Story Poster
Photo by Jack Mackenzie - SicEm365.com
Baylor Basketball

Gameday Thread: Baylor Heads West to Face Arizona State

January 9, 2025
52,782

Baylor (10-4, 2-1) travels to the Grand Canyon State for a match-up against Arizona State (10-4, 2-1) Saturday January 11th at 8:30 p.m. CST. The game will be streamed on ESPN+.

Predictions

KenPom: Baylor 73, Arizona State 70

Torvik: Baylor 71, Arizona State 69

Evan Miyakawa: Baylor 77, Arizona State 69

Haslemetrics: Baylor 72, Arizona State 68

Coaches

Arizona State: Bobby Hurley (53) 207-154 (165-135 at ASU); 4 NCAAs

Baylor: Scott Drew (54); 476-259 overall (456-248 at Baylor); 12 NCAAs; 5 Sweet 16s; 3 Elite 8s; FF; 1 National Championship

Head to Head: 1-0 Drew

Arizona State Starters

  • Guard: Alston Mason (Sr.) 6-2 175 lbs; 12 ppg; 3 asst; 43% FG; 35% 3pt; 84% FT
  • Guard: Adam Miller (Sr.) 6-3 190 lbs; 10 ppg; 3 reb; 45% FG; 46% 3pt; 81% FT
  • Guard: BJ Freeman (Sr.) 6-6 200 lbs; 12 ppg; 4 reb; 3 asst; 40% FG; 31% 3pt; 77% FT
  • Forward: Jayden Quaintance (Fr.) 6-9 230 lbs; 9 ppg; 8 reb; 3 blks; 51% FG; 17% 3pt; 49% FT
  • Forward: Basheer Jihad (Sr.) 6-9 240 lbs; 13 ppg; 6 reb; 47% FG; 35% 3pt; 75% FT

Arizona State Bench

  • *Guard: Joson Sanon (Fr.) 6-5 200 lbs; 14 ppg; 4 reb; 48% FG; 48% 3pt; 69% FT
  • Forward: Amier Ali (Fr.) 6-8 210 lbs; 5 ppg; 2 reb; 37% FG; 31% pt; 69% FT
  • Forward: Shawn Phillips (Jr.) 7-0 245 lbs; 3 ppg; 4 reb; 55% FG; 57% FT

*sat out last two games with an ankle injury

Baylor Starters

  • Guard: Jeremy Roach (Sr.) 6-2 180 lbs; 12 ppg; 4 asst; 43% FG; 36% 3pt; 75% FT
  • Guard: Jayden Nunn (Sr.) 6-4 190 lbs; 11 ppg; 3 reb; 41% FG; 47% 3pt; 57% FT
  • Guard: VJ Edgecombe (Fr.) 6-5 190 lbs; 12 ppg; 6 reb; 3 asst; 3 st; 41% FG; 30% 3pt 72% FT
  • Forward: Norchad Omier (Sr.) 6-7 245 lbs; 16 ppg; 11 reb; 2 steals; 60% FG; 24% 3pt; 74% FT
  • Forward: Josh Ojianwuna (Jr.) 6-10 255 lbs; 8 ppg; 7 reb; 75% FG; 64% FT

Baylor Bench

  • *Guard: Langston Love (Jr.) 6-5 215 lbs; 7 ppg; 3 reb; 36% FG; 29% 3pt; 75% FT 
  • *Forward: Jalen Celestine (Sr.) 6-7 215 lbs; 8 ppg; 3 reb; 39% FG; 38% 3pt; 100% FT
  • Guard: Rob Wright (Fr.) 6-1 180 lbs; 12 ppg; 5 asst; 47% FG; 41% 3pt; 77% FT
  • Forward: Jason Asemota (FR) 6-8 200 lbs; 2 ppg; 2 reb; 43% FG; 27% 3pt; 33% FT

*sat out the last two games with injuries

Discussion from...

Gameday Thread: Baylor Heads West to Face Arizona State

20,380 Views | 260 Replies | Last: 14 days ago by boognish_bear
Stefano DiMera
User Profile
Private Message
Ignore User Stop Ignoring
How long do you want to ignore this user?
24 hours One week Permanently Cancel
In reply to Fre3dombear • 11:26p, 1/11/25
All this stuff about Drew making mistakes.

We won the game. Isn't that the objective?

