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Baylor Basketball

Gameday Thread: #5 Baylor (3-1) vs #8 UCLA (3-1)

November 19, 2022
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#5 Baylor (3-1) takes on #8 UCLA (3-1) Sunday November 20th at 4:30pm CST in Las Vegas at the Continental Tire Main Event.  The game will be televised on ESPN.

KenPom Prediction:  Baylor 78 UCLA 77

Torvik Prediction:  Baylor 76 UCLA 75

Coaches

UCLA:  Mick Cronin (51) 434-202 (71-31 at UCLA); 13 NCAAs; 3 Sweet 16s; 1 Elite 8; 1 Final Four

Baylor:  Scott Drew (51); 422-234 overall (402-223 at Baylor); 10 NCAAs; 5 Sweet 16s; 3 Elite 8s; FF; 1 National Championship

Head to Head:  0-0

UCLA Starters

Guard:  Tyger Campbell (SR) 5-11 180 lbs 16 ppg; 4 asst; 2 steals; 44% FG; 38% 3pt; 100% FT

Guard:  Amari Bailey (FR) 6-5 185 lbs; 9 ppg; 4 reb; 2 asst; 47% FG; 14% 3pt; 14% FT

Guard:  Jaylen Clark (JR) 6-5 205 lbs; 15 ppg; 8 reb; 3 asst; 4 st; 61% FG; 54% 3pt; 75% FT

Forward: Jaime Jaquez (SR) 6-6 230 lbs; 15 ppg; 6 reb; 3 asst; 44% FG; 36% 3pt; 55% FT

Forward:  Adem Bona (FR) 6-10 235 lbs; 8 ppg; 5 reb; 1 blk; 75% FG; 56% FT

UCLA Bench

Guard:  David Singleton (SR) 6-4 210 lbs; 13 ppg; 5 reb; 57% FG; 59% 3pt; 100% FT

Forward:  Kenneth Nwuba (SR) 6-10 255 lbs; 3 ppg; 2 reb; 71% FG

Baylor Starters

Guard:  Adam Flagler (SR) 6-3 185 lbs; 17 ppg; 2 reb; 8 asst; 52% FG; 56% 3pt; 100% FT

Guard:  LJ Cryer (JR) 6-1 190 lbs; 16 ppg; 2 reb; 3 asst; 44% FG; 35% 3pt; 100% FT

Guard:  Keyonte George (FR) 6-4 185 lbs; 17 ppg; 5 reb; 6 asst; 42% FG; 39% 3pt; 80% FT

Forward:  Jalen Bridges (JR) 6-7 225 lbs; 13 ppg; 3 reb; 2 asst; 53% FG; 27% 3pt; 100% FT

Forward:  Flo Thamba (SR) 6-10 250 lbs; 6 ppg; 5 reb; 1 blk; 88% FG; 41% FT

Baylor Bench

Guard:  Dale Bonner (SR) 6-2 170 lbs; 8 ppg; 3 reb; 3 asst; 3 st; 61% FG; 43% 3pt; 83% FT

Forward:  Caleb Lohner (JR) 6-8 235 lbs; 7 ppg; 6 reb; 2 steals; 60% FG; 50% 3pt; 67% FT

Guard:  Langston Love (FR) 6-5 210 lbs; 5 ppg; 2 reb; 39% FG; 30% 3pt; 67% FT

Forward:  Joshua Ojianwuna (FR) 6-10 235 lbs; 6 ppg; 5 reb; 1 blk; 73% FG; 60% FT

Discussion from...

Gameday Thread: #5 Baylor (3-1) vs #8 UCLA (3-1)

11,324 Views | 90 Replies | Last: 2 yr ago by Jacques Strap
Crawfoso1973
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In reply to DanaDane • 7:57p, 11/20/22
Josh O looked tremendous in spurts. He showed about 1000% improvement from Virginia game to UCLA game. There will be ups and downs but all the raw physical tools and the hustle are there, and he appears coachable.

Bridges doesn't look like he's playing hard and he doesn't display good body language, which makes him look like he is playing worse than he is. He got into quick foul trouble early tonight which frustrated him and he never recovered mentally. I am willing to chalk up tonight as a result of foul trouble. I hope the coaches bring out the best in him, because we absolutely need him.
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Crawfoso1973
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In reply to historian • 7:59p, 11/20/22
historian said:
The newer players are learning how difficult it is to play against elite opponents.
I noticed this team was deliberately physical against Keyonte, and he didn't respond well to their physicality and his frustration showed. I'm glad he got a taste of this physical style of play before the Big 12 gauntlet.
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DanaDane
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In reply to Crawfoso1973 • 8:08p, 11/20/22
Crawfoso1973 said:
historian said:
The newer players are learning how difficult it is to play against elite opponents.
I noticed this team was deliberately physical against Keyonte, and he didn't respond well to their physicality and his frustration showed. I'm glad he got a taste of this physical style of play before the Big 12 gauntlet.
Exactly! He is such a competitor I have no doubt he will take this, learn from it, adjust his game (and his emotions) some and suspect we may see him go off on Gonzaga in a couple of weeks.
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Fre3dombear
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In reply to Crawfoso1973 • 8:18p, 11/20/22
Crawfoso1973 said:
Josh O looked tremendous in spurts. He showed about 1000% improvement from Virginia game to UCLA game. There will be ups and downs but all the raw physical tools and the hustle are there, and he appears coachable.

