Baylor gets another chance to settle in Tuesday night, but Yale brings a little more than a typical early-season tune-up.
The Bears are 2-0 and head into Waco with one more game before Sunday’s matchup with No. 7 Texas.
Baylor has handled Northwestern State and Arkansas-Pine Bluff so far, but Yale is the kind of opponent that can make a team pay if it drifts even a little. The Bulldogs are 1-1, with a win over Howard and a 12-point loss to UCF, and they’ve been known to knock off bigger programs before.
That’s not just theory for Baylor. These two teams have met only once, and it was a painful one for the Bears.
Yale stunned Baylor in the 2016 NCAA Tournament, winning 79-75 after outrebounding the Bears 36-32. Baylor won’t want a repeat of that script, especially with a tougher stretch looming.
One of the most interesting angles Tuesday is Isaac Celiscar. Baylor brought in the former Yale forward through the transfer portal, and he was a target for several programs before landing in Waco.
He’s still finding his rhythm, averaging 7.5 points, 4.5 rebounds and two assists while shooting 20% from three. Facing his old team feels like a natural moment for him to get rolling.
Baylor has already seen contributions from Isaac Williams, both Mingo brothers and Brett Decker Jr., who has been knocking down threes. Now the Bears would love to see Celiscar join that group in a bigger way.
The matchup also gives Baylor its first real test against size. The Bears rolled through their first two opponents, but Yale will bring 6'11" Jack Sullivan into the picture on Tuesday night. Yale isn’t especially big at forward, yet Sullivan is the first true interior challenge Baylor has seen.
That matters because Baylor has owned the glass early, leading the Big 12 with a +13.5 rebound margin. Still, Yale should push that number in a way the first two opponents couldn’t.
Juslin Bodo Bodo has not fully looked the part yet, but he’s working his way back after missing all of last season with an injury. Elijah Williams has started at the '4' in both games to help space the floor for Bodo Bodo, though he is only the sixth-leading rebounder on the roster, and that has to change as the schedule stiffens.
Offensively, Baylor has been humming. The Bears have already scored 87 and 109 points, though they also had some rough stretches, including a second-half dip against Northwestern State. Even so, the early signs point to a team that is beginning to settle into its roles.
Yale won’t be a pushover, especially with Jack Fox averaging 21 points per game and shooting better than 40% from three. He’s the name Baylor has to keep in check. But the Bears have more firepower, and that should show up after halftime.
Prediction: Baylor pulls away late and wins big.
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