No. 8 Baylor might have lost by 38 points in its season-opener, but there’s no doubt that the Bears will be ready when they take on the No. 16 Arkansas Razorbacks on Saturday at American Airlines Center in Dallas.
It is worth pointing out that the team on the other end of that blowout loss for Baylor was the No. 6 Gonzaga Bulldogs, who shot 57.1% from the field as a team, totaled 25 assists and out-rebounded the Bears, 45-32.
As for the Razorbacks, they earned a 76-60 win over what will end up being a good Lipscomb team at the mid-major level. The Hogs saw a 15-point lead dwindle down to just four with under eight minutes to play in the game, and they then proceeded to go on a 16-4 run to end the contest.
VIDEO: Calipari, players postgame – Arkansas 76, Lipscomb 60
It’s safe to say that neither team performed how they wanted to in their respective openers, but only one got the result they wanted. It’ll be a lot tougher for Arkansas to be on the winning side next time out, as the Bears will be extremely hungry to play much better.
“We know they’re a better team than that,” Arkansas guard Johnell Davis said Wednesday. “We know they’re going to come out trying to fight so we gotta stay on our toes.”
Baylor was 24-11 overall last season and the Bears lost to Clemson in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. That marked Baylor’s third straight second round exit following their national championship season in 2020-21 that featured an Elite Eight win over Arkansas.
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Head coach Scott Drew is in his 22nd season with the Bears, who have been ranked in 96 of the last 97 AP Polls. Drew is 3-1 coaching against Arkansas, and his team is 32-17 against ranked teams over the last four seasons, including a 16-8 mark away from home.
Drew was considered to be one of the top candidates for the open Kentucky job when John Calipari left for Arkansas over the offseason.
“He never called me on it,” Calipari said Wednesday after the win over Lipscomb. “We haven’t talked. Again, seeing what Mark Pope is doing, good for him. Good for him. (Kentucky is) a program that deserves that. Scott has done unbelievable work at Baylor and probably got comfortable there. Why would (he) go into that hornets nest?”
Calipari knows what it’s like to lose at Gonzaga, as his Kentucky team also made the trip up to Spokane, Washington, during the 2022-23 season and the Wildcats suffered an 88-72 loss.
“We were down big at half,” Calipari said. “We came back, made a little game of it, but they just ran us into the dust. I have not watched that (Baylor-Gonzaga) game. Too late. I was in bed, but I will watch it and figure out what, Mark Few, he did. I think he probably just was running him to death. Got some easy baskets.
“Then they’re probably in the same boat as we are. Trying to figure out, collectively, how do we do this together? How do you really play for your teammate? How do you make the game easy for your other? How about you set a really good screen? How about you post? How about you pass it where he can catch it?
“How about on a pick and roll? They’re going under every time. Then angle it So they go under there, we’re shooting a two, not a stepback three. We’ll shoot the two. That’s a high percentage for us. If you shoot twos at 60%, that’s a high percentage. We’re good at that. Floaters. Then, he goes under? Shoot the floater on a guy.”
ALSO READ: Razorback Freshman Report – Fland leads all scorers vs. Lipscomb
Baylor is a team that features nine new faces this season, headlined by five-star freshman VJ Edgecombe, who is the Bears’ fourth-straight Preseason Big 12 Freshman of the Year. Edgecombe scored just four points and logged seven rebounds in the loss to Gonzaga.
Four-star freshman forward Jason Asemota out of Glendale, Arizona, and fellow four-star freshman Robert Wright III join Edgecombe as first-year players with a lot of potential. Wright logged 12 points and six assists at Gonzaga across 30 minutes of action.
Notably missing from the lineup was redshirt junior guard Langston Love, who has shined at times but has been injury-riddled throughout his career. Love averaged 11.0 pointer per game before a leg injury last season, and that was the most among players in the Big 12 with zero starts.
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Miami transfer Norchad Omier, who began his career at Arkansas State, was a solid pickup over the offseason and he led the team with 15 points and nine rebounds against the Bulldogs. Duke transfer Jeremy Roach started at guard in the opener, as did former VCU transfer Jayden Nunn, who averaged 11.3 points per game last season in 13 games after Love went down with an injury.
Roach was named the Big 12 Co-Newcomer of the Year, in addition to being voted to the Preseason All-Big 12 second team, along with Omier.
The talent on Baylor’s roster is much better than what the final score of its first game shows. Just about everyone knows that, including the Razorbacks.
“I mean usually when a team loses by 30, you know for the next game they are hungry,” Arkansas forward Zvonimir Ivisic said Wednesday. “So it’s going to be a good game. We’ll see.”
The Razorbacks and Bears are set for a 6:30 p.m. CT tipoff Saturday at American Airlines Center in Dallas. The game will be broadcast live on ESPNU.
