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20/17 BAYLOR BEARS (0-0, 0-0 Big 12)
Location: Waco, Texas
Conference/Affiliation: Big 12
Head Coach: Scott Drew (Butler, 1993)
Roster | Stats | Game Notes (PDF) |
20/17 BAYLOR (0-0, 0-0 Big 12) vs. RV/RV AUBURN (0-0, 0-0 SEC)
Nov. 7, 2023 • 8:01 p.m. CT
Sioux Falls, S.D. • The Sanford Pentagon (3,250)
LIVE STATS: Stat Broadcast
WATCH: ESPN
Talent: Roxy Bernstein (pxp), Fran Fraschilla (analyst)
LISTEN: Baylor Sports Media Network via ESPN 1660 AM / 92.3 FM in Central Texas and worldwide at centexsportsfan.com
Talent: John Morris (PBP), Pat Nunley (Analyst)
SIRIUS XM: SiriusXM 81 or on the SXM App
Baylor Social Media:    |
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AUBURN TIGERS (0-0, 0-0 SEC)
Location: Auburn, Alabama
Conference/Affiliation: SEC
Head Coach: Bruce Pearl (Boston College, 1982)
Roster | Stats | Game Notes (PDF) |
By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
Tested right out of the box, the 20th-ranked Baylor men will open against Auburn at 8 p.m. CT Tuesday at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, S.D.
The Tigers are one of six Baylor opponents that have made it to a Final Four in the last five years, losing to eventual national champion Virginia in the 2019 semifinals.
"Whenever you start with a Coach (Bruce) Pearl team, you start with a team that's going to play hard, play tough," said Baylor coach Scott Drew, whose string of 11-consecutive postseason berths was punctuated by the 2021 national championship, "but most of all, they're not going to beat themselves. You're going to have to beat them.
"It's going to be a typical Power 5, SEC/Big 12 matchup, real physical. For us, a lot of new guys, first time under the lights like this, if there are weaknesses, they'll get exposed. And if there are areas to improve, it'll get exposed. What you do well, you know you've earned. It's a great early-season test."
While Auburn returns five of its top seven from last year's 21-13 team that lost to Houston in the second round of the NCAA Tournament, 6-9 senior forward Jalen Bridges (10.3 points, 5.6 rebounds) is Baylor's only returner that averaged more than 20 minutes per game. A preseason All-SEC pick, 6-10 junior forward/center Johni Broome averaged 14.2 points and 8.4 rebounds for the Tigers and ranked 10th nationally with 2.4 blocks per game.
Restocking a backcourt that lost Big 12 Freshman of the Year Keyonte George, first-team All-Big 12 pick Adam Flagler and third-team selection LJ Cryer, the Bears signed MAC Player of the Year RayJ Dennis from Toledo and Jayden Nunn from VCU, Big 12 Preseason Freshman of the Year Ja'Kobe Walter and 6-4 Finnish National Team player Miro Little.
"He doesn't know it, but I always tell him, he's good," Nunn said of Walter, a McDonald's All-American who led McKinney High School to its first-ever state championship two years ago. "And not only that, I feel like he's just showing areas of his game that he hasn't shown. He just shows it to practice, so once he's able to show it to the world, he's just going to show whoever doubted him and underrated him. I feel like he's better than what he is, for real."
Dennis averaged 19.5 points and a league-high 5.8 assists in leading Toledo to its third-straight MAC championship. Nunn averaged 9.5 points and 1.5 assists for a VCU team that lost to Saint Mary's in the first round of the NCAA Tournament last year.
That group joined returning sophomore Langston Love (6.3 ppg) and 6-2 junior Dantwan Grimes, who redshirted last year after earning NJCAA All-America honors at Kilgore.
"I really didn't know it was going to be this elite," Nunn said. "But after working out with these guys every day, just competing with them, it's very elite. It's very competitive throughout the whole practice, but I feel like that's just only going to make us better. Not a lot of schools have a backcourt like we do now and that much depth. That's going to take us a long way, for sure."
