It would be unwise to read too much into the season openers ahead of the massive Arkansas vs Baylor showdown Saturday night.
While the No. 16 Razorbacks handled Lipscomb on Wednesday, the No. 8 Bears were annihilated 101-63 by No. 6 Gonzaga in Spokane, Wash., on Monday. Boy, did Baylor answer the bell in responding to that setback. On Saturday night, they beat the Hogs in a 72-67 high-wire act that often pulsated with the intensity of a March Madness showdown.
The 38-point margin by which Gonzaga beat Baylor might have given some Arkansas basketball fans a false sense of confidence, but you shouldn’t have included head coach John Calipari in that group. He knew what kind of challenge it is to play Gonzaga on the road.
“Two years ago, we made that trip and we got beat,” Calipari said before Arkansas vs Baylor. “We were down big at half. We came back, made a little game of it, but they just ran us into the dust.”
Kentucky trailed that game, which was played Nov. 20, 2022, by 16 at halftime and pulled within four at one point in the second half, but ultimately lost by that margin, 88-72.
If that isn’t enough to convince you not to put too much stock into Baylor’s performance at Gonzaga, consider what Baylor basketball coach Scott Drew said about road games — specifically the first of the season — on his radio show this week.
“If you look that first road game you play, you can talk about it, but two years ago we got destroyed at Marquette (and) last year we got destroyed at Michigan State and even tried to talk to our guys before the game,” Drew said. “Like Jeremy [Roach], your first road game with Duke was at Arkansas last year and you got beat bad. Norchad’s first road game was at Kentucky. They got beat by 30.
Omier certainly got his revenge on Saturday night, however. The bruising 6’7″ Nicaraguan made Arkansas pay for a recovering Jonas Aidoo, repeatedly making mincemeat of Trevon Brazile and Zvonomir Ivisic on his way to 15 points and 12 rebounds.
Let’s unpack what Drew was talking about in chronological order:
- In 2022, Baylor traveled to Marquette and lost 96-70 in a game it trailed by as many as 32. The Bears still went 23-11 and reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
- Baylor played Michigan State in Detroit last season in what was technically a neutral site game. Despite the Spartans being mediocre, Baylor lost 88-64 in a game it trailed by as many as 30. The Bears went 23-11 and again reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
- Jeremy Roach, a transfer guard from Duke, came to Bud Walton Arena last November with the Blue Devils and lost 80-75. Despite the Hogs later turning out to be Eric Musselman’s worst team at Arkansas, the Razorbacks that night led by as many as 14 in the second half and staved off a late rally. Duke went 27-9 and made the Elite Eight.
- Norchad Omier, a transfer forward from Miami (Fla.) who actually began his career at Arkansas State, squared off with John Calipari’s last Kentucky team at Rupp Arena. His Hurricanes got beat 95-73. Drew’s math was slightly off with that one, but the Hurricanes did trail by as many as 29. Unlike the others, Miami actually did struggle, finishing sub-.500 and missing the big dance.
All of that is to say this: Chances were nothing would come easy in Arkansas vs Baylor.
Arkansas basketball fans bummed about the loss should at least be glad that it wasn’t that John Calipari’s son Brad Calipari is out of eligibility considering what happened to Mark Few’s son when he took the floor vs Baylor…
Had the game been a blowout one or another, this would have been a very bad look.
See below for live updates, stats and highlights from the game in Dallas…
KEY MOMENTS — Arkansas vs Baylor
Pregame Tidbits
The Hogs are sticking with the same starting lineup as they used in the opener against Lipscomb on Wednesday.
15:30, 1H – Baylor 8, Arkansas 6
- Baylor opened up in a zone and it gave Arkansas trouble out of the games. The Hogs missed their first four shots before Fland finally converted a second-chance opportunity.
- The first three buckets by Arkansas came after offensive boards. The third came after Fland’s fast break layup was blocked, but Thiero grabbed it and dunked.
- On the other end, Baylor is getting the rim rather easily. That’s led to it starting 4 of 6, compared to 3 of 9 by Arkansas.
- Big Z will be shooting free throws when play resumes after the U16 media timeout.
