Baylor
Kansas State
MBB Closes Homestand against Kansas State in Annual "Immortal 10" Game
1/21/2025 2:58:00 PM | Men's Basketball
The game will be played on the 98th anniversary of the accident
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RV/RV BAYLOR BEARS (11-6, 3-3 Big 12) Location: Waco, Texas Conference/Affiliation: Big 12 Head Coach: Scott Drew (Butler, 1993) Roster | Stats | Game Notes (PDF ) |
KANSAS STATE (7-10, 1-5 Big 12) vs. RV/RV BAYLOR (11-6, 3-3 Big 12) Jan. 22, 2024 • 8:00 p.m. CT Waco, Texas • Foster Pavilion (7,500) LIVE STATS: Stat Broadcast WATCH: ESPNU Talent: John Schriffen (pxp), Corey Williams (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 383 or on the SXM App Baylor Social Media:    |
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Kansas State Wildcats (7-10, 1-5 Big 12) Location: Manhattan, Kan. Conference/Affiliation: Big 12 Head Coach: Jerome Tang (Charter Oak St. College, 2007) Roster | Stats | Game Notes (PDF) |
Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
WACO, Texas – Sadly, Baylor coach Scott Drew can relate only too well to the classic "Hee-Haw" song, "Gloom, Despair and Agony on Me."
Like the recurring line in the song, "If it weren't for bad luck . . ." Coach Drew would have no luck at all.
Baylor's training room got a little fuller this week. Just as Cal transfer Jalen Celestine came back from an ankle injury that sidelined him for the previous four games, Duke transfer Jeremy Roach went out in the last minute of Sunday's 74-71 loss to TCU with his second concussion of the season.
"I feel like we just haven't had the best luck of the draw when it comes to injuries," said Celestine, who hit a pair of 3-pointers in his first game back since rolling his ankle in the New Year's Eve conference opener against Utah.
"A bunch of people have been hurt. We haven't really been at full strength. But these are the cards we've been dealt. We can't sit up here and make excuses. We've just got to figure it out and get the job done."
Roach, who already missed a couple of games last month, is listed as doubtful for Wednesday's 8 p.m. game at Foster Pavilion between the Bears (11-6, 3-3) and a struggling Kansas State team (7-10, 1-5) that has dropped five games in a row overall and 14-straight on the road.
"Everyone knows who Jeremy Roach is," Celestine said of the 6-2 Roach, who is averaging 11.9 points and 3.5 assists. "He's one of the best guards in the country. Losing someone of that caliber on any team is big, much less a team that's already a bit short-handed. We're starting to build this brotherhood . . . and when one brother goes down, you've just got to play for him."
With redshirt junior guard Langston Love (6.5 ppg) expected to miss his sixth game in a row and 10th of the season with an ankle injury, Baylor is down to basically a seven-man rotation again that includes 6-7 freshman Jason Asemota, who has averaged just over seven minutes in the 13 games he's played.
"Jason has obviously played some minutes, and I'll expect him to play tomorrow," Drew said. "And then from there, we have options, but obviously none of them have had minutes yet."
That end-of-the-bench backcourt depth includes 6-4 redshirt freshman walk-on Omar Adegbola and 6-5 grad transfer Davidson Hubbard, a second-team All-American last season at Division III Hampden-Sydney (Virginia) College. They've both played in nine games and combined for a total of 19 points.
"In hindsight, you always go back and look, should have done this, should have done that," Drew said. "At the same time, whatever the staff feels gives us the best chance to win, we're going to do. With NIL, a lot of teams are top-heavy. Used to be, you'd have 13 scholarship guys. Nowadays, there's bigger gaps in your team and not as much depth because of that."
The Bears have lost back-to-back games for the first time this season, losing 81-70 on the road at Arizona and then giving up a 12-point first-half lead in falling at home to TCU, 74-71, Sunday. After Jayden Nunn hit a game-tying 3-pointer, the Horned Frogs' Brendan Wenzel drained a corner trey with six seconds left to hand Baylor its first homecourt loss of the season.
"With our injuries, our margin of error isn't great," Drew said. "So, we have to be on point each and every play, because it all matters."
Nunn will likely be back in the starting lineup after coming off the bench for the first time in two seasons at Baylor. He had started 106 consecutive games dating back to his freshman year at VCU.
While Drew said the Bears may try to get Nunn (10.5 ppg) more shots from 3-point range, where he's shooting 46.7% (42-of-90), "people are taking that away and focusing on it."
"The great thing is, last year, he was so effective getting to the free throw line and getting to the rim, too," Drew said. "Down the stretch run, hopefully, we can get both of that from him. If they're going to close out hard and take away the 3, let's get him to the rim, get him to the free throw line."
