No. 18 Baylor Opens New Arena With Win Over Cornell

Baylor Basketball Opens The Foster Pavilion In Style With Blowout Win Over Cornell

Ja’Kobe Walter poured in four 3-pointers as part of his 23 points to help No. 18 Baylor run away from upset-minded Cornell 98-79 on Tuesday in Waco, Texas, in the game ever played in the new Foster Pavilion.

The Bears (11-2) finished their nonconference schedule unbeaten at home, building a 16-point lead at halftime that whittled to just seven midway through the second half. Baylor then ran away with the game in the final minutes, pushing their advantage to as many as 23 with 51 seconds remaining.

RayJ Dennis added 18 points for the Bears, with Yves Missi hitting for 16 on 8-of-8 shooting and Jayden Nunn scoring 10.

Nazir Williams led the Big Red (10-3) with 17 points while Chris Manon and Isaiah Gray added 12 points each for Cornell, which plays in the Ivy League.

The first basket in the new arena was