Bridges doesn't look like he's playing hard and he doesn't display good body language, which makes him look like he is playing worse than he is. He got into quick foul trouble early tonight which frustrated him and he never recovered mentally. I am willing to chalk up tonight as a result of foul trouble. I hope the coaches bring out the best in him, because we absolutely need him.


We need help down low clearly
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Quinton
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In reply to CTbruin • 8:33p, 11/20/22
CTbruin said:
Bridges and George were no shows tonight. A compliment to our depth.


George's passing was still very good. He is forcing things and playing off the corner isn't ideal. Is struggling with the shot and some mistakes on D. Still contributing

Bridges is unplayable if he clanks open 3s like he has so far

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Quinton
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In reply to Quinton • 8:34p, 11/20/22
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Quinton
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In reply to Quinton • 8:35p, 11/20/22
Jacques Strap
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8:42p, 11/20/22
Flager was soooo clutch down the stretch.
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Quinton
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In reply to gobears20 • 9:11p, 11/20/22
gobears20 said:
Also Lohner will not see someone like Jaquez every night. Jaquez is a player who is hard to guard


Only reason we subbed at all. Not a great matchup for him and still played well. Not many 6' 7" guard skill guys at the college level. Miles better than bridges so far.
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bear2be2
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In reply to vanillabryce • 10:46p, 11/20/22
vanillabryce said:
KG1 has not been in down the stretch
I really liked that Drew stayed with the veterans down the stretch.

Keyonte is going to be a great player for us, and everyone knows it. But he was really struggling tonight. It only made sense to stick with Flagler, Cryer and Bonner, who were all terrific.

It's pretty nice that we can beat a top-10 team while getting basically nothing from George and Bridges. That speaks to the depth that this team has.
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bear2be2
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In reply to vanillabryce • 10:51p, 11/20/22
vanillabryce said:
Married A Horn said:
Only caught the last 2 minutes (Cowboys game). Didnt see any of the Virginia game (Guyer vs Highland Park game).

Should I watch either? Both?


UVA game was frustrating. UCLA game was also frustrating but you could see growth. Cryer and Flag put us on their back
What specifically frustrated you about the UCLA game? To me, that was just a good, hard-fought game between two good teams. We'll see that same game a bunch in the Big 12 IMO. It was a good sign that we were able to take some shots and respond with counterpunches each time.
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bear2be2
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In reply to gobears20 • 10:58p, 11/20/22
gobears20 said:
This is where it has to be hard for Drew. Do you put George in late in a close game or keep him out. He does great things but he is young and can turn the ball over. Drew went with experience and I agree with that
Drew handled the situation perfectly.

The great thing about this team is that Keyonte, while our most talented player, isn't currently our best or most valuable player. We don't need him to carry us because both Cryer and Flagler are capable of doing that on the offensive end, and the guard most likely to replace him in a three-guard lineup (Bonner) is our best perimeter defender.

That's a really good spot to be in, and how all contenders with elite one-and-done type freshmen should aspire to be.

Keyonte is capable of taking over games, and we should ride him when he's hot. But he's also a freshman, who is still learning the ropes. When he's playing like a freshman, we should lean on the vets, who are all more than capable of carrying us to victories over quality opponents, as they showed tonight.
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bear2be2
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In reply to DanaDane • 11:03p, 11/20/22
DanaDane said:
I really hoped we'd at least win 1 but wouldn't have been overly disappointed if we lost both because I know how valuable this experience is gonna be for building the momentum we're gonna need for the rest of the year. Much more than a cupcake victory over a SWAC or MEAC school would give us.

1. Keyonte got the wake-up call he needed -- he now sees he's not playing against AAU kids, he's playing against grown ass men who are older and stronger than what he's accustomed to playing. So now I suspect we'll see him come back with an even bigger fire as we move forward.

2. Despite being relatively small, we battled 2 teams with size much taller than most of the Big 12 teams we will face this year and held our own rebounding in both games. Actually, we outrebounded both!

3. Josh O got exceptional experience against UCLA's bigs and performed admirably. Even Loveday came in for the final 2 minutes of the first half and held his own, which is great because we may need him for 5-8 minutes in some games where we get in foul trouble.

4. Only concern is that Bridges had the reputation of no-showing in big games at WVU and he all but disappeared in both games this weekend. Hopefully it was just a one weekend thing, but something to keep an eye on when we face Gonzaga in a couple of weeks.

