TCU stymies Baylor for 6th straight win

Micah Robinson scored 13 points, and the TCU defense clamped down on high-scoring Baylor for a 69-63 win Saturday in Fort Worth, Texas, in the teams' Big 12 Conference opener.

TCU (11-3 overall) also got 12 points from Xavier Edmonds as it won its sixth straight game.

The Bears (10-3) were led by Cameron Carr with 17 points.

Baylor came in with the fifth-highest-scoring offense in the nation, averaging 95.6 points per game, and had scored more than 100 in three straight games.

The relentless TCU defense held the Bears to 37% shooting (22 of 59) from the field and 5 of 21 on 3-pointers. Baylor did go on a 14-3 run late to cut the lead to 64-60 with 2:22 left on two Carr free throws. David Punch scored on a layup with 28 seconds left, however, to push the TCU lead back to six.

The game featured the college debut of James Nnaji for the Bears. The 7-foot freshman was the 31st pick in the 2023 NBA Draft but never played in the league.

After playing in Europe for four years, Nnaji was ruled eligible on Christmas Eve to play for Baylor.

Nnaji, the only Baylor player without his name on his jersey, finished with five points, four rebounds and four fouls in 16 minutes.

The Horned Frogs took a 29-23 lead into halftime on the back of five first-half 3-pointers. The Bears shot just 36% (10 of 28) from the floor, including 2 of 9 from 3-point range. Baylor missed nine of its last 11 shots down the stretch in the first half. TCU didn't shoot much better for the half at 38% (12 of 32) but made its 3-pointers from the corner.

The Horned Frogs jumped to a 14-6 lead by nailing four early 3-pointers. Nnaji made his debut with 11:59 left in the half, and the Bears went on a run to take the lead with him in the game.

Carr led the charge when he hit a free throw and followed with a 3-pointer to make it 16-12 TCU with 9:54 left. Nnaji scored his first college points on a dunk off an offensive rebound. That sparked a 7-0 run, with Tounde Yessoufou hitting a 3-pointer and a 12-foot jumper to give Baylor its first lead at 19-18.

Nnaji left the game 10 seconds later, and TCU went on the run that gave it the six-point lead at the break.

--Field Level Media