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Baylor Basketball

Gameday Thread: #18 Baylor (14-5; 3-3) at UCF (12-7; 3-4)

January 29, 2024
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#18 Baylor (14-5; 3-3) travels to Orlando, Florida to take on UCF (12-7; 3-4) Wednesday January 31st at 6pm CST.  The game will be televised on ESPN+

KenPom Prediction:  Baylor 72 UCF 69

Torvik Prediction:  Baylor 69 UCF 68

Evan Miyakawa:  Baylor 73 UCF 68

Haslametrics:  Baylor 69 UCF 65


Coaches

UCF:  Johnny Dawkins (60) 299-209 (143-94 at UCF); 2 NCAAs; Sweet 16

Baylor:  Scott Drew (53); 455-248 overall (435-237 at Baylor); 11 NCAAs; 5 Sweet 16s; 3 Elite 8s; FF; 1 National Championship

Head to Head:  0-0


UCF Starters

Guard:  Darius Johnson (JR) 6-1 200 lbs; 13 ppg; 3 reb; 3 asst; 38% FG; 36% 3pt; 80% FT

Guard:  Jaylin Sellers (JR) 6-4 195 lbs; 17 ppg; 4 reb; 43% FG; 28% 3pt; 85% FT

Forward: Demarr Langford (SR) 6-5 230 lbs; 2 ppg; 42% FG; 43% FT

Forward:  Thierno Sylla (SO) 6-11 215 lbs; 5 ppg; 4 reb; 36% FG; 30% 3pt; 61% FT

Forward:  Ibrahima Diallo (SR) 7-0 245 lbs; 6 ppg; 7 reb; 2 blks; 57% FG; 57% FT

UCF Bench

Forward:  Marchelus Avery (SR) 6-7 210 lbs; 9 ppg; 4 reb; 39% FG; 38% 3pt; 68% FT

Forward:  Antwann Jones (SR) 6-6 215 lbs; 4 ppg; 41% FG; 36% 3pt; 55% FT

Forward:  Omar Payne (SR) 6-10 230 lbs; 5 ppg; 4 reb; 57% FG; 38% 3pt; 69% FT

Forward:  Tyler Hendricks (FR) 6-6 190 lbs; 3 ppg; 2 reb; 46% FG; 39% 3pt; 88% FT


Baylor Starters

Guard:  RayJ Dennis (SR) 6-3 180 lbs; 13 ppg; 4 reb; 7 asst;  50% FG; 37% 3pt; 71% FT

Guard:  Jayden Nunn (JR) 6-3 190 lbs; 10 ppg; 2 reb; 2 asst; 44% FG; 42% 3pt; 67% FT 

Guard:  Ja’Kobe Walter (FR) 6-5 185 lbs; 15 ppg; 5 reb; 2 asst; 41% FG; 36% 3pt; 85% FT

Forward:  Jalen Bridges (JR) 6-9 225 lbs; 11 ppg; 5 reb; 44% FG; 37% 3pt; 84% FT

Forward:  Yves Missi (FR) 6-11 220 lbs; 10 ppg; 6 reb; 2 blocks; 64% FG; 51% FT

Baylor Bench

Guard:  Langston Love (SO) 6-5 210 lbs; 12 ppg; 3 reb; 47% FG; 48% 3pt; 82% FT

Forward:  Caleb Lohner (JR) 6-8 235 lbs; 3 ppg; 3 reb; 58% FG; 33% 3pt; 75% FT

Forward:  Josh Ojianwuna (SO) 6-10 240 lbs; 5 ppg; 3 reb; 78% FG; 65% FT

Guard:  Miro Little (FR) 6-4 185 lbs; 3 ppg; 50% FG; 44% 3pt; 77% FT

Discussion from...

Gameday Thread: #18 Baylor (14-5; 3-3) at UCF (12-7; 3-4)

31,091 Views | 297 Replies | Last: 10 mo ago by boognish_bear
SIC EM 94
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Gutty win by the Bears!
Crawfoso1973
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So happy for love. He struggled last year so much trying to come back from the ACL.
bear2be2
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Mitch Henessey said:

bear2be2 said:

DanaDane said:

RAYJ!!!!!!!!!!!
Dude's a closer.
Minus FT shooting tonight and versus KSU.
He played one of the worst games of his career against Kansas State. Other than distributing the ball, he was terrible in all facets in that one. But he's done way more good than bad for this team. I shudder to think where we'd be without him.
DanaDane
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I've felt like we've just need a positive sign, one positive turn or break and this team could go on a run in the conference since we've been snake bitten in several games. I'm hoping this is that break.
IowaBear
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Dare I say momentum for Saturdays tough tough challenge
bear2be2
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DanaDane said:

I've felt like we've just need a positive sign, one positive turn or break and this team could go on a run in the conference since we've been snake bitten in several games. I'm hoping this is that break.
I'm right there with you. But we're going to have to play really well Saturday to beat Iowa State.

