Baylor
Northwestern State
No. 9 MBB Set to Host Northwestern State on Saturday
12/1/2023 9:50:00 AM | Men's Basketball
BU set for it's annual Holiday Hoops game
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9/9 BAYLOR BEARS (7-0, 0-0 Big 12) Location: Waco, Texas Conference/Affiliation: Big 12 Head Coach: Scott Drew (Butler, 1993) Roster | Stats | Game Notes (PDF) |
Nicholls (1-6, 0-0 Southland) vs. 9/9 BAYLOR (7-0, 0-0 Big 12) Dec. 2, 2023 • 5:00 p.m. CT Waco, Texas • The Ferrell Center (10,284) LIVE STATS: Stat Broadcast WATCH: ESPN+ Talent: John Morris (pxp), King McClure (analyst) LISTEN: Baylor Sports Media Network via ESPN 1660 AM / 92.3 FM in Central Texas and worldwide at centexsportsfan.com Talent: Ryan Boyd (PBP), Pat Nunley (Analyst) SIRIUS XM: SiriusXM 199 or on the SXM App Baylor Social Media:    |
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NORTHWESTERN ST. DEMONS (1-6, 0-0 Southland) Location: Natchitoches, La. Conference/Affiliation: Southland Head Coach: Rick Cabrera (Tenn. Tech, 1998) Roster | Stats | Game Notes |
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By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
Coming off a game when the bench scored 62 points in a 108-70 rout of Nicholls State, the ninth-ranked Baylor Bears (7-0) will face another Southland Conference opponent when the Northwestern State Demons (1-6) come to town Saturday for a 5 p.m. matchup at the Ferrell Center.
Langston Love led the way with a career-high 23 points, but the Bears also got 12 points from Caleb Lohner, seven from freshman guard Miro Little, eight points and four assists from Dantwan Grimes, five points and seven rebounds from Jonathan Tchamwa Tchatchoua and a second 3-pointer by senior walk-on Austin Sacks in as many games.
"Scoring has always come easy for Langston," Baylor coach Scott Drew said of Love, who's third on the team with 13.3 points per game. "When he jumped from high school to college, there's always a transition. . . . Coming off the ACL, I always think it takes over a year to get back to where you were. Really, he's never been able to have consistent weeks where he's been healthy, where he could build on his game."
The crowd and bench erupted with 22 seconds left in Tuesday's game against Nicholls when the 6-7 Sacks buried a corner trey for Baylor's last points of the game.
"I'm just glad to be part of this team," Sacks said. "And the way they celebrate me and do whatever I can on the floor for them, those moments mean a lot to me, for sure."
Part of a deep rotation of guards that includes freshman Ja'Kobe Walter (15.6 ppg), transfers RayJ Dennis (13.9 ppg, 6.6 assists) and Jayden Nunn (11.7 ppg), Love and Little, Grimes redshirted last year after earning second-team NJCAA All-America honors at Kilgore College in 2022.
"I don't really know my specific role," Grimes said. "I just know that when my name is called, I go in and do whatever I'm asked to do, whatever I've got to do for the team."
Including 6-9 senior forward Jalen Bridges (10.9 ppg) and freshman 7-footer Yves Missi (9.1 ppg, 5.9 rebounds, 2.1 blocks), Baylor has six players averaging between nine and 16 points per game.
With a deep rotation that essentially goes 11-deep, Drew said the coaches' job is to "make sure that when we get into games, our guys that are shooting well are getting shots and our guys that are driving well get driving opportunities."
Scoring at least 88 points in all but one of the seven games this season, the Bears are ranked No. 1 in the country in 3-point shooting percentage (44.5) and fourth in scoring average at 93 points per game.
"You always try to put them in positions to be successful," Drew said. "The biggest thing for us is getting high-quality shots, because you have to be a decent player to play here to begin with, so now it really comes down to shot selection, what's best for you. If you're taking the best shots for you, they're probably the best for the team."
Under first-year head coach Rick Cabrera, who led Tallahassee Community College to the NJCAA national semifinals last year, Northwestern State returns only one player from a team that went 22-11 last season and pushed Baylor in a 10-point loss in Waco, 58-48.
The Demons are led by a trio of double-figure scorers in freshman Ryan Forrest (15.9 ppg) and JC transfers Cliff Davis (15.3 ppg) and Braelon Bush (10.0 ppg). Justin Wilson, a 6-9 senior forward who played one season at crosstown McLennan Community College, is averaging 4.6 points and 3.3 rebounds per game.
"It takes a little bit to get used to playing with one another. I think they're playing a lot better now than they did early in the year. And I think that'll continue," Drew said. "They've got some talented players that, like every team nowadays, with athleticism, people that can pass, dribble and shoot, which makes them dangerous, especially on nights when they're hitting the 3."
Saturday's game will be streamed by Big 12 Now on ESPN+, with "Voice of the Bears" John Morris and former Baylor standout King McClure calling the action.
Story lines
• No. 9/9 Baylor opens the month of December with its 12th all-time meeting with Northwestern State.
• The Bears are 10-1 all time against the Demons, including an 58-48 win last season in Waco.
• The Bears are coming off a win against Nicholls, completing a perfect opening month (7-0) for the sixth time in the Scott Drew Era and the third time in the last four seasons.
• This season marks the third time in program history BU has won 7 games in November (2023, 2021 and 2016).
• Ranked at No. 9 this week, The Bears have now been ranked in the top-10 for a fifth-straight year, one of just three programs (Duke and Kansas) to accomplish that feat.
• Through seven games, Baylor leads the nation in 3-point FG% (.443)
• Tuesday marks one of just three remaining home games scheduled for the Ferrell Center this season.
• BU enters Tuesday with 398 wins all-time at the Ferrell Center.
• The Bears host Northwetsern State on Saturday, having won four-straight in the friendly confines on the heels of a dominant 108-70 win over the Nicholls Colonels.
• BU dominated from the opening-tip, leading by as many at 41, spurred on by a career-high 23 points from Langston Love.
• BU's 25 assists were its most since it had 26 against Texas Tech last season (2/4/23).
• The Bears allowed zero second-chance points for the first time since Jan. 4, 2022 when they held Oklahoma scoreless in that category.
• Baylor beat Florida in the NIT Season Tip-Off last week to win its sixth title in the last seven regular-season tournaments.
• Baylor is 42-13 in regular-season tournaments during the Drew era
• With wins over Auburn and Florida, the Bears are 20-11 against SEC opponents during the Drew era, including 15-7 since 2012-13, and six of the last seven meetings.
• BU has won 15 of its last 16 regular-season neutral-site contests.
• On the heels of his NIT Season Tip-Off MVP honor, Baylor's RayJ Dennis was named the Big 12 co-Newcomer of the Week on Monday.
• Jalen Bridges and Ja'Kobe Walter joined Dennis on the NIT Season Tip-Off All-Tournament Team.
• Walter is averaging 15.6 points per game, which ranks in the top-10 among freshmen in the Power Six.
• Walter's 109 points are the second most through seven games by a freshman in program history (Aaron Bruce 119).
• Walter is one of four freshman in Big 12 history to score at least 28 points in his debut, and the only one to do it against a power conference opponent.
• Walter is the first freshman in program history to collect Big 12 Player of the Week honors (11/13).
• BU erased a nine-point halftime deficit in the season opener against Auburn to win 88-82 at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, S.D., its largest halftime deficit overcome in a win since coming back from 11 down to beat Texas in overtime on Feb. 27, 2019 in Waco.
