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Baylor Basketball

Gameday Thread: #17 Baylor (15-5) vs Arkansas (14-6)

January 26, 2023
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#17 Baylor (15-5) hosts Arkansas (14-6) on January 28th at 3pm CST in Waco as part of the Big12/SEC challenge.  The game will be televised on ESPN.  

KenPom Prediction:  Baylor 76 Arkansas 72

Torvik Prediction:  Baylor 77 Arkansas 71

Evan Miyakawa Prediction:  Baylor 77 Arkansas 71


Coaches

Arkansas:   Eric Musselman (58); 197-68 (87-34 at Arkansas) 5 NCAAs; 3 Sweet 16s; 2 Elite 8s

Baylor:  Scott Drew (52); 434-238 overall (414-227 at Baylor); 10 NCAAs; 5 Sweet 16s; 3 Elite 8s; FF; 1 National Championship

Head to Head:  1-0 Drew


Arkansas Starters

Guard:  Anthony Black (FR) 6-7 200 lbs; 13 ppg; 5 reb; 4 asst; 2 st; 45% FG; 34% 3pt; 70% FT

Guard:  Davonte Davis (JR) 6-4 185 lbs; 10 ppg; 5 reb; 3 asst; 40% FG; 29% 3pt; 68% FT

Forward:  Ricky Council (JR) 6-6 205 lbs; 17 ppg; 3 reb; 2 asst; 46% FG; 28% 3pt; 79% FT

Forward:  Kamani Johnson (SR) 6-7 230 lbs; 3 ppg; 3 reb; 48% FG; 57% FT

Forward:  Makhi Mitchell (SR) 6-9 230 lbs; 8 ppg; 6 reb; 64% FG; 62% FT

Arkansas Bench

Guard:  Derrian Ford (FR) 6-3 205 lbs; 1 ppg; 1 reb; 44% FG; 100% FT

Forward:  Jordan Walsh (FR) 6-7 205 lbs; 7 ppg; 4 reb; 45% FG; 28% 3pt; 67% FT

Forward:  Jalen Graham (SR) 6-9 225 lbs; 5 ppg; 2 reb; 71% FG; 53% FT


Baylor Starters

Guard:  Adam Flagler (SR) 6-3 185 lbs; 16 ppg; 2 reb; 5 asst; 43% FG; 44% 3pt; 82% FT

Guard:  LJ Cryer (JR) 6-1 190 lbs; 14 ppg; 2 reb; 2 asst; 46% FG; 40% 3pt; 82% FT

Guard:  Keyonte George (FR) 6-4 185 lbs; 17 ppg; 5 reb; 3 asst; 38% FG; 34% 3pt; 79% FT

Forward:  Jalen Bridges (JR) 6-7 225 lbs; 10 ppg; 6 reb; 1 blk; 51% FG; 26% 3pt; 77% FT

Forward:  Flo Thamba (SR) 6-10 250 lbs; 5 ppg; 5 reb; 1 blk; 60% FG; 61% FT

Baylor Bench

Forward:  Caleb Lohner (JR) 6-8 235 lbs; 4 ppg; 4 reb; 54% FG; 27% 3pt; 67% FT

Guard:  Langston Love (FR) 6-5 210 lbs; 7 ppg; 2 reb; 41% FG; 33% 3pt; 85% FT

Forward:  Joshua Ojianwuna (FR) 6-10 235 lbs; 6 ppg; 4 reb; 1 blk; 64% FG; 70% FT

Discussion from...

Gameday Thread: #17 Baylor (15-5) vs Arkansas (14-6)

27,457 Views | 206 Replies | Last: 1 yr ago by historian
historian
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Aliceinbubbleland said:

BUmoneymaker said:

Um, someone forgot to tell Baylor to keep their tickets. Way too much arky fan noise. This is the downside of BU athletics, too easy for a contingent of the opposing teams fans to infiltrate. Used to hate the big games vs OU where it was just as loud when baker mayfield was marching down the field.

We better not lose to today. These guys need to put them down early. Dont let arky stay in this game.
I laughed in another thread after the Kansas game praising the Baylor crowd. What crowd? We are always loud when we make buckets, draw a foul or steal the ball but otherwise we seem to sit on our hands and watch.




That is not "always" true. I've been to plenty of games where we were very loud almost from beginning to end. Did you read examples from last season or Villanova in Kansas.
boognish_bear
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boognish_bear
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PaperBear89 said:

Glad we got the win, but man what a crappy matchup that was for us.


Shot 33.9% and got out rebounded....and somehow still won. Wasn't pretty....but we survived.
whitetrash
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boognish_bear said:

PaperBear89 said:

Glad we got the win, but man what a crappy matchup that was for us.


Shot 33.9% and got out rebounded....and somehow still won. Wasn't pretty....but we survived.


