Baylor has bounced back nicely from a disheartening season-opening defeat.
The No. 12 Bears could be headed for a second straight decisive home victory when they face the Tarleton State Texans on Sunday night in Waco, Texas.
Baylor (2-1) embraced some serious competition right out of the gate, facing two ranked opponents. After being blown out 101-63 at Gonzaga in their season opener, the Bears responded with a 72-67 victory over Arkansas in Dallas on Nov. 9.
Scott Drew’s group finally enjoyed a comfortable result with Tuesday’s 104-67 rout of Sam Houston in the Bears’ home opener. Baylor’s shooting improved in each contest and made 58.6 percent of their shots Tuesday. The Bears also hit 14 of 32 from 3-point range after going a combined 10 of 45 in the first two contests.
“We’re a much better shooting team than our first two games’ statistics showed,” Drew said. “I don’t know if we’ll shoot (44 percent from 3-point range) all year, but we’re a 40 percent shooting team, and we have good shooters.”
Jayden Nunn (13.7 points per game) and Duke transfer Jeremy Roach (11.3 ppg) went a combined 7 of 13 from distance against Sam Houston. Nunn is 9 of 15 from beyond the arc in the last two games after missing all five attempts versus Gonzaga.
Meanwhile, prized freshman VJ Edgecombe took advantage of a favorable matchup Tuesday by recording 13 points, 10 rebounds, seven assists and three steals. He shot 6 of 9 from the field after going 5 of 23 in the first two games of his college career.
“We’re just staying ready,” Edgecombe said. “Defensively, offensively we’re connected (Tuesday). But, we’re going to continue to get better, for sure. (Tuesday) is not how good we’re going to be.”
Meanwhile, Baylor’s collective heart likely lies with veteran forward Norchad Omier, who has averaged 16 points and 10.3 rebounds in his three games since transferring from Miami.
Omier & Co. could again be in store for a lopsided victory versus Tarleton State (1-3), which was outscored by an average margin of 27.7 points in losses to SMU, Sam Houston and Florida State before an 88-57 win over NAIA school Tabor College on Thursday.
“You never know what can happen when everyone is pulling in the same direction,” Tarleton State coach Billy Gillispie told the Full Court Press Podcast. Gillispie formerly guided prominent programs at Texas A&M and Kentucky.
The Texans lost all five starters from a squad that went 25-10 last season, finished second in the WAC at 16-4, and earned a spot in the CollegeInsider.com Tourney.
Bubu Benjamin (16.5 ppg, 5.5 rebounds per game) and Chirs Mpaka (10.8 ppg, 7.5 rpg) have paced Tarleton State. Benjamin scored 21 at SMU to open the season and posted 17 points with 10 boards against Sam Houston.
The Texans fell 80-57 at Baylor on Dec. 6, 2022, in their most recent matchup with their in-state foe. Current starter Josh Ojianwuna (8.3 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 1.7 steals per game) is the only player on Baylor’s roster who faced Tarleton State two years ago, finishing with eight points and five rebounds.
Baylor has won 39 consecutive home games against nonconference opponents.
