Baylor tries to land another punch in Big 12 play vs. Utah

Field Level Media|published: Fri 24th January, 21:27 2025

NCAA Basketball: Texas Christian at Baylor

Jan 19, 2025; Waco, Texas, USA; Baylor Bears guard VJ Edgecombe (7) celebrates with Baylor Bears guard Jeremy Roach (3) after a play against the TCU Horned Frogs during the first half at Paul and Alejandra Foster Pavilion. Mandatory Credit: Chris Jones-Imagn Images

Kansas State received something unexpected after Wednesday's loss to Baylor -- a motivational postgame speech from the opponent's head coach.

Baylor coach Scott Drew, whose Bears (12-6, 4-3 Big 12) play Utah (11-7, 3-4) on Saturday in Salt Lake City, delivered a unique act of compassion after the 70-62 outcome. He came to the visitor's locker room and gave a pep talk to the Wildcats, whose coach, Jerome Tang, was his assistant at Baylor for 19 years.

VJ Edgecombe led Baylor with 30 points, while Jalen Celestine added 18 points and seven rebounds to help the Bears win after back-to-back losses.

"I know what (Tang is) going through. It's never easy losing, not when you pour your heart and soul into a team," Drew said. "I've been through the wars with him. That's one thing in the profession -- the highs are really good, but the lows are tough. I just wanted to make sure that their team know that there are a lot of games to be played and they've got the best coach leading them."

The Utes didn't get a pep talk from an opponent after Wednesday's game against Houston, but it might have required one doozy of a speech to lift their spirits after losing 70-36 to the seventh-ranked Cougars.

Nobody on Utah scored in double figures, with Gabe Madsen (eight points) and Keanu Dawes (seven points, nine rebounds) putting forth the best individual efforts. It was a rout after Houston stormed ahead 26-5 with an 18-0 run.

"There's a lot of teams that come in here and feel like this, but we've got to be better. That didn't look like how we've been playing," Utah coach Craig Smith told ESPN700 AM. "And that's credit to them, but it's also some of us. It just felt like our mindset, when we got punched, some of our guys looked almost shellshocked. At this point, when you're seven games in, you've got to have a feel for what Big 12 play is like."

Utah had won three in a row, including last Saturday's 73-72 overtime victory over rival BYU.

Norchad Omier paces Baylor with 15.1 points and 10.1 rebounds per game. Madsen tops Utah with 15.3 points per game.

--Field Level Media