Adam Flagler poured in 22 points and James Akinjo had 20 points and eight assists as No. 1 Baylor overcame host TCU for a 76-64 victory Saturday at Fort Worth, Texas.
LJ Cryer added 15 points off the bench as the Bears (15-0, 3-0 Big 12) extended their winning streak to 21 games dating to last season.
Flagler made six of his 10 attempts from 3-point range. That was part of the Bears' 13-for-27 shooting on 3s as they ended up at 52.6 percent overall from the field.
Mike Miles racked up 26 points, while Chuck O'Bannon had 12 points and Damion Baugh notched 10 points for TCU (10-2, 0-1), which finally played its Big 12 opener after a rash of games called off because of COVID-19.
TCU was within four points with about eight minutes left and they were as close as 68-62 with 5:20 to play, but the Horned Frogs couldn't pull off the upset. They scored just two points in the last five minutes.
TCU was hurt by 18 turnovers. Baylor attempted only seven free throws with three makes, but the Horned Frogs were just 7-for-10 at the foul line. Even TCU's 32-28 rebounding edge wasn't enough, in part because of 7-for-20 shooting on 3s.
Miles, who hadn't played a game in 21 days, had 22 of TCU's first 44 points. That was capped by a four-point play.
TCU's 44-36 lead vanished when Baylor went on a 17-0 run. The Horned Frogs went more than five minutes without scoring.
Even with Micah Peavy scoring seven consecutive points for TCU, the Bears threatened to pull away by going up 60-53.
The Horned Frogs had three games either postponed or canceled since last playing Dec. 21.
TCU hadn't been home against a top-ranked team since falling to Kansas on Dec. 1, 2003.
--Field Level Media
Baylor | Texas Christian | |
Adam Flagler 22 | Scoring | Mike Miles 26 |
James Akinjo 8 | Assists | Mike Miles 5 |
Matthew Mayer 6 | Rebounds | Emanuel Miller 7 |
Dale Bonner 1 | Free Throws Made | Mike Miles 4 |
James Akinjo 3 | Steals | Micah Peavy 3 |
Jonathan Tchamwa Tchatchoua 2 | Blocks | Souleymane Doumbia 1 |
Team | Points | FG% | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA | Assists | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals | Turnovers |
Baylor | 76 | 52.6 | 13-27 | 3-7 | 15 | 27 | 4 | 10 | 12 |
Texas Christian | 64 | 44.6 | 7-20 | 7-10 | 16 | 28 | 2 | 6 | 18 |