11:24, 1H – Baylor 18, Arkansas 11
- Thiero has shown off his athleticism once again by blocking a couple of shots. One the second one, he got WAY up. On the other end, Davis tried to throw an alley-oop to him and he got way up again, but he was fouled. He made just 1 of 2 free throws, though.
- Arkansas has missed its first five 3-point attempts. Davis and Thiero are 0 for 2 and Wagner is 0 for 1. All three of the Hogs’ FGs so far are second-chance buckets.
- Davis misses a 3, so make that 0 for 6 from deep.
- Omier is playing really well for Baylor. He just grabbed an offensive board and put it back up. The former Arkansas State standout has 6 points and 5 rebounds already.
- Fland misses a 3, so now 0 for 7 from deep.
7:43, 1H – Baylor 26, Arkansas 15
- Karter Knox joins the brick parade, missing a 3. Arkansas is now 0 for 8 from deep.
- The Hogs finally got the ball in the short corner to Thiero and he converted. It took nearly 10 minutes, but Arkansas finally got a non-second-chance bucket.
- Roach just went all the way to the basket, right down the middle of the floor, for an easy layup.
- Wagner chunks up a 3. The Hogs are now 0 for 9 from beyond the arc.
- Arkansas’ best offense has been in transition, but there haven’t been a ton of opportunities. Wagner notched a steal and took it all the way himself for a layup.
- Arkansas fed it inside to Big Z, but he wasn’t strong with it and it got knocked away. It led to a dunk on the other end and Calipari calls a timeout.
4:00, 1H – Baylor 33, Arkansas 22
- Thiero got inside the zone and went up off two feet for a bucket. Then the defense forced a turnover and Richmond – as he’s shown a knack for so far – ran the floor and was rewarded with a feed for a big dunk.
- Arkansas has made a 3! Thiero drained one from the left wing. He’s got 10 points and that makes the Hogs 1 of 10 from deep.
- Thiero picks up his second foul at the 4:22 mark. Davis and Knox also have two fouls apiece.
- The Hogs are still struggling against Baylor’s zone. Richmond did just drive and draw a foul, though, so he’ll be shooting free throws when play resumes after the U4 media timeout. Arkansas’ shooting percentage has improved slightly, to 8 of 23 (34.8%) from the floor, but it’s still just 1 of 10 from beyond the arc.
HALF – Baylor 42, Arkansas 33
- Billy Richmond and Jeremy Roach were assessed technicals at the 3:31 mark, after Roach called a timeout. Things were starting to get chippy, so the officials are trying to get it under control.
- Out of the timeout, Fland stole the in-bound pass and was immediately fouled. He made both free throws. Then, on the ensuing possession, Arkansas pressed and forced another turnover in the backcourt. Fland ended up with it and buried a 3 to pull within 33-31.
- Richmond made an ugly turnover, but hustled back and blocked a layup in transition on the ensuing possession. Really nice hustle.
- After somewhat of a drought, the Hogs got out in transition after a rebound and Trevon Brazile got an easy alley-oop dunk out of it.
- Unfortunate end to the half for the Hogs, as Roach buried a 3 with a hand in his face in the closing seconds.
HALFTIME STATS
15:58, 2H – Baylor 44, Arkansas 44
- Thiero is keeping Arkansas in the game. Near the end of the shot clock, he drove to the basket and got a fadeaway mid-range jumper to fall. On the next possession, he drilled an open 3 from the left wing. That pulls the Hogs within four.
- Oh my. Thiero jumped in front of a pass for a steal and took it all the way to the basket himself, but was met by Edgecombe. The two athletic freaks hit the ground hard. Edgecombe had to check out, but Thiero stayed in and went 1 of 2 from the line. He has 16 points.
- The Hogs had a chance to cut into the deficit more after getting the offensive rebound following the missed free throw, but Big Z rushed his put back and missed. Then he got beat on the other end down low.
- Fland knocked down a deep 3. Then Wagner got into the paint for a turnaround mid-range jumper. That ties it up and Baylor calls a timeout.
14:38, 2H – Baylor 50, Arkansas 44
- Out of the timeout, Nunn got left alone at the top of the key and he drilled the 3. Unwise to leave him open as a 42% shooter.
- After Big Z missed a hook shot, Baylor got another 3. This time from Edgecombe, who briefly left the game after getting shaken up.