5. Lohner is fun to watch. He definitely creates havoc on both ends of the floor. And Bonner came back and had a great game against UCLA.

6. We shot 85+% from the FT line in both games this weekend. Incredible! We haven't been that good at the line in a long time. Bonner, Flagler, Cryer, George (vs. Virginia) and even big Josh O!

6. I now see why Drew isn't playing Love very much. He simply cannot move fast enough right now on D. His minutes may be limited for awhile while he continues to gain mobility with the knee. I figure he'll be a bigger part of the picture later in the season.
Good stuff. I think Love is going to be the odd man out most of the year unless Bridges plays his way into role player minutes. If we settle into an eight-man rotation as we typically do, Bonner, Lohner and Josh will be the three bench players to get the most run. That will leave scraps for Love and Loveday.

A lot of playing time opens up after this year for Langston, though, which will be good because he should be much closer to 100 percent next season.
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Crawfoso1973
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In reply to bear2be2 • 6:29a, 11/21/22
Good points!

After thinking about everything once the dust settled, I think the key to us making a run in the big 12 and the NCAAs is Bridges. If he is the kind of player who will produce against cupcakes but wilt against the good teams, then we are in trouble.

I see our roster like this:

1st tier:
Keyonte
Flagler
Cryer

2nd tier:
Flo
Bonner
Lohner

3rd tier:
Bridges
Love
Josh O
Grimes?

For our team to make a run for another big 12 title, we need 2 guys from that 3rd tier to step up in a big way.

Why do I include Grimes in the 3rd tier, if he is redshirting? Because if Bridges and Love are unable to turn the corner, I wonder if it would be beyond the realm of possibility to remove Grimes' redshirt. Go small with a 5 guard rotation of Key / Flag / Cryer / Grimes / Bonner and a frontcourt of Lohner / Flo / Josh O. Bridges and Love getting minimal rotation minutes. I know the plan was to redshirt Grimes and I hope we can stay the course with that plan. But our staff has the luxury of having Grimes waiting in the wings in case of injury or ineffectiveness w/ our rotation guys.

Love does not appear ready for key rotation minutes. Kudos to him for playing 1 calendar year after an ACL tear. But guys really aren't themselves again until that 2nd year after surgery. (As an aside....for those of you thinking EJ will come back in January and save our season, please.... just stop. Love is a cautionary tale, and EJ's injury was much worse than Love's. Even if EJ somehow comes back healthy, he will be a shell of himself. Year 2 removed from injury, gimme some EJ I think at that point we will see the EJ we all know and love).

To summarize, and to clarify, I am not bashing Bridges or giving up on him after 2 rough games. Maybe he was under the weather. Maybe he is trying to figure out his role on the team. Our staff has had success with low-motor, passive players like him in the past. KB was a key cog for us last year, and he was not a high-motor guy. But KB contributed in his own way and our coaches found the perfect niche for him. Likewise Perry Jones from a decade ago was also very effective for us, but like Bridges and KB, displayed passive body language. So I;m confident we can get effective contributions from Bridges which would allow us to stash Grimes and not have to pull his redshirt.


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gobears20
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6:52a, 11/21/22
Staff
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gobears20
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7:56a, 11/21/22
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vanillabryce
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In reply to bear2be2 • 9:00a, 11/21/22
bear2be2 said:
vanillabryce said:
Married A Horn said:
Only caught the last 2 minutes (Cowboys game). Didnt see any of the Virginia game (Guyer vs Highland Park game).

Should I watch either? Both?


UVA game was frustrating. UCLA game was also frustrating but you could see growth. Cryer and Flag put us on their back
What specifically frustrated you about the UCLA game? To me, that was just a good, hard-fought game between two good teams. We'll see that same game a bunch in the Big 12 IMO. It was a good sign that we were able to take some shots and respond with counterpunches each time.


Passing. We're fairly careless with the ball at times. 9 TOs in the first half - we got better. Also we looked lost in some of our defensive rotations. Some times we over helped and some times we didn't rotate at all.

UCLA is a good team and we're young so it will improve
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william
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In reply to bear2be2 • 9:22a, 11/21/22
bear2be2 said:
vanillabryce said:
KG1 has not been in down the stretch
I really liked that Drew stayed with the veterans down the stretch.

Keyonte is going to be a great player for us, and everyone knows it. But he was really struggling tonight. It only made sense to stick with Flagler, Cryer and Bonner, who were all terrific.

It's pretty nice that we can beat a top-10 team while getting basically nothing from George and Bridges. That speaks to the depth that this team has.
good win - congrats bears!

- kkm

pro ecclesia, pro javelina
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ScottS
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10:06a, 11/21/22
I missed the beginning of the game. Did Lomers get the tip?
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Jacques Strap
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In reply to gobears20 • 10:10p, 11/21/22
gobears20 said:
http://www.bruinzone.com/b12/messages/94415.shtml
Quote:

We Have No Answer For Flagler From The Arc. Don't Leave Him! *
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