Last Updated 6:07 PM, January 01, 2022
Andy Wittry

No. 1 Baylor stays undefeated with win in top-10 clash over No. 8 Iowa State

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James Akinjo on Baylor's win over previously undefeated Iowa State
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9:11 pm, January 1, 2022

Final: No. 1 Baylor, No. 8 Iowa State

Chris Jones | USA TODAY Sports Images Baylor defeated Iowa State.

There are now just three undefeated teams remaining in DI men's college basketball. On Saturday afternoon on the first day of 2022, No. 1 Baylor went to Ames, Iowa, and handed No. 8 Iowa State a 77-72 loss in a game in which both teams entered with a 12-0 record. The Bears won their first-ever national championship last season, while the Cyclones lost their final 18 games of the 2020-21 season as part of a two-win campaign, yet they've been one of the surprise teams through the first two months of the 2022 campaign.

While Iowa State's 9-0 run late in the second half cut Baylor's lead to five, the Bears' consistent and timely shooting, particularly from the midrange and behind the arc proved to be too much for the Cyclones to overcome. Adam Flagler's jumper with 1:52 to play put Baylor back up by seven points and Iowa State never got closer than five points the rest of the way, as the Bears made four free throws in the final 30 seconds.

Iowa State, which missed its first seven 3-pointers of the game and all six of its attempts from deep in the second half finished the game just 1-for-14 from deep (7.1 percent). Caleb Grill made Iowa State's only 3-pointer, while Baylor made 7-of-17 attempts from deep, including LJ Cryer's three 3-pointers off the bench. Iowa State's Tristan Enaruna was the game's leading scorer with 23 points, including nine points in a row for Iowa State in crunchtime in the second half, while Baylor's James Akinjo scored a team-high 16 on an afternoon in which four Bears scored in double figures.

9:04 pm, January 1, 2022

Iowa State goes on 9-0 run to cut deficit to five

Iowa State forward Tristan Enaruna scored nine consecutive points for the Cyclones and the last six started a 9-0 run for Iowa State that cut the team's deficit against No. 1 Baylor to 70-65. But Adam Flagler quickly answered with a jumper to maintain some breathing room for the Bears.
8:51 pm, January 1, 2022

Jeremy Sochan's three puts Baylor up 14

Baylor forward Jeremy Sochan's first 3-point attempt of the game was a big one as he put the top-ranked Bears ahead by 14 points, 70-56, with 5:29 remaining.
8:39 pm, January 1, 2022

Flagler's contested layup puts Baylor up by 11

No. 8 Iowa State had cut No. 1 Baylor's lead to just five points when Izaiah Brockington made a pair of free throws with 11:38 to play in the second half but Baylor then went on a 6-0 run in the next 60 seconds, capped off by Adam Flagler's contested layup to put the Bears ahead 60-49.
8:22 pm, January 1, 2022

Baylor calls timeout after Iowa State steal and score cuts deficit to six

Iowa State point guard Tyrese Hunter stole the ball from Baylor's Adam Flagler and Caleb Grill saved the ball from going out of bounds and he turned around and found Hunter below Baylor's basket for a quick layup, which cut Baylor's lead to 49-43. Baylor immediately called a timeout.
8:17 pm, January 1, 2022

James Akinjo goes coast-to-coast, scores in transition

Baylor point guard James Akinjo put the Bears ahead by eight when he grabbed a defensive rebound after Iowa State's Tristan Enaruna missed a layup and Akinjo took off towards Iowa State's basket, dribbling behind his back along the way, and he scored in transition to make it 45-37 in favor of Baylor.
7:54 pm, January 1, 2022

Halftime: No. 1 Baylor 41, No. 8 Iowa State 33

Chris Jones | USA TODAY Sports Images Baylor leads Iowa State at halftime.

In a battle of two of the four remaining unbeatens in DI men's college basketball, top-ranked Baylor took a 41-33 lead into halftime over No. 8 Iowa State in Ames, Iowa, as James Akinjo's pull-up, midrange jumper in the final seconds of the first half put the Bears up by eight. The play was synonymous with the difference in the first half, as Baylor made seven midrange jumpers and floaters in the first half, along with four 3-pointers, while Iowa State has made just three shots from outside of the restricted arc.

While both teams had similar shooting percentages in the first half – Baylor made 48.5 percent of its shots, compared to Iowa State's 46.2-percent shooting – the midrange and long-range shooting was the difference. The Cyclones made just 1-of-8 3-point attempts and they didn't sink their first three of the game until there was 2:02 left in the first half.

Akinjo scored a team-high 10 points in the first half, including both of his 3-point attempts, and center Flo Thamba has nine points on 3-of-5 shooting. Iowa State guard Izaiah Brockington has scored a first-half-high 12 points.

7:50 pm, January 1, 2022

Iowa State's Grill makes team's first 3-pointer of the day

Moments after Baylor's Jeremy Sochan made a tough turnaround jumper over Iowa State's Caleb Grill, Grill responded by knocking down the Cyclones' first 3-pointer of the game from the left wing to cut the Bears' lead to 34-29. Iowa State missed its first seven 3-point attempts of the game.
7:42 pm, January 1, 2022

Kendall Brown's steal and slam puts Baylor up by 10

With Baylor's Flo Thamba down on the ground under Iowa State's basket after going for the rebound on a missed Matthew Mayer layup attempt, Iowa State had numbers and was pushing the ball in transition, when Baylor's Kendall Brown stole a pass from Iowa State's Tyrese Hunter and Brown went the other way for a slam, putting the Bears ahead 32-22.
7:32 pm, January 1, 2022

Baylor swings ball to James Akinjo for three late in shot clock

No. 1 Baylor's lead over No. 8 Iowa State grew to seven points when Adam Flagler swung the ball to James Akinjo on the right wing for an open three as the shot clock was winding down to put the Bears ahead 25-18. It was Baylor's third 3-pointer of the game, while Iowa State has started 0-for-6 from deep.

7:29 pm, January 1, 2022

Iowa State's Izaiah Brockington dunks on Jeremy Sochan

Iowa State answered a floater from Baylor's Adam Flagler with a massive dunk from Izaiah Brockington, 6-4, who dunked over Baylor forward Jeremy Sochan, who's 6-9. Iowa State point guard Tyrese Hunter assisted on the play.
7:18 pm, January 1, 2022

George Conditt IV blocks 3-pointer, slams home dunk in transition

Iowa State forward George Conditt IV brought the home fans to their feet when he blocked a 3-pointer by Baylor's Adam Flagler, then Conditt ran the floor where his teammate Caleb Grill dished off an underhanded two-handed pass for a massive dunk in transition to tie the game at eight.

7:15 pm, January 1, 2022

No. 1 Baylor takes an 8-6 lead into the under-16 timeout

At the first media timeout of Saturday's top-10 clash between No. 1 Baylor and No. 8 Iowa State, the Bears hold an 8-6 lead over the Cyclones on the road after making four of their first seven shots. Both teams are 0-for-2 from 3-point range with two turnovers apiece.

Baylor's Flo Thamba and Iowa State's Tristan Enaruna have four points apiece.