So does he get any credit the way we rolled in OT?
Reply Quote
1
Fre3dombear
User Profile
Private Message
Ignore User Stop Ignoring
How long do you want to ignore this user?
24 hours One week Permanently Cancel
In reply to Stefano DiMera • 11:27p, 1/11/25
Stefano DiMera said:
Yes I'm saying a team that's 11-4 and 3-1 playing our schedule is a good team..not a great team .

They're a 6 seed in Lunardi Bracket ology so I don't see how 'theyre not a good team '.

This may be the lowest ceiling Drew team in years.. that's a testimony to Drew . not this year's team ..we have a lot to improve on but as I said limited depth.


Sorry you're being thick. Celestine and Live were available for several of those 11 wins. I've explained this twice. lol

But yeah if you think tonight's roster (where by the way John had maybe the best game of his life and hopefully a sign of a new normal) gets those 11 wins then yes by all means please leave the coaching to drew.
Reply Quote
bear2be2
User Profile
Private Message
Ignore User Stop Ignoring
How long do you want to ignore this user?
24 hours One week Permanently Cancel
In reply to Stefano DiMera • 11:29p, 1/11/25
Stefano DiMera said:
Yes I'm saying a team that's 11-4 and 3-1 playing our schedule is a good team..not a great team .

They're a 6 seed in Lunardi Bracket ology so I don't see how 'theyre not a good team '.

This may be the lowest ceiling Drew team in years.. that's a testimony to Drew . not this year's team ..we have a lot to improve on but as I said limited depth.
I would say it's a testimony to both. You don't really get to make roster excuses when you're recruiting elite high school talent and bringing in top transfer targets. Our talent level is among the best in our conference. That it might be an island of misfit toys is on us.

If it doesn't work out this year (and work out means a run to the second weekend of the tournament), we have to own it and go back to the drawing board.

For what it's worth, I like the way this team competes. And I like a lot of our players individually. I just don't think the total package is up to the standard that's been set at Baylor the past decade or so. Hopefully these guys will keep improving and prove me wrong.

In the meantime, it's nice that we've consistently managed to win the games we should. A 3-1 conference record after the first four games is a lot better than the reverse.
Reply Quote
1
1 edit
Smashmouth
User Profile
Private Message
Ignore User Stop Ignoring
How long do you want to ignore this user?
24 hours One week Permanently Cancel
11:31p, 1/11/25
This team will show us something after Tucson.
Reply Quote
2
bear2be2
User Profile
Private Message
Ignore User Stop Ignoring
How long do you want to ignore this user?
24 hours One week Permanently Cancel
In reply to Fre3dombear • 11:35p, 1/11/25
Fre3dombear said:
Stefano DiMera said:
Yes I'm saying a team that's 11-4 and 3-1 playing our schedule is a good team..not a great team .

They're a 6 seed in Lunardi Bracket ology so I don't see how 'theyre not a good team '.

This may be the lowest ceiling Drew team in years.. that's a testimony to Drew . not this year's team ..we have a lot to improve on but as I said limited depth.


Sorry you're being thick. Celestine and Live were available for several of those 11 wins. I've explained this twice. lol

But yeah if you think tonight's roster (where by the way John had maybe the best game of his life and hopefully a sign of a new normal) gets those 11 wins then yes by all means please leave the coaching to drew.
We also had them on the floor when we got run off the court by Tennessee and lost to UConn, so even at full strength, we've struggled against the best teams on our schedule.

To me, we're neither as good as the optimists among us think we are or as bad as the pessimists here insist.

We're a good, solid team. Nothing more, nothing less. Hopefully we'll grow into more down the stretch here, but I don't think we really have to worry about this team's floor. We're generally going to win the games we should, which is a good thing.
Reply Quote
Mitch Henessey
User Profile
Private Message
Ignore User Stop Ignoring
How long do you want to ignore this user?
24 hours One week Permanently Cancel
11:40p, 1/11/25
Some imminently winnable games coming up here, if we can get by UofA on Tuesday. At some point, you'd like to see us win a game against a team with serious NCAA aspirations, but I like the growth I've seen since the break for finals (horrible shooting night in Ames notwithstanding).

Big opportunity Tuesday/Wednesday (games starting at 11pm ET should be illegal), and then we need to take care of business in the next 4. If we can do that, we'll be in line for a top 20 ranking and a top 4 seed.
Reply Quote
2
bear2be2
User Profile
Private Message
Ignore User Stop Ignoring
How long do you want to ignore this user?
24 hours One week Permanently Cancel
11:43p, 1/11/25
It's pretty wild that we won tonight with a 9-to-16 assist-to-turnover ratio. That's probably not something we want to repeat in Tucson.
Reply Quote
3
Fre3dombear
User Profile
Private Message
Ignore User Stop Ignoring
How long do you want to ignore this user?
24 hours One week Permanently Cancel
In reply to bear2be2 • 11:54p, 1/11/25
bear2be2 said:
Fre3dombear said:
Stefano DiMera said:
Yes I'm saying a team that's 11-4 and 3-1 playing our schedule is a good team..not a great team .

