WACO, Texas — No. 14 Baylor overcame a nine-point deficit in the second half and raced past No. 18 BYU 81-72 on Tuesday night at Foster Pavilion.
The Cougars led 39-33 at the break and stretched the lead in the second half, but eventually turnovers and foul problems caught up to the visitors.
Baylor enjoyed a 28-14 advantage at the free-throw line.
Spencer Johnson and Trevin Knell scored 15 points apiece for BYU, while Jalen Bridges had 25 for Baylor.
BYU coach Mark Pope was assessed a technical foul with 54 seconds remaining and the Cougars trailing 77-70.
Here are three keys that contributed to Baylor’s Big 12 win:
• The Cougars couldn’t keep the hard-driving Bears off the free-throw line, which turned out to be the difference in the game. Baylor was 21 of 28 from the line, while BYU was 11 of 14 and didn’t shoot a free throw in the second half until 2:45 remained.
• BYU put together a second-straight solid opening half, taking a 39-33 lead at the break. When 3-pointers weren’t falling early, the Cougars went inside and outscored Baylor 20-8 in the paint in the first half.
Defensively, the Cougars were locked in, holding the home team to 35% shooting in the first half.
BYU shot 52% in the first half and was a perfect 7 of 7 from the free-throw line.
• After committing 18 turnovers in the 71-60 loss to Cincinnati on Saturday, the Cougars continued to give the ball away way too much in a league game. Baylor turned 14 BYU turnovers into 18 points.