Rebounds were even 35-35, but we got 5 more offensive boards
boognish_bear
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whitetrash said:

boognish_bear said:

PaperBear89 said:

Glad we got the win, but man what a crappy matchup that was for us.


Shot 33.9% and got out rebounded....and somehow still won. Wasn't pretty....but we survived.


Rebounds were even 35-35, but we got 5 more offensive boards


This is from the Yahoo sports app....is it wrong?

bear2be2
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PaperBear89 said:

Glad we got the win, but man what a crappy matchup that was for us.
This team is getting good at winning ugly games. That's a good thing.

As a primarily jump shooting team, we're going to have games where our shots don't fall. We need an off-speed pitch we can turn to in those situations. The Oklahoma game and this one are proof that we have that in our repertoire.
bear2be2
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Hotsauce said:

Just checked this thread.

KG1 a liability? Ummm wut. Lol
He was a liability in the last two games. To the point that fans were inventing a fake illness to cover for him.

We damn near lost to Oklahoma because of him and had to pull him in crunch time against Kansas.

I'm glad he came through with three huge possessions down the stretch today. But he needed three tough makes in a row to get to 40 percent shooting for the game. And he made a bunch of bone-headed decisions that allowed Arkansas to get ahead and stay ahead before then.

If he was someone we could rely on for entire games instead of five-minute stretches in games, we'd be a better basketball team. As it is, we're still a pretty damn good one, and that's a good thing.
whitetrash
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boognish_bear said:

whitetrash said:

boognish_bear said:

PaperBear89 said:

Glad we got the win, but man what a crappy matchup that was for us.


Shot 33.9% and got out rebounded....and somehow still won. Wasn't pretty....but we survived.


Rebounds were even 35-35, but we got 5 more offensive boards


This is from the Yahoo sports app....is it wrong?




ESPN had it even. The hustle boards in the arena had it 34-34 with under a minute.
bear2be2
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boognish_bear said:


For a team that can't consistently play man defense, this bunch is surprisingly gritty. It finds creative ways to win games statistically it has no business winning.
Ghostrider
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That was a fun game to attend. Loud crowd and a great game. Not the best shooting but we found a way to win.
EvilTroyAndAbed
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whitetrash said:

boognish_bear said:

whitetrash said:

boognish_bear said:

PaperBear89 said:

Glad we got the win, but man what a crappy matchup that was for us.


Shot 33.9% and got out rebounded....and somehow still won. Wasn't pretty....but we survived.


Rebounds were even 35-35, but we got 5 more offensive boards


This is from the Yahoo sports app....is it wrong?




ESPN had it even. The hustle boards in the arena had it 34-34 with under a minute.


CBS app also has it at 35-35
mcleod66
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bear2be2 said:

Hotsauce said:

Just checked this thread.

KG1 a liability? Ummm wut. Lol
He was a liability in the last two games. To the point that fans were inventing a fake illness to cover for him.

We damn near lost to Oklahoma because of him and had to pull him in crunch time against Kansas.

I'm glad he came through with three huge possessions down the stretch today. But he needed three tough makes in a row to get to 40 percent shooting for the game. And he made a bunch of bone-headed decisions that allowed Arkansas to get ahead and stay ahead before then.

If he was someone we could rely on for entire games instead of five-minute stretches in games, we'd be a better basketball team. As it is, we're still a pretty damn good one, and that's a good thing.
He's a true freshman and an exceptional one at that. In fact, he's a lot better than some upperclassmen.
historian
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As does Baylor's box score.
historian
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gobears20
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Staff
bear2be2
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mcleod66 said:

bear2be2 said:

Hotsauce said:

Just checked this thread.

KG1 a liability? Ummm wut. Lol
He was a liability in the last two games. To the point that fans were inventing a fake illness to cover for him.

We damn near lost to Oklahoma because of him and had to pull him in crunch time against Kansas.

I'm glad he came through with three huge possessions down the stretch today. But he needed three tough makes in a row to get to 40 percent shooting for the game. And he made a bunch of bone-headed decisions that allowed Arkansas to get ahead and stay ahead before then.

If he was someone we could rely on for entire games instead of five-minute stretches in games, we'd be a better basketball team. As it is, we're still a pretty damn good one, and that's a good thing.
He's a true freshman and an exceptional one at that. In fact, he's a lot better than some upperclassmen.
Keyonte is an exceptional talent and is occasionally an exceptional player. I just get frustrated by his inconsistency/inefficiency, particularly knowing that this is the only year we're going to have him.

I'm sure he'll be a great player at some point in the not-too-distant future. I just don't care nearly as much about his NBA future as I do about his present as a Baylor Bear.

