drew couldn't help himself and pulled out his scheme. Just as Tech was starting to make a run with three minutes left, Drew went to a zone defense and trusted his team to figure it out on the floor. He did the same thing with less than a minute remaining and the Bears up by five.

It wasn't necessarily the best strategy, but it caught the Red Raiders off guard enough to throw them off their rhythm. That alone was a victory for Baylor as the season moves past the "it's early" phase into the part where teams' identities have become rather clear.

For Baylor, on defense at least, that seems to be a work in progress still. If the Bears can consistently play zone when needed, it will give Drew's team a wrinkle that could help it stand out in a top-heavy Big 12.

Texas Tech Needs More from Ramsey

The Red Raiders haven't boasted a freshman as hyped as guard Jahmi'us Ramsey in a long time, so it's worth giving them a bit of slack when it comes to managing his development throughout the year.

What has become increasingly clear, however, is the need for Ramsey to remain an impact player every minute he's on the floor—the ability of Tech to make another strong run in the NCAA tournament may very well depend on it.

Consider that Ramsey scored just six points in the first half before catching fire in the final frame to finish with 20. He's no longer able to hide just how good of a three-point shooter he is (5-of-10 against Baylor) with teams starting to run him off the line, so TTU will need him to be able to drive and draw fouls more often.

That was rare Tuesday. Overall, Tech's free-throw shooting was poor (5-of-12), but Ramsey only shooting two free throws is exactly what opponents dream of when thinking of an upset bid.

The freshman will be a marquee player come March. How much he grows between now and then will say a lot about his team's chances to advance through that month.

What's Next?

The Red Raiders travel to No. 17 West Virginia for a Saturday evening contest against a Mountaineers team looking to build off a 55-41 victory over Oklahoma State on Monday. Baylor, meanwhile, will continue its road trip with a stop in Lawrence to take on No. 3 Kansas at Allen Fieldhouse.