Baylor’s defense has wasted no time making noise, and Tuesday night brings a tougher measuring stick.
The Bears have forced a Division I-best 25 turnovers per game through the first week of the regular season, and they’ll get another chance to put that pressure to work when Yale comes to Waco, Texas. Baylor is 2-0 and fresh off a runaway 109-53 win over Arkansas-Pine Bluff, a game that turned into a showcase for how disruptive the Bears can be when they’re flying around and forcing mistakes.
Last Friday, Baylor tied a program record with 21 steals and held the Golden Lions to just 13 first-half points. The Bears’ bench also made a major impact, outscoring Arkansas-Pine Bluff’s reserves 59-28. Isaac Williams led that charge with a career-high 26 points.
“I think we’ve got a lot of guys that are bought into being aggressive on the defensive end, a lot of athleticism,” Baylor coach Scott Drew said.
“And then with depth, you can play hard and then sit down and someone else comes in and plays hard, so you can wear people down.”
Yale is a different kind of challenge. The Bulldogs are 1-1 and have been one of the Ivy League’s most consistent programs, reaching three of the last five NCAA Tournaments, including back-to-back trips in 2024 and 2025.
James Jones, who has been at the helm for 28 seasons, pointed to the standard his program has built.
“We’ve won a championship - the regular season, the conference tournament or both -- in each of the last seven years,” Jones told The Field of 68, “And these guys don’t want to be that class that doesn’t get it done.”
“They’re going to make sure they give everything that they have - and I’m confident that they will.”
Yale is also coming off its second straight Big 12 opponent. The Bulldogs fell 87-75 at UCF on Friday night after taking a three-point lead into halftime. Riley Fox scored 24 points in that loss, hitting four of six from 3-point range, after opening the season with 19 points in a win over Howard.
Baylor also has a little history on its side here. Yale knocked off the Bears 79-75 as a 12-5 upset in the first round of the 2016 NCAA Tournament.
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