No. 14 Baylor Survives Visit From Cincinnati

No. 14 Baylor holds off Cincinnati upset bid

Langston Love and Ja’Kobe Walter scored 14 points apiece as No. 14 Baylor held on to post a 62-59 victory over visiting Cincinnati in Big 12 play on Saturday night at Waco, Texas.

RayJ Dennis recorded 11 points, nine assists, and two steals, and Josh Ojianwuna also scored 11 points as the Bears (14-2, 3-0 Big 12) won their fifth consecutive game.

Dan Skillings Jr. scored 17 of his 24 points in the second half for Cincinnati (12-4, 1-2). Day Day Thomas added 15 points for the Bearcats.

Cincinnati missed five shots in the final 51 seconds — including two 3-pointers inside the last five seconds — while falling short of the upset.

The Bearcats connected on 39.3 percent of their shots and made just 4 of 21 from behind the arc.

Baylor shot 45.8 percent from the field, including 5 of 20 from 3-point range.

The Bears held a game-high nine-point lead before Skillings scored seven straight points in 34 seconds. He made a trey, converted a layup, and added two free throws as Cincinnati pulled within 59-57 with 2:20 left.

Walter split two free throws to give the Bears a three-point edge with 2:02 left before Thomas hit a jumper to pull the Bearcats within one with 1:44 to play.

Thomas missed a shot with 51 seconds left when Cincinnati had a chance to take the lead.

Later in the final minute, Skillings couldn’t get his driving layup to fall with just under 17 seconds remaining, and Simas Lukosius missed a 3-pointer with 13 seconds to go.

After Walter made two free throws with 9.8 seconds left, Thomas missed a 3-pointer with just under five seconds left, and Lukosius was off the mark from long range as time expired. Lukosius had two points on 1-of-10 shooting.

Cincinnati used a 9-2 burst early in the second half to take a 38-31 lead on a layup by Viktor Lakhin with 16:40 remaining.

Baylor rolled off the next 13 points to take a six-point advantage. Jalen Bridges made two free throws with 12:20 to play, and Ojianwuna and Yves Missi added dunks to conclude the burst and give Baylor a 44-38 lead with 10:13 left.

Cincinnati later moved within 53-50 on a 3-pointer by Skillings with 4:37 remaining. Ojianwuna and Dennis responded with baskets and Ojianwuna added two free throws to give the Bears a 59-50 lead with 3:16 left.

The contest was tied at 27 at the break. Love scored 11 points to lead the Bears in the first half.

  1. College Sports News

    WCC to Add Grand Canyon and Seattle in 2025

    WCC adding Seattle U and Grand Canyon University

    WCC adding Seattle U and Grand Canyon University

    Seattle and Grand Canyon will be leaving the Western Athletic Conference and moving to the West Coast Conference starting July 2025.

    The nine current members of the conference are private universities with a religious affiliation. Seattle is a Jesuit institution, while Grand Canyon, situated in Phoenix, is a Christian college.

    Grand Canyon’s basketball achievements were a significant factor in attracting WCC commissioner Stu Jackson. The team has participated in the last two NCAA Tournaments and three of the previous four under the leadership of coach Bryce Drew.

    As the 12th-seeded Antelopes defeated fifth-seeded Saint Mary’s before losing to Alabama in the tournament this season.

    Saint Mary’s is currently a member of the West Coast Conference.

    The WCC, while also integrating Oregon State and Washington State this autumn (excluding football), will expand from 11 to 13 members by the 2025-26 season.

    The future beyond 2026 looks uncertain, with Oregon State and Washington State appearing unlikely to continue with the WCC.

    The former Pac-12 schools are under a two-year contract, expiring on June 30, 2026. Sources from CBS Sports suggest that the odds of the two Pacific Northwest institutions staying are slim, with a move to the Mountain West or a new conference formation being more probable.

    Following the departures of Sam Houston and New Mexico State last year, Seattle and Grand Canyon’s exit from the WAC will reduce the conference’s membership to just eight by July 2025.

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  2. College Sports News

    Ex-Cal State Fullerton G Max Jones Commits to Kansas State

    Kansas State adds athletic wing in left-handed shooter Max Jones

    Kansas State adds athletic wing in left-handed shooter Max Jones

    Former guard of Cal State Fullerton Max Jones has made a decision to join Kansas State for his upcoming collegiate season, according to reports.

    Notable alternatives that Jones purportedly pondered were New Mexico, Texas A&M, Mississippi State, Florida Atlantic, and Loyola Chicago.

    During the previous season with the Titans, Jones maintained an average of 15.3 points and 3.0 rebounds across 24 games, in which he started 21. He secured the second-highest scoring position within the team, alongside being the second in 3-pointers with 42 baskets and 41 steals.

    In the season prior, Jones held an average of 12.5 points and 4.0 rebounds in 32 games, amassing 34 three-pointers and 30 steals.

    Before making his way to Cal State Fullerton post the 2021-22 season, Jones spent two years at Division II Tampa, where he managed to achieve an average of 21.9 points across 21 games during his sophomore year with the Spartans.

    In the recent offseason, Kansas State acquired Dug McDaniel, a former player from Michigan recognized as one of the premier point guards available in this year’s transfer portal.

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  3. College Sports News

    Stanford Names Basketball Court in Honor of Tara VanDerveer

    View From The Top with Tara VanDerveer, Former Coach of Stanford Women’s Basketball

    View From The Top with Tara VanDerveer, Former Coach of Stanford Women’s Basketball

    Tara VanDerveer’s legacy at Stanford will now be visibly acknowledged, with the school revealing on Thursday that the basketball arena’s floor will bear the name of the esteemed Hall of Fame coach.

    At the age of 70, VanDerveer stepped down following her 38th season at the helm of the Cardinal.

    She steered Stanford to 14 Final Fours and secured three national championships (1990, 1992, 2021). VanDerveer embarked on her coaching journey at Idaho (1978-80) and later coached at Ohio State (1980-85).

    In January, she surpassed Mike Krzyzewski to clinch the title of the most successful college basketball coach in history, across both men’s and women’s teams. VanDerveer concluded with a remarkable 1,216-271 record, boasting a 1,064-220 tally with the Cardinal.

    Alongside the unveiling of the Tara VanDerveer Court at Maples Pavilion this November, Stanford also established an endowed position in women’s basketball for an assistant coach in VanDerveer’s honor.

    VanDerveer said in a statement, “This endowment will go a long way to strengthening the future of Stanford women’s basketball. I have many wonderful memories of leading the women’s basketball program at Maples Pavilion.”

    “It’s an honor, and a little surreal, to know that my name will be linked to both in these ways, and I look forward to celebrating with all our fans this fall.”

    Last month, Stanford appointed Kate Paye, one of VanDerveer’s longtime assistant coaches who played for the Cardinal from 1991-95 and began coaching under VanDerveer in 2007, as the new head coach.

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