Once preseason top-10 teams, Baylor and Arizona have faced ups and downs, with their share of signature wins coupled with injury issues and even time spent out of the rankings.
Both are firmly in the NCAA Tournament picture now as they meet for the second time this season on Monday night in Waco, Texas. Unranked at the time, Arizona rolled to an 81-70 victory over then-No. 25 Baylor on Jan. 14 in Tucson, Ariz.
Now, Arizona (17-8, 11-3 Big 12) is ranked No. 13 while Baylor (16-9, 8-6 Big 12) remains unranked. But the Bears are 12-1 at home and are coming off a 74-71 overtime victory over visiting West Virginia on Saturday.
Arizona has lost its last two games, at Kansas State on Tuesday and at home against No. 6 Houston on Saturday. Wildcats coach Tommy Lloyd didn’t hold back when asked about the upcoming matchup vs. Baylor.
“You guys think we’re going to get our (tails) kicked at Baylor because we’re tired, we’ve been on a long stretch,” Lloyd said about playing three games in seven days. “We’re going to play a road game. Our heads are going to be down. Let’s see. Let’s see what team shows up. We might. We might get our (tails) kicked Monday, and then we’ve got to keep moving but we might not.
“I want to see what we have. I want to see what our guys are made of. I want to see how they respond.”
The Wildcats went 2-of-22 (9.1 percent) from 3-point range in the 73-70 loss to Kansas State, and then went 5-of-23 (21.7 percent) from deep in the 62-58 loss to Houston.
Arizona’s roster is not constructed to rely heavily on the long ball, but it’s an area that can improve.
“It’s no secret. I’m not telling anything crazy. We’re not the best 3-point shooting team you’ve ever seen,” Lloyd said. “We’re a gritty team, and it’s a little bit ugly sometimes. But that’s just how we ended up being built. We’re OK with it.
“We’ve won a lot of games doing that. I thought we had some good looks at 3 (on Saturday). It would’ve been nice if a few extra ones would have went down. Obviously, the last couple games would have made a huge difference. But we’re still in the game, giving ourselves a chance to win.”
For Baylor, it’s an opportunity to win consecutive games for the first time since Jan 22-25. The Bears have alternated between wins and losses the last seven games.
Baylor has battled a number of injuries throughout the season, but one consistent has been Norchad Omier, who posted another double-double with 17 points and 10 rebounds in the victory over West Virginia. It was Omier’s 13th double-double of the season.
“Everybody plays a part,” Omier said. “Jeremy (Roach) coming off the bench, that’s a great lift. Jalen (Celestine’s) 3-point shooting out there is definitely good. It opens up the court. Just a blessing to have almost everybody on the court.”
Omier leads the Bears in scoring (15.7 points per game) and rebounding (10.2 per game).
Caleb Love paces the Wildcats with 15.9 points per game but has struggled from the 3-point line this season. The guard is shooting just 30.1 percent from deep, including 2-of-21 (9.5 percent) over his last three games.
From a statistics standpoint, Baylor and Arizona are evenly matched. The Wildcats have the third-highest scoring offense in the Big 12 at 81.3 points per game, while the Bears are fifth at 79.1. In scoring defense, Arizona is No. 9 in the Big 12 at 69.5 points allowed and Baylor is No. 10 at 69.9.
–Field Level Media
