25/23 BAYLOR BEARS (7-3, 0-0 Big 12) Location: Waco, Texas  Conference/Affiliation: Big 12 Head Coach: Scott Drew (Butler, 1993) Roster | Stats | Game Notes (PDF )	ARLINGTON BAPTIST (1-10, 0-0 NCCAA Southwest) vs. 25/23 BAYLOR (7-3, 0-0 Big 12)  Dec. 27, 2024 • 6:00 p.m. CT Waco, Texas • Foster Pavilion (7,500)  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: Pat Nunley (PBP), David Kaye (Analyst) SIRIUS XM: SiriusXM 384 or on the SXM App Baylor Social Media:
	Arlington Baptist Patriots (1-10, 0-0 NCCAA Southwest) Location: Arlington, Texas Conference/Affiliation: NCCAA Southwest Head Coach: Bubba Jennings (Texas Tech, 1985) Roster | Stats | Game Notes (PDF)

Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
 
WACO, Texas – For the longest time, Baylor coach Scott Drew could count on one hand the number of times he had every one of his players available for practice, much less games.
 
Christmas came early for Drew last week when the Bears (7-3) had full-squad workouts before giving them time off for the holidays.
 
"And no one got hurt over Christmas," said Drew, whose No. 25 Baylor team will face Arlington Baptist (1-9) at 6 p.m. Friday at Foster Pavilion. "Last week, we were able to have everybody at practice and get better. That was really encouraging. There's always going to be injuries and illnesses, you're just praying that they're for one game and not for extended periods of time."
 
With guards Langston Love (ankle), VJ Edgecombe (hamstring) and Jeremy Roach (concussion) all missing time with various injuries, Baylor's had its full allotment of players for just two full games out of the first 10 this season, including none of the last four.
 
This will be the Bears' last tune-up before hosting Big 12 newcomer Utah (8-3) in the league opener at 1 p.m. on New Year's Eve. The Utes, coming off a 95-88 road loss to Iowa, have a pair of Baylor transfers in Miro Little (7.8 ppg, 5.2 assists) and Caleb Lohner (6.5 ppg, 4.5 rebounds).
 
"The good thing is, our returning players have been able to share their wisdom and knowledge about Big 12 play," Drew said. "And one thing about portal players is they've played college basketball, they know how hard it is come league play. No matter what the league is, let alone the reputation that the Big 12 has had at being the best conference over the last decade. Part of the reason they came to Baylor was to be a part of the Big 12 grind and to play the best."
 
More than two weeks have passed since Baylor defeated Norfolk State, 94-59, in its fifth blowout win at home. The Bears will get a chance to get a game under their belts first, facing an Arlington Baptist team that competes in the National Christian College Athletic Association.
 
The Patriots have lost eight in a row – nine, if you count a 93-48 loss to Midwestern State in an exhibition game last Friday in Arlington. Last year's team MVP, 6-1 senior guard Ahmad Webster is averaging 14.9 points per game and shooting 37.8% from 3-point range.
 
Now in his fourth season as the head coach, Bubba Jennings is a former Texas Tech standout guard who averaged 19.5 points as a senior in leading the Red Raiders to the 1985 Southwest Conference championship and being named SWC Player of the Year.
 
"We're going to do a great job in prepping and treating everybody equal," Drew said. "At the same time, when players come back from break this time of the year, especially, they're excited about playing games. And we're about to get into the meat of our schedule. There's not much time to get things fixed if they're not fixed now. So, hopefully, our defense got better in the last week of practice."
 
Baylor's balanced attack features five double-figure scorers, led by Miami transfer Norchad Omier with 15.9 points and 9.3 rebounds per game. Freshmen Robert Wright III and Edgecombe come in at 12. 9 and 1.9 points, while Roach and senior guard Jayden Nunn are averaging 12.8 and 12.2 points, respectively.
 
"The best thing is, everybody's made it back, so we'll have a good practice tonight and get some of the holiday off, and hopefully remind everybody what we do offensively, defensively," Drew said. "The great thing is, playing a game (Friday) gets everyone excited to be back. Because if you get back and have several days of practice, people aren't usually as excited as they are to play a game."
 
Friday's game will be streamed by ESPN+, with "Voice of the Bears" John Morris and former Baylor standout King McClure calling the action.


Story lines

• No. 25/23 Baylor returns to action after a 15-day break to host the Arlington Baptist Patriots in a 6 p.m. tip at Foster Pavilion on ESPN+ 

• BU returned to the AP Top-25 after a brief two-week absence, it's first two week stint out of the AP Top-25 since the end of the 2018-2019 season

• Prior to Dec. 9, BU had been ranked for 36-straight AP polls and 100 of the previous 101

• The Patriots and Bears are meeting for the first time, though current ABU head coach Bubba Jennings faced the Bears as an assistant coach at Texas Tech from 2008-2013 where BU went 8-2 against Jennings' Red Raiders an assistant for Pat Knight, Billy Gillispie and Chris Walker.

• The Bears are averaging 96.2 points per game in five home tilts this year, while giving up an average of just 58.8 points per game

• Last time out BU shot .554 from the field marking the first time since Dec. 22 and Jan. 2 last year where they shot .550 or better in back-to-back games (.672 vs. MVSU and .554 vs. Cornell)

• Against the Spartans, Norchad Omier (19), VJ Edgecombe (16), Josh Ojianwuna (16) and Rob Wright (16) eclipsed the 15-point plateau, marking the first time four Bears have done that since Nov. 28, 2020, against Louisiana-Lafayette

• Winning the game by 25, Baylor trailed for the first time this season at home, but has now led for a total of 189:24 minutes, trailed for just 6:52 and been tied for 2:44 in five home games this season

• In the process the Bears upped their home-court winning streak to seven games, the longest in the young history of Foster Pavilion.

• Scott Drew secured his 450th win at Baylor and the 470th of his career overall earlier this month against ACU

• Drew is one of just seven active coaches with at least 450 wins at their current institution (Mark Few, Tom Izzo, Bill Self, Greg Kampe, Randy Bennett, Matt Painter)

• One of six active coaches who have won a national title, Drew will see four of the five other coaches as a part of its regular season schedule. Drew has wins against John Calipari & Rick Pitino, with his only loss coming to Dan Hurley last week.

• Hailing from basketball families, the Drews are the second winningest father-son combination in NCAA history, compiling 1,377 wins between Scott, Bryce and Homer, trailing only the Iba family (1,624) for the most by a family in NCAA history.

• Over the last six seasons the Bears are 134-38, the second-best record among power-conference teams for the duration of that span

• Baylor is one of five programs to be ranked inside the top-10 in each of the last six seasons

• The Bears have played five ranked teams in its first nine games of the season, the first time in program history they have played five ranked teams before January

• Baylor was ranked 22nd in the initial NET rankings released last month, the sixth-straight year they have been a top-25 team in the initial NET

• The Bears are led by Miami transfer, Norchad Omier, The NCAA's active leader in career rebounds (1,408), double-doubles (73) and rebound average (10.8), while sitting 11th in career points (1,982)

• The senior is 18 points and 92 rebounds from becoming the 14th player in NCAA history with 2,000 points and 1,500 rebounds