No. 2 Baylor used a late-game surge to hold off No. 15 Texas Tech 68-60 on Saturday, Jan. 16, to remain undefeated. Baylor has won all 12 of their games by at least eight points — the only team in the country to do so.
The Red Raiders hoped to pull off back-to-back upsets against top-5 teams after they beat No. 4 Texas 79-77 on Wednesday. Against Baylor, the Red Raiders trailed 26-18 at the half but managed to grab their largest lead, 37-34, with 13 minutes left in the game.
A Marcos Santos-Silva free throw with 7:11 remaining gave the Red Raiders a 45-44 advantage. But after he missed the second free-throw attempt, the Bears closed the game on a 24-15 run.
Baylor made five straight field goals to not only take the lead, but to add to it. Adam Flager's (15 points, three rebounds) jump shot with 7:02 remaining put Baylor back in front for good.
Coming into the game, Jared Butler averaged a team-high 16.4 points. But the Baylor star didn't score his first points until a right-wing triple with 5:03 to play. On the next possession, he drew a shooting foul on a drive to the basket and split the pair of free throws. After a Texas Tech turnover, Butler nailed a step-back 3-pointer to cap an individual 7-0 run. That spark gave the Bears a 56-51 edge with 3:50 left in the game. Butler finished with seven points, five rebounds, four steals and three assists.
Baylor returns home to host Kansas on Monday, Jan. 18 at 9 p.m. ET. Texas Tech next visits TCU on Wednesday, Jan. 20 at 8 p.m.