Freshman VJ Edgecombe (12.8 ppg, 5.6 rebounds), who scored 18 in the loss to TCU, said Nunn is "just focused on winning."
"He doesn't care about how many shots he takes," Edgecombe said. "I think he's a winner. I know he's a competitor, too. Obviously, he hates losing. So, whatever it takes for us to win is what he would do, for sure."
K-State, which hung tough in a 10-point loss on Saturday at ninth-ranked Kansas, 84-74, is led by 6-9 fifth-year senior wing David N'Guessan, who is averaging 12.6 points and 7.2 rebounds per game. Transfers Brendan Hausen from Villanova and Coleman Hawkins from Illinois are averaging 11.9 and 10.8 points, respectively.
Third-year head coach Jerome Tang, a longtime assistant at Baylor, took the Wildcats to the Elite Eight two years ago and is 3-0 against Drew.
"It always stinks," Drew said of going against his former assistant coaches, including Grant McCasland at Texas Tech. "The only good thing is you get a chance to see them. That's short-lived. One of us will be in a good mood Thursday morning and the other won't. The great thing is, again, you always appreciate seeing family, friends, and Coach Tang is family."
In addition to the "family" reunion, Wednesday is Baylor's "Immortal 10" game, where the school will honor the 10 players killed in a bus accident in Round Rock, Texas, on Jan. 22, 1927. On the 98th anniversary of the accident, current Baylor players will wear the names of the "Immortal 10" on the back of their jerseys, and there will be a banner unveiling before the game.
"If you can play on the anniversary, that just makes it that much more emotional and impactful," Drew said. "It's part of our school's history, and we've done a great job honoring the Immortal Ten. That means a lot."
Wednesday's game will be broadcast by ESPNU, with John Schriffen and Corey Williams calling the action.
Story lines
• Baylor wraps up its two game homestand against Kansas State in an 8 p.m. tip on ESPNU
• Wednesday is Baylor's "Immortal 10" game where they will honor the 10 players killed in a bus accident in Georgetown, Texas on Jan. 22, 1927
• On the 98th anniversary of the accident, current Baylor players will wear the names of the "Immortal 10" on the back of their jerseys and there will also be a banner unveiling during pregame
• Baylor welcomes in Kansas State and Jerome Tang, who spent 19 years as an assistant at Baylor and was an original member of Scott Drew's staff
• Drew is looking for his second win over a former assistant, beating Grant McCasland and Texas Tech last season
• A win against Tang and the Wildcats would be Drew's first against his longtime assistant
• In the last meeting, Kansas State closed the game on a 9-0 run in overtime in Manhattan to hand BU its first Big 12 loss of the season and its third-straight against the Wildcats.
• In that meeting, the Bears were held to season-lows in FG% (.329) and the free throw percentage (.474)
• Last time out, the Bears suffered a 74-71 setback against TCU, snapping a 10-game home winning streak, which tied for the 10th longest home-court streak in program history
• Baylor committed a season-low five turnovers against TCU
• The loss to the Frogs was just the ninth home loss for the Bears in the last six seasons. BU is 77-9 at home in that span
• On the heels of back-to-back losses for the first time this season, the Bears are aiming to avoid just their fifth three-game losing streak in the last 11 years.
• Since 2014-15, Drew is 16-4 in the third game, after back-to-back losses
• Averaging 89.8 points per game at Foster Pavilion this year, the Bears are outscoring teams by an average of 31.4 points at home (14.0 ppg in Big 12 Play)
• Five of Baylor's six losses have come against teams that have been ranked in the top-10 at some point this season, while Gonzaga, Tennessee, UConn and Iowa State have been ranked in the top 3
• According to KenPom, BU has played the fourth-hardest schedule in the country entering the weekend
• BU is 166-101 in Big 12 play in 15 seasons since 2010 after going 59-149 in the league's first 13 seasons
• Baylor is one of five programs to be ranked inside the top-10 in each of the last six seasons
• The Bears lead the conference and rank fifth in the Power-5 with 13.7 offensive rebounds per game
• Sitting at +3.6 BU is third in the Big 12 and 14th in the Power-5 in turnover margin
• Baylor is one of two Big 12 (ISU), nine Power-4, and 15 Division 1 teams with 5+ players averaging double figures
• 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 in Dec.
• Norchad Omier enters Wednesday as the NCAA's active leader in career rebounds (1,483), double-doubles (76) and rebound average (10.8), while sitting 10th in career points (2,082)
• The senior is just 17 rebounds from becoming the 13th player in NCAA history with 2,000+ points and 1,500+ rebounds
• Robert Wright ranks fifth among Power-5 freshmen averaging 4.8 assists per game
• with 82 assists Wright is on pace to set the freshman assists record held by John Lucas III (120)