Hopefully this will be the spark that lights a fire.
True Grit
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You don't foul on the rebound. My word...
SIC EM 94
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True Grit said:

You don't foul on the rebound. My word...
Unreal
historian
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We have 11 games left on our regular season schedule. How much two of them are ranked. That includes Kansas twice and Tech twice. We probably still have the toughest remaining schedule in the country.
DanaDane
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So help me if UCF shoots 15% from 3 against OU Saturday I may throw a golf club through my TV screen.
samsara108
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Great job grinding out a win in a must-win situation. The lineup really needs to shrink going forward.
bear2be2
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Big, big win. We needed that desperately.

Good to see the team respond with some desperation in that second half.
Bearwhiz
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Good win. Need more from Walter and Bridges. Love went beast mode
Oldbear83
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DanaDane said:

I've felt like we've just need a positive sign, one positive turn or break and this team could go on a run in the conference since we've been snake bitten in several games. I'm hoping this is that break.
Ever have one of those viruses where you feel like crap and finally have a really huge session on the toilet where you leave such a mess you think the bathroom will never smell clean, but once all that nasty stuff is out you feel better?

That's what tonight could be. Ugly but the start of the recovery.
Gametime
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Thank goodness.
True Grit
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Good road win! Let's gooooooooooo!
DanaDane
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BEARS WIN!!!!!!!

Not a beautiful defensive performance but the rest of everything else made up for it and they never let it get away.

HUGE WIN after that 3 game losing streak. Particularly on the road!

Let's take the Cyclones down Saturday!!!!!!!!!
BearFan33
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DanaDane said:

So help me if UCF shoots 15% from 3 against OU Saturday I may throw a golf club through my TV screen.


We played some zone which helps stop the drivers but leaves 3s open. To their credit they hit them.

Also we seem to have some bad luck

Oldbear83
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BearFan33 said:

DanaDane said:

So help me if UCF shoots 15% from 3 against OU Saturday I may throw a golf club through my TV screen.


We played some zone which helps stop the drivers but leaves 3s open. To their credit they hit them.

Also we seem to have some bad luck


I swear our luck is such that if we bought lottery tickets we'd have to pay the jackpot!
BearFan33
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Gosh we needed that
boognish_bear
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DanaDane said:

Ok. This is it. This is where we're gonna get back on track, start hitting on all cylinders and go on a winning streak again!


Speak it into existence DD
boognish_bear
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boognish_bear said:

No pressure no diamonds time for men's bball




Rob....can you be at Foster Saturday?
bear2be2
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Bearwhiz said:

Good win. Need more from Walter and Bridges. Love went beast mode
Bridges started great. He had eight of our first 20 or so points and was playing really aggressively, Then he disappeared into the background as he is wont to do.

He just doesn't have much of a motor unfortunately. He's a good, valuable player. But he's not one you can count on to assert himself in crunch time.
rileyroo
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Thank you Langston. Have to improve our D, but this one felt good. Hope we gain some confidence now.
boognish_bear
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WVU upsets Cincy 69-65
TXBEAR_bf
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That was the kid that went to Michigan
Bear living in the woods of Bend Oregon
historian
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Very colorful metaphor!
Quinton
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Big game in a must win situation. Now go win out at home. Beating Iowa st at home will help a lot.
TXBEAR_bf
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Will have to play a lot better to beat ISU. They are an incredibly well coached team.
Bear living in the woods of Bend Oregon
bear2be2
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DanaDane said:

BEARS WIN!!!!!!!

Not a beautiful defensive performance but the rest of everything else made up for it and they never let it get away.

HUGE WIN after that 3 game losing streak. Particularly on the road!

Let's take the Cyclones down Saturday!!!!!!!!!
Yep. Any Big 12 road win is a good win.

And frankly, we played really well in the second half. We picked up our intensity and looked like a team that knew how important this game was.

Hopefully, we'll continue to play with that same intensity on a more regular basis going forward.

And hopefully, we'll let Love become the key contributor he needs to be for this team to achieve its potential. Let Nunn be a 15-minutes-per-game bench player. Love needs to be on the court with Dennis and Walter taking over games.
bear2be2
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historian said:

Very colorful metaphor!
Not really. It's mostly limited to earth tones.
bear2be2
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boognish_bear said:

WVU upsets Cincy 69-65
Poor Cincy can't win a close game. That's a good team that's going to end up missing the tournament, if it's not careful.
Quinton
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There is literally no one we shouldn't be able to beat at home. Iowa st hasn't been good on the road, Ku has lost to 2 scrubs, Houston is two open shots from being winless on the road. Now go win
boognish_bear
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Quinton said:

There is literally no one we shouldn't be able to beat at home. Iowa st hasn't been good on the road, Ku has lost to 2 scrubs, Houston is two open shots from being winless on the road. Now go win


Quinton
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Yep, it's clear Nunn is a 10-15 minute a game bench contributor at best right now.

Love needs to get the majority of the minutes with Walter and Dennis.
 
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