GAME THREAD: Baylor Bears vs Mississippi Valley State

The Baylor Bears open the 2022-2023 men’s basketball season against Mississippi Valley State at home in the Ferrell Center on “Future Bears Day”, a game set aside where over 6,000 elementary school students from the Waco area are given tickets to come enjoy the college basketball atmosphere.

The game tips at 11AM central on ESPN+.

Mississippi Valley State is a bottom five KenPom team, so don’t expect anything too competitive. You can find Jed’s preview here. Today is about the Bears getting comfortable with one another, feeling out play styles, and gelling on defense as they integrate a number of new key pieces this season.

Foremost among those is Keyonte George, the No. 6 freshman in this season’s recruiting class. Today will be his official debut as a Bear. He’s a high-level scorer who can pull-up and get to the basket. Expect him to explore just what he can do when he shares the floor with shooters and creators like Adam Flagler and LJ Cryer.

Jalen Bridges and Caleb Lohner will also debut for Baylor this morning. The two big wings promise to add a lot to both ends. Bridges brings sharpshooting from the perimeter, while Lohner will be a physical presence on both ends.

Langston Love, a highly ranked freshman coming into last season, will likely see his first minutes as a Bear today after recovering from an ACL injury that sidelined him for all of the 2021-2022 season.

News broke today that transfer Dantwan Grimes will be redshirting his first season in Waco.

Above all, enjoy the game, maybe turn down the broadcast so as not to alert your boss with the shrill sounds of 6,000 children shouting, and use this as an appetizer to what promises to be another brilliant season of college basketball.