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12.30.2012 Daily Bears Report: Basketball Season Cometh

There was a point in this football season when focus on the upcoming basketball seasons seemed a happy diversion. Baylor's 5-1 turnaround dispelled those feelings, but now we don't really have a choice. It's basketball season and there's naught to do about it.

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In case you missed it this weekend, Baylor's men's basketball team actually played a game on Friday night in Spokane, Washington against the heavily-favored Gonzaga Bulldogs (or, as ESPN referred to them endlessly, "the Zags.") In retrospect I'm having a hard time getting too hot-and-bothered about the outcome-- Baylor lost by seven to a Gonzaga team playing at home that was favored by 9.5-- but it was a frustrating game to watch for a multitude of reasons and one I thought Baylor could, if not should, have won.

I'll freely admit that I am in no way a basketball expert. That's why I beg and plead for people more knowledgeable than I to talk about the sport: so I don't have to. I'm overly reactionary when watching our team play and probably much too hard on them when they lose, so I'm going to spare judgment now. Suffice to say that with four losses on the ledger already, and two of them to the likes of Northwestern and College of Charleston, Baylor has significant work to do in the Big 12 conference season to ensure itself a NCAA bid.

Before we go any further, though, I should mention the J'Mison Morgan situation. From time to time, I get questions about where J'Mison, nicknamed "Bobo", is and when we should expect him back. The answers until yesterday were "he's suspended" and "I have no idea." Now the answers are "he's suspended" and "never." Morgan has been dismissed from the basketball team for undisclosed violations of team rules (rumors abound, but I'm not particularly interested in them) and will never play for Baylor again. His is a cautionary tale for unmotivated pseudo-superstar recruits and the fans that love them alike; Bobo never lived up to his promise here or at UCLA (his destination out of high school) despite as many chances as you can possibly imagine.

Center J’mison Morgan dismissed from Baylor basketball team | CollegeBasketballTalk
Senior center J'mison Morgan has been dismissed from the Baylor basketball team for violating an unspecified university policy, Baylor coach Scott Drew announced Saturday night. "J’mison Morgan will definitely be missed by our team," Drew said in a release.


87
BAYLOR
1ST 2ND F
33 54 87
38 56 94

Box Score | Notes | AP Photos | Highlights

Spokane, Wash. • Attendance: 6,000

94
GONZAGA

Men's Hoops Falls at No. 13 Gonzaga, 94-87 - Baylor Bears Official Athletic Site - BaylorBears.com
Pierre Jackson led Baylor (8-4) with 26 points, Isaiah Austin, a 7-foot-1 220-pound freshman, had 20 and Cory Jefferson added 13. The Bears also shot 52 percent for the game, but attempted 21 fewer free-throws than Gonzaga.

No. 13 Gonzaga vs. Baylor final score: Zags win high-octane game, 94-87 - SBNation.com
It was a high-scoring affair in Spokane as the Bulldogs stayed undefeated against the Big 12 this year with a win against the Baylor Bears on Friday.

A closer look: Gonzaga 94, Baylor 87 - Men's College Basketball Nation Blog - ESPN
Overview: In its 94-87 home victory, Gonzaga showed a ton of toughness in staving off a talented Baylor team that has made significant strides sin

Kevin Pangos hits 7 3-pointers, scores 31 points to lead No. 13 Gonzaga over Baylor 94-87. | Fox News
Baylor picked the wrong night to go up against No. 13.

Kevin Pangos’ best game of the season comes just in time to help Gonzaga beat Baylor | The Dagger: College Basketball Blog - Yahoo! Sports
One of the questions often posed of mid-major powers such as Gonzaga is how they might do as members of power conferences.

Baylor men bow to Pangos, 13th-ranked Gonzaga, 94-87 | Wacotrib.com


41
SLU
1ST 2ND F
19 22 41
52 54 106

Box Score | Quotes | Notes | AP Gallery
Highlights | Postgame

Waco, Texas • Attendance: 8,864

106
BAYLOR

If you're a fan of schadenfreude-- and who isn't, really?-- the same Stanford team that handed our Lady Bears their first loss in 40+ games went down at the hands of #2 UConn last night by 26. That was not a misprint; the final score was 61-35.

Anyway, moving to our ladies: Mulkey's squad since that loss has been about as dominant as any team in the country and concluded their non-conference schedule last night against the Southeastern Louisiana ... Lions? Are they the lions? I can't tell from their picture.

WBB Cruises to 106-41 Win Over SLU - Baylor Bears Official Athletic Site - BaylorBears.com
Jordan Madden scored all 13 of her points in the first half and third-ranked Baylor took control early in a 106-41 victory over Southeastern Louisiana on Saturday night.

No. 3 Baylor women win 46th in row at home, now longest streak, 106-41 win over SE Louisiana - The Washington Post
WACO, Texas — Brittney Griner and the Baylor Lady Bears did what they consistently do: win at home.

No. 3 Lady Bears breeze through final primer before conference, 106-41 | Wacotrib.com

No one finer than Griner: Tribune-Herald Sportsperson of the Year | Wacotrib.com