In case you live in the dark ages and don't follow me or any of the Baylor subscription boards on Twitter, Baylor received a verbal commitment this afternoon (it's 21st as of this moment) from Rashodrick Linwood of Kildare HS in Linden, Texas. Rashodrick is listed as 5'9" (I've heard 5'10") and 180 pounds by Rivals, where he is a 3* 5.5 RR. According to David Smoak on twitter, Baylor's coaches have told Linwood he will probably be used as a slot receiver on offense. That was news to me because I had heard he would be a safety. Whatever. He'll redshirt, I'm sure, and we'll go from there. Welcome to Baylor Nation, Rashodrick!
Let's get straight to the links, once again I apologize for not having them up earlier. The big news of tomorrow (Saturday) is the MBB game against #5 Mizzou in Waco. The game will be broadcast on ESPN beginning at 1PM, so the game thread will go up here at 12:30 PM. I hope to see everyone in that thread!
Let's start with recruiting...
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Scout.com: No Shock: Linwood Flips to Baylor- After an outstanding official visit to Waco on January 13, Rashodrick "Shock" Linwood has changed his verbal commitment from the TCU Horned Frogs to the Baylor Bears. Come inside the premium message board of BearsIllustrated.com to get the latest fallout on Baylor's newest recruiting heist.
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Yuri Wright expelled from Don Bosco Prep School and loses football scholarship to Michigan over racial and sexually graphic Twitter posts - NY Daily News- All indications pointed to Yuri Wright attending Michigan this fall to play football for the Wolverines. But following a landmark decision, the four-star recruit's college future hangs in the balance.-- Before you ask, this has nothing to do with Baylor. I just thought it was a crazy story.
- This weekend is the biggest recruiting weekend of the year in terms of official visits with nearly 20 recruits on campus over the next 36 hours or so. The vast majority are already committed to Baylor and should be considered locks to stay that way, but 3 of the visitors this weekend are Baylor targets (I'm assuming 3 in the absence of a Mystery Guest). Those three are Seth Russell (QB), Polo Manukainiu (DE), and Ladarius Newbold (DB). Those three are currently committed to Kansas, nobody, and Texas Tech, respectively. IF Baylor were to get all three, and that is a big if, that would probably leave one spot open in the class. I'm guessing the staff has their eyes on Dominique Wheeler (WR) for the last spot. He is also currently committed to Texas Tech. I'll go out on a limb and predict that Baylor gets Russell this weekend and Polo before Signing Day (February 1), but despite how much love he has shown Baylor on facebook and twitter this week, I'm not sure about Wheeler given that he is visiting Tech this weekend. Newbold is someone the staff recruited hard earlier in the season before backing off somewhat. Now they're back in it. Who knows on that one.
As always, I'll keep you guys as up to date as I can about the goings on this weekend. If you go to the game tomorrow, the recruits will definitely be there, so look out for them.
For the sake of length, let's hit the jump here for the Baylor vs. Mizzou links (and there are a ton)...
Now to the basketball links:-
MBB, Missouri Square Off in Top 5 Battle - Baylor Bears Official Athletic Site - BaylorBears.com
After suffering its first loss of the season, No. 3/3 Baylor (17-1, 4-1) hosts No. 5/5 Missouri (17-1, 4-1) in a battle of Top 5 Big 12 teams at the Ferrell Center. -
Baylor fans pumped for Missouri showdown - Dallas Colleges Blog - ESPN Dallas
WACO, Tex. -- Baylor basketball fans were greeted by an unfamiliar sign when they approached the ticket window at the Ferrell Center Friday morning: SOLD OUT. -
Weekend tip-off: Baylor, Missouri in key Big 12 test – USATODAY.com
Third-ranked Bears look to rebound Saturday at home after being knocked from ranks of unbeaten by Kansas - Baylor and Mizzou point guards on display - KansasCity.com
- Weekend preview: How to attack Baylor, Duke - NCAA Basketball - Sporting News
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Weekend Preview: Baylor-Missouri headlines a weekend with some good hoops | Beyond the Arc
Game of the Weekend: Sat. 2:00 pm: No. 5 Missouri @ No. 3 Baylor To know how important this game is, all you need to do is look at the numbers next to the names of these two teams.
For Baylor, Pierre Jackson is going to be the deciding factor. A dynamic playmaker that has the ability to do some truly amazing things on a basketball court, Jackson has a tendency to try and take games over. He can do it, at times, but Baylor is much better when he embraces the role of being a playmaker.
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Weekend Look Ahead: Bears-over-Tigers may give Jayhawks Big 12 title - NCAA Division I Mens Basketball - CBSSports.com News, Scores, Stats, Schedule and RPI Rankings- It's No. 3 Baylor vs. No. 5 Mizzou in Waco on Saturday, and both have 17-1 records on the line. Gary Parrish says a likely Bears win over the Tigers may give the Jayhawks an eighth straight Big 12 title.
Seven schools ranked in the top 10 at CollegeRPI.com are also in the top 10 at KenPom.com: Syracuse, Duke, Baylor, Michigan State, Kentucky, Kansas and Ohio State.
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Games to track: Baylor-Mizzou; Texas-Kansas - Dallas Colleges Blog - ESPN Dallas
For full coverage of all the top matchups, check out Weekend Watch. Saturday's game No. 5 Missouri at No. 3 Baylor (1 p.m. CT, ESPN).
Who wins: Baylor is coming off a loss and playing at home. How the Bears guard the 3-point line will go a long way in determining this one. Expect Baylor to play some man-to-man in addition to some zone. If the Bears take good shots and limit Missouri in transition, I like the Bears to win. Baylor 74-70.
I would take that.
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NCB - Doug McDermott among the 10 best long-range shooters in college hoops - ESPN
College Basketball Experts Blog on ESPN.com -
Baylor Men's Top-Five Showdown Sold Out - kcentv.com - KCEN HD - Waco, Temple, and Killeen
Waco, TX – Saturday's men's basketball matchup between No. 3 Baylor and No. 5 Missouri is sold out, the Baylor Department of Athletics announced Friday. The game is scheduled to tip at 1:05 p.m. CST.
That's all I've got for now. I'll update this post in the morning with more links and perhaps post a little preview of the game. We'll see how it goes.