They're a 6 seed in Lunardi Bracket ology so I don't see how 'theyre not a good team '.

This may be the lowest ceiling Drew team in years.. that's a testimony to Drew . not this year's team ..we have a lot to improve on but as I said limited depth.


Sorry you're being thick. Celestine and Live were available for several of those 11 wins. I've explained this twice. lol

But yeah if you think tonight's roster (where by the way John had maybe the best game of his life and hopefully a sign of a new normal) gets those 11 wins then yes by all means please leave the coaching to drew.
We also had them on the floor when we got run off the court by Tennessee and lost to UConn, so even at full strength, we've struggled against the best teams on our schedule.

To me, we're neither as good as the optimists among us think we are or as bad as the pessimists here insist.

We're a good, solid team. Nothing more, nothing less. Hopefully we'll grow into more down the stretch here, but I don't think we really have to worry about this team's floor. We're generally going to win the games we should, which is a good thing.


Yep. That's an argument he wants to make to somehow dispute what I said about this current team.

It could always be worse though so there's that.

Seems like a top 32-48 team and if they improve maybe we raise that.

There's 360 teams so yeah that's not something to sniff at but our definition of good roun here is different than say aggy who is mostly punching way up their last 20 year history this year
Reply Quote
1 edit
historian
User Profile
Private Message
Ignore User Stop Ignoring
How long do you want to ignore this user?
24 hours One week Permanently Cancel
In reply to IowaBear • 11:57p, 1/11/25
IowaBear said:
I'll be the first to admit that's my biggest flaw. Graciousness towards the players is easily my biggest area for improvement.

That applies to most of us… especially during a game: Football, MBB, & WBB.
“Incline my heart to your testimonies, and not to selfish gain!”
Psalm 119:36
Reply Quote
historian
User Profile
Private Message
Ignore User Stop Ignoring
How long do you want to ignore this user?
24 hours One week Permanently Cancel
In reply to Stefano DiMera • 12:02a, 1/12/25
Stefano DiMera said:
All this stuff about Drew making mistakes.

We won the game. Isn't that the objective?

So does he get any credit the way we rolled in OT?

Good point. It took sU a long time before they scored in OT. For awhile I thought (hoped) our D would keep them scoreless in OT. In the end, we almost squandered it all but we pulled it off for the dub. That's what really matters.
“Incline my heart to your testimonies, and not to selfish gain!”
Psalm 119:36
Reply Quote
william
User Profile
Private Message
Ignore User Stop Ignoring
How long do you want to ignore this user?
24 hours One week Permanently Cancel
8:27a, 1/12/25
dale 2028
Reply Quote
3
True Grit
User Profile
Private Message
Ignore User Stop Ignoring
How long do you want to ignore this user?
24 hours One week Permanently Cancel
In reply to Stefano DiMera • 8:52a, 1/12/25
Stefano DiMera said:
All this stuff about Drew making mistakes.

We won the game. Isn't that the objective?

So does he get any credit the way we rolled in OT?
My only take is I don't understand the roster make-up. I loved the OT fire last night and am thrilled we are 3-1 in conference.
Reply Quote
Johnny Bear
User Profile
Private Message
Ignore User Stop Ignoring
How long do you want to ignore this user?
24 hours One week Permanently Cancel
9:08a, 1/12/25
Credit to the team for thus far taking care of business against the teams we should beat - despite being shorthanded due to injuries.
Reply Quote
2
boognish_bear
User Profile
Private Message
Ignore User Stop Ignoring
How long do you want to ignore this user?
24 hours One week Permanently Cancel
In reply to Mitch Henessey • 11:36a, 1/12/25
Mitch Henessey said:
Hit FTs and let's get tf outta Tempe.


Nunn going 5 for 5 on FTs at the close of the game was huge. BU not always solid with late game FTs.
Reply Quote
5
boognish_bear
User Profile
Private Message
Ignore User Stop Ignoring
How long do you want to ignore this user?
24 hours One week Permanently Cancel
11:40a, 1/12/25
Reply Quote
4
 
×
subscribe Verify your student status
See Subscription Benefits
Trial only available to users who have never subscribed or participated in a previous trial.