Scott Drew explains challenges of defending LJ Cryer

Baylor Bears head coach Scott Drew found himself in a position he possibly did not believe he would be in back in 2020: facing off against the guard he recruited out of Katy, TX — LJ Cryer. After the 2022- 23 season, Cryer elected to enter the NCAA transfer portal and head to Houston. And since then, the Cougars have joined the Big 12 conference, making them conference foes of Baylor.

Fast forward to Saturday, the Bears are hosting the Cougars in Waco, TX, making it a homecoming of sorts for Cryer. And it was a good one for the former Baylor guard as Houston escaped with the 82-76 overtime victory.

After the game, in the postgame press conference, Drew addressed facing his former long-time player and explained the challenges of defending Cryer.

“LJ’s a great player; helped us win a national championship [and] a couple of conference championships,” said Drew. “And especially in the zone, we just had to make sure we were aware of where he was at. In man, they do a lot of good things to get him the ball. I thought we did a pretty good job; when you hold him to eight shots, you feel pretty good with that. [You] want to keep him off the line. Six free throws is way too many. But the eight shots, you feel really good with as a coach.”

Drew and the Bears fall flat in OT

Drew and Baylor were able to limit the former bear to just 15 points in the matchup on 3-8 shooting from the field. Unfortunately, all three of Cryer’s makes were from long range, and he was a perfect 6-6 from the free throw line. Grier finished the game as one of four Houston players in double digits.

It wasn’t just the former Baylor guard that the Bears were able to keep a lid on for much of the game. Houston’s other star guard, Jamal Shead, was limited to just 12 points on 5-17 shooting from the field. However, Shead was able to make up for his struggles from the field with 10 assists in the game.

In the end, Baylor ran out of gas in the overtime period, picking up their eighth loss of the season and sixth in Big 12 play.

The Bears have no time to lick their wounds after their second straight loss as they will be in action Monday night as they will travel to Fort Worth to take on the always dangerous TCU Horned Frogs.

TCU and Baylor have identical records, as both teams are 19-8 on the season and 8-6 in conference play. A win against the Horned Frogs on Monday will go a long way toward keeping the Bears in the Big 12 title race.