One of the most decorated recruits in program history, Walter said he is "super excited" to play his first collegiate game.
"Just coming on my visit, seeing the college environment and the energy in games," he said. "So now just being able to be in the game, I'm super excited. I've been looking forward (to this) since the summer. I just love the energy in the gym. So, just to be able to play in it finally, I'm too happy."
Tuesday's game will be broadcast by ESPN, with Roxy Bernstein and Fran Fraschilla calling the action. In their home opener, the Bears will host John Brown University at 11 a.m. Thursday at the Ferrell Center.
"That's a national audience and ESPN game. Should be the most-viewed game of the night, and gives you a great platform," Drew said of the Auburn game. "At the same time, it's a great venue. We've been there, a lot of excitement. Coaches are always going to get nervous about certain things. And with a lot of new guys, definitely after that game, we'll be able to have things exposed that we maybe don't see each and every day in practice against ourselves."
Story lines
• No. 20 Baylor opens its season against a power-conference opponent for the first time since 2013 (Colorado).
• BU is 18-2 in season openers under Scott Drew (four-straight wins).
• Tuesday marks BU's eighth all-time meeting with Auburn, with BU holding a 5-2 advantage over the Tigers.
• Auburn is one of six opponents on BU's schedule, that have made a Final Four since 2019.
• BU is playing at the Sanford Pentagon for a second-straight season, after outlasting No. 14 Gonzaga 64-63 in the inaugural Peacock Classic, a rematch of the 2021 national title game.
• The Bears open the season as a ranked team for the fifth-straight season, and 11 of the last 14 seasons since its first preseason ranking in 2010-11.
• The Bears have been ranked in 74 of the last 75 AP Polls.
• BU is 78-20 over the last three seasons, tied for the nation's best record by a Power-6 team in that span.
• Baylor is 104-24 over the last four seasons, the nation's best winning percentage among Power-6 teams in that span.
• BU has won 19 of its last 20 neutral-site games against non-conference opponents (only loss in that span was vs. Virginia 11/18/22).
• The Bears are a nations-best 27-11 vs. AP top-25 teams over the last four years, with 16 of those wins coming away from home.
• Baylor is 77-13 vs. unranked teams over the last four seasons (.855%).
• Baylor is replacing four of its five starters and 68% of its scoring from a season ago.
• BU had a total of 924 games of NCAA experience on the roster last season, and begins this season with just 550.
• The Bears welcome in a top-15 recruiting class, headlined by Preseason Big 12 Freshman of the Year, Ja'Kobe Walter
• Walter is BU's third-straight preseason freshman of the year (Kendall Brown & Keyonte George)
• Walter is joined by a pair of four-star freshmen in Yves Missi and Miro Little
• Walter joined his teammates Jalen Bridges and RayJ Dennis as Preseason All-Big 12 Honorable mention selections
• Dennis played two seasons each at Boise State (2019-21) and Toledo (2021-23)
• The Plainfield, Ill. native, is coming off MAC Player of the honors last season with the Rockets after averaging 19.5 points, 4.3 rebounds and 5.8 assists per game.
• Baylor was picked fourth in the 2023-24 Big 12 Preseason Coaches' Poll. This marks the 13th time in the last 16 seasons that BU has been picked to finish in the top half of the league. The Bears were picked in the lower half of the league in each of the conference's first 12 seasons.
• BU is one of just five schools to be ranked No. 1 in the AP Poll in at least two of the last four seasons
• Twelve of Baylor's 13 starting point guards during the Drew era have earned All-Big 12 recognition.
• The Bears are 13-3 in the last 16 games against AP Top-10 teams, beating Nos. 5, 9, 6, 6, 10, 6, 1, 6, 8, 5, 8, 9 and 8.
• BU has won 78-straight when shooting a higher percentage than its opponent (last loss March 2, 2019 at K-State).
• BU is playing its 346th game as a ranked team under Scott Drew — Baylor was ranked in just two of 2,197 games over the program's 97 seasons prior to Drew.
For full version of Baylor's Game notes, click here. For Auburn's game notes, click here.