10:56, 2H – Baylor 61, Arkansas 50
- Fland scored quickly out of the timeout, but Arkansas left a Baylor shooter wide open again and it resulted in another 3.
- Omier just took Brazile’s lunch money, backing him into the paint for a layup. It nearly happened again, only this time Brazile committed a foul. That leads to Jonas Aidoo checking in, replacing Brazile.
- Baylor has stretched its lead back to 10 with a mid-range jumper.
- Wagner got it back down to 8 with a mid-range jumper of his own, but Arkansas once again left Baylor open on the perimeter and Celestine knocked down the 3. The Bears are now 7 of 17 (41.2%) from deep, including 4 of 8 this half.
7:51, 2H – Baylor 63, Arkansas 54
- Knox had a 3 that went halfway down before popping out. Brazile grabbed the offensive rebound and stuck it back in.
- Omier finally picked up his fourth foul at the 8:26 mark. He had three in the first half. It resulted in a pair of FTs by Davis.
- Tough break for the Hogs: Brazile blocked a 3-pointer and was running down the floor for what could have been a fastbreak dunk, but Baylor ended up with the ball and got a dunk out of it.
- Arkansas is 8 of 17 (47.1%) from the floor with only two turnovers this half…but Baylor is 8 of 16 (50%) and half of those makes have been 3s.
6:26, 2H – Baylor 63, Arkansas 58
- Davis, who appeared to hurt his wrist just before the timeout, got a floater to fall out of the timeout.
- Fland drew an offensive foul and Arkansas turned it into points with a mid-range jumper by Thiero. He’s up to 20 points on 8 of 12 shooting.
- Baylor calls a timeout with its lead down to five.
3:52, 2H – Baylor 67, Arkansas 60
- Oh my. Fland grabbed an air ball late in the shot clock and pushed it up the floor to Thiero, who threw down a thunderous dunk. He immediately cramped up and had to be stretched out.
- The Hogs had the ball down 3, but didn’t convert and then Roach drove by his man for a layup to push Baylor’s lead back to 5.
- Poor defensive rotation led to another easy layup for Baylor. Calipari calls a timeout on the other end.
0:54, 2H – Baylor 69, Arkansas 64
- Thiero scored on a drive out of the timeout. He’s up to 24 points.
- Arkansas got the ball inside to Davis, who drew a foul. He knocked down both free throws to pull within 3.
- Omier ended the mini-run with a bucket through a double-team. He’s been so good for Baylor today.
- Davis had an open look in the corner, but missed. He’s 0 of 5 from deep, and most of them have been good looks.
- Arkansas calls a timeout after committing a foul.
FINAL – Baylor 72, Arkansas 67
- Baylor grabbed an offensive rebound with about 35 seconds left and that might be the final dagger. Arkansas had to foul after that and the Bears made 1 of 2 FTs.
- Fland threw up a deep 3 with a hand in his face and drilled it. That cuts Baylor’s lead in half and the Hogs immediately called a timeout with 22.8 seconds remaining. Fland is up to 17 points.
- The Hogs couldn’t get a quick turnover, so Thiero commits a foul with 14.9 seconds left. Edgecombe made both free throws.
- Arkansas couldn’t get another shot off.
FINAL STATS
See our post-gamer here:
Starting Lineups
| Baylor Basketball | Arkansas Basketball |
|---|---|
| #2 – Jayden Nunn – G | #1 – Johnell Davis – G |
| #3 – Jeremy Roach – G | #2 – Boogie Fland – G |
| #7 – V.J. Edgecombe – G | #21 – D.J. Wagner – G |
| #15 – Norchad Omier – F | #3 – Adou Thiero – F |
| #17 – Josh Ojianwuna – F | #44 – Zvonimir Ivisic – F |
How to Watch Arkansas vs Baylor
Date: Saturday, Nov. 9
Location: American Airlines Center (Dallas, Texas)
Tipoff Time / TV Schedule: 6:30 p.m. CT (ESPNU)
ESPN BPI: Baylor has a 62.3% chance to win and is favored by 3.1.
KenPom: Baylor has a 51% chance to win, with a projected score of 77-76.
Betting Line/Spread: Baylor, -2.5 | O/U 154.5 (BetSaracen)
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