We see what he can be in flashes, but it's only flashes at this point. And in between those, we get a lot of freshman mistakes. I understand why that happens. He is, after all, a freshman. But as a college basketball fan first, I don't have a whole lot of reason to take a patient approach with a one-and-done talent. The present is all there is.

I'm thankful that George is on our team and appreciate the positives he brings. But I do find him to be a frustrating player, and I don't think there's anything wrong with that.

I'm glad the NBA is strongly considering doing away with the 19-year-old rule. It will be better for college basketball in the long run.
Crawfoso1973
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I know this is your axe to grind, but I personally am thrilled to have Keyonte, and was grateful for the year we got to have Sochan and KB last season. I don't think they are bad for college basketball or for our program.
bear2be2
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Crawfoso1973 said:

I know this is your axe to grind, but I personally am thrilled to have Keyonte, and was grateful for the year we got to have Sochan and KB last season. I don't think they are bad for college basketball or for our program.
Kendall Brown did next to nothing for our program. He was a slightly above average player who was making minimal impact by conference play and the tournament.

No offense to him personally -- he seems like a good, sensitive kid -- but I would have rather used that scholarship on a developmental player or multi-year transfer.

Sochan was different. He earned his way into a one-and-done situation by being the best player on our team last year. I have nothing but positive memories about his time in Waco.
Crawfoso1973
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Fully disagree on KB. He was a vital contributor to our conference and tournament run, especially his defensive impact due to his length and quickness.
bear2be2
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Crawfoso1973 said:

Fully disagree on KB. He was a vital contributor to our conference and tournament run, especially his defensive impact due to his length and quickness.
What tournament run? We beat Norfolk State with him scoring four points and lost in the second round as a No. 1 seed.

Kendall Brown had some highlights last season, particularly during nonconference play, but he had almost no long-term impact on our program.
Crawfoso1973
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bear2be2 said:

Crawfoso1973 said:

Fully disagree on KB. He was a vital contributor to our conference and tournament run, especially his defensive impact due to his length and quickness.
What tournament run? We beat Norfolk State with him scoring four points and lost in the second round as a No. 1 seed.

Kendall Brown had some highlights last season, particularly during nonconference play, but he had almost no long-term impact on our program.
We lost an epic battle to UNC, so you are correct it wasn't a deep tournament run. But if you watched the games, it wasn't all about the highlights or the box score with KB. KB was an elite perimeter defender who could guard positions 1-5. He was not a volume scorer so points scored don't tell the story of his impact. Our defensive struggles this year have been in large part due to losing his presence as an elite perimeter defender along with Sochan. Both were switchable forwards who could guard 1-5. Any one and done player moving on and making $ at the next level is a positive recruiting tool and creates long-term impact for our program, so I disagree with that statement as well.
bear2be2
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Crawfoso1973 said:

bear2be2 said:

Crawfoso1973 said:

Fully disagree on KB. He was a vital contributor to our conference and tournament run, especially his defensive impact due to his length and quickness.
What tournament run? We beat Norfolk State with him scoring four points and lost in the second round as a No. 1 seed.

Kendall Brown had some highlights last season, particularly during nonconference play, but he had almost no long-term impact on our program.
We lost an epic battle to UNC, so you are correct it wasn't a deep tournament run. But if you watched the games, it wasn't all about the highlights or the box score with KB. KB was an elite perimeter defender who could guard positions 1-5. He was not a volume scorer so points scored don't tell the story of his impact. Our defensive struggles this year have been in large part due to losing his presence as an elite perimeter defender along with Sochan. Both were switchable forwards who could guard 1-5. Any one and done player moving on and making $ at the next level is a positive recruiting tool and creates long-term impact for our program, so I disagree with that statement as well.
If Kendall Brown was an elite perimeter defender, he would have gone in the first round and wouldn't have spent most of this year in the G League.

Kendall Brown was a good college defender. He wasn't an elite one. And if he had provided what was expected on offense last year, people wouldn't even be trying to make that case.

Kendall Brown was a good, not great player for a good, not great team. And he was gone before coming close to reaching his potential. It is what it is.
bear2be2
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Crawfoso1973 said:

bear2be2 said:

Crawfoso1973 said:

Fully disagree on KB. He was a vital contributor to our conference and tournament run, especially his defensive impact due to his length and quickness.
What tournament run? We beat Norfolk State with him scoring four points and lost in the second round as a No. 1 seed.

