That silence you hear? That's the sound of my heart. Baylor Basketball, I love you, but I don't know if I can take any more of these close games. However, Baylor-basketball-induced health deterioration will not keep me from bringing you the best Baylor-related news out there. So let's get right to it.
In Season: MBB, WBB, Baseball, and Softball
Men's Hoops Edges Oklahoma State, 70-64 in OT - BaylorBears.com
Are you wondering about the title of today's DBR? Well, first of all, it is from Wicked; that should be obvious. There is another reason I chose these lyrics though. Since a little trip up to the horrid town from whence the Oklahoma State Cowboys came, I have had a healthy distaste of anything related to that particular university. I won't revisit what happened; most of y'all read Conner's "Boots on the Ground" post anyway. What all this boils down to is beating Oklahoma State at anything is particularly sweet now. And that's exactly what happened last night.
Baylor overcame a poor first half, outstanding efforts from OSU's Markel Brown (26 points) and Phil Forte (20 points), and maddening final play to win their third straight game. I'll conveniently ignore the first half and instead focus on the second half and overtime.
Exclusive image of what @IsaiahAustin drank at halftime: http://t.co/4B8RNUB56V
— OurDailyBears (@OurDailyBears) February 18, 2014
Mark's Tweet does a good job of describing the transformation of the team, especially Austin, after halftime. An underrated change though is Drew's decision to switch to man defense. I may be mistaken, but I do believe that this was the first time this year that the Bears switched into man from their standard zone and actually improved their defense.
While Austin may of had the better second half, the player of the game for me was Cory Jefferson. Sure, he missed a dunk or two (he's playing the dunking game on Legendary to make things fair), but he still managed a season-high 25 points and 13 rebounds. His most influential play was probably rebounding Austin's missed free throw and slamming home a dunk to put Baylor ahead late.
There is still much work to be done for the Bears, but right now, everything is trending upward.
Nina Davis Repeats at Big 12 Freshman of Week - BaylorBears.com
In other news, the sky is blue. Nina Davis could easily be the next Odyssey. It'll be fun to see where she is at in a few years.
The Lady Bears play Iowa State tomorrow at 7:00 in Waco. I'll write more on this game tomorrow.
Baseball Hosts UTA in Home Opener Tuesday - BaylorBears.com
It's the home opener today! The weather should be phenomenal as your Baylor Bears take on the winless Mavericks of UT Arlington. Baylor looks to even up its record after the trip to Arizona State. Given the historical record of the series, Baylor should be able win this one.
Baseball's Darryn Sheppard Named Big 12 Co-Newcomer of the Week - BaylorBears.com
According the the link, "Sheppard is the first Baylor player to ever win the honor in the first weekend of a season."
Tomorrow, it's HERE. The Baylor baseball home opener vs UTA. Are you ready, #BaylorNation? #SicEm http://t.co/vS7vU6Ne5y
— Baylor Baseball (@BaylorBaseball) February 17, 2014
Baylor Sounds of the Game: All-Access Softball Practice - BaylorBears.com
Softball will play in the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic in Palm Springs, California, a series at Southern Miss, and in the Mississippi Gulf Coast Classic before finally returning home on 03/06.
Off Season: Football
ESPN with big props to BU student section and #BaylorLine, ranked 2nd among Big 12 schools: http://t.co/rBwaU8cTF8 #SicEm
— Baylor Football (@BUFootball) February 17, 2014
I've never been to a game at Tech, so I cannot comment on whether or not their students deserve the top spot. Regardless, it truly is a sign of the success of the football program that the second-smallest school in the Big 12 has one the best student sections.
MT @sportsiren: @McLaneStadium for #Baylor coming along nicely. Perfect location near campus and sailgating!! #sicem pic.twitter.com/6uqBcvnZLQ
— Baylor Football (@BUFootball) February 17, 2014
Is there ever a bad time to look at this beauty? No, no there is not.
Best of the Rest
All quiet on this front.
Olympics
Host country Russia leads the overall medal count with 19. The United States also have 19, but Russia wins the tie-breaker as they have 5-8-6 (Gold-Silver-Bronze) to the United States' 5-4-10. Germany leads the gold medal count with eight.
The Norwegian Curling Team finally repeated pants this morning in a tie-breaker game with Great Britain, which they lost on a brilliant shot by Team GB skip Murdoch. The loss eliminated them from competition. Take a look back at the best pants in curling.
The Jamaican Bobsled Team did not do well in Sochi. In fact, the only reason they did not finish dead last is because Serbia did not finish a run. Still, how can you not fall in love with their story? I don't care what the final standings were Jamaica, you won the Olympics in my opinion.
Biathlon ends in closest photo finish humanly possible. Photo finish!
The Canadians are mad aboot something. No, not hockey, but Ice Dancing. Obviously, their neighbors to the south fixed the scoring because they won and Canada received silver.
That's all for today, folks. Have a great Tuesday and Sic 'em Bears!