Kendall Brown had some highlights last season, particularly during nonconference play, but he had almost no long-term impact on our program.
We lost an epic battle to UNC, so you are correct it wasn't a deep tournament run. But if you watched the games, it wasn't all about the highlights or the box score with KB. KB was an elite perimeter defender who could guard positions 1-5. He was not a volume scorer so points scored don't tell the story of his impact. Our defensive struggles this year have been in large part due to losing his presence as an elite perimeter defender along with Sochan. Both were switchable forwards who could guard 1-5. Any one and done player moving on and making $ at the next level is a positive recruiting tool and creates long-term impact for our program, so I disagree with that statement as well.
And having guys that were projected to go in the lottery fall to the late second round is not a positive recruiting tool. That's spin if I've ever seen it.
Crawfoso1973
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KB had and still has holes in his game, which slid him out of the first round. No argument there.
Crawfoso1973
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If only Drew knew to read your posts, so he would stop recruiting one and done players.
bear2be2
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Crawfoso1973 said:

If only Drew knew to read your posts, so he would stop recruiting one and done players.
Drew can do whatever he wants. And I can have my opinions about it.

That's what a message board is for.

But nice appeal to authority fallacy.

All I know is we didn't win our national title recruiting the way we have the last three years. We won by recruiting and developing a cohesive, veteran team. I don't think that's a coincidence. Time will tell if we can win big the way we're currently trying to. We didn't last year, and I don't think we're going to this year.

There's no one on this board who is a bigger Scott Drew defender than me. That doesn't mean I have to agree with everything he does.
IowaBear
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I'm not going to get in the way of this back and forth but I'll say this. Getting old and staying old is the recipe to winning a national title. Relying on 5 star talent just doesn't win you titles save UKs 2012 squad. I'm fine recruiting 5 stars but we better balance them out with talented proven upperclassmen
bear2be2
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IowaBear said:

I'm not going to get in the way of this back and forth but I'll say this. Getting old and staying old is the recipe to winning a national title. Relying on 5 star talent just doesn't win you titles save UKs 2012 squad. I'm fine recruiting 5 stars but we better balance them out with talented proven upperclassmen
Be careful. I got roasted for making this same point last year.
historian
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bear2be2 said:

IowaBear said:

I'm not going to get in the way of this back and forth but I'll say this. Getting old and staying old is the recipe to winning a national title. Relying on 5 star talent just doesn't win you titles save UKs 2012 squad. I'm fine recruiting 5 stars but we better balance them out with talented proven upperclassmen
Be careful. I got roasted for making this same point last year.

It certainly worked for Drew in 2021. IIRC he even said do. TV announcers certainly did often enough.
Crawfoso1973
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IowaBear said:

I'm not going to get in the way of this back and forth but I'll say this. Getting old and staying old is the recipe to winning a national title. Relying on 5 star talent just doesn't win you titles save UKs 2012 squad. I'm fine recruiting 5 stars but we better balance them out with talented proven upperclassmen
And Drew is doing just that. Our roster only has 1 one and done player, the rest of our guys are 3 and 4 year guys including Grimes waiting in the wings. One and and done player. One. I swear, some of you guys just look for stuff to ***** and complain about.
IowaBear
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Show me where I'm *****ing??? This is a message board, if you don't like others opinions go find a different hobby. This is EXACTLY why very few interact with you on here. You take everyone's opinions who differ from yours and spin them as a negative.
bear2be2
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Crawfoso1973 said:

IowaBear said:

I'm not going to get in the way of this back and forth but I'll say this. Getting old and staying old is the recipe to winning a national title. Relying on 5 star talent just doesn't win you titles save UKs 2012 squad. I'm fine recruiting 5 stars but we better balance them out with talented proven upperclassmen
And Drew is doing just that. Our roster only has 1 one and done player, the rest of our guys are 3 and 4 year guys including Grimes waiting in the wings. One and and done player. One. I swear, some of you guys just look for stuff to ***** and complain about.
We will have had three of our four one-and-done players in program history in the last two drafts. And we'll likely add another two or three to that list over the next two years. It's disingenuous to act like our recruiting hasn't changed. Whether that reflects a shift in strategy or improved access to elite high school talent can be debated. But the underlying facts can't.

We've relied far more heavily on freshmen the last two years than we did in the half-decade preceding them. And that trend is almost certain to continue the next two seasons based on our current recruiting.
IowaBear
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Bingo! But staying the obvious is "finding something to ***** about" just look at next years squad. Odds are will be relying heavily on Walter and Little 2 freshman. Drew's recruiting strategy has definitely changed, and that's perfectly fine as long as we keep bringing in upperclassmen impact transfers
Crawfoso1973
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IowaBear said:

Bingo! But staying the obvious is "finding something to ***** about" just look at next years squad. Odds are will be relying heavily on Walter and Little 2 freshman. Drew's recruiting strategy has definitely changed, and that's perfectly fine as long as we keep bringing in upperclassmen impact transfers


Yep, just gotta trust Drew knows what he's doing and isn't just randomly throwing a roster together.
IowaBear
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Nobody here doesn't trust Drew. At least I'd hope not. We have a top 5 program right now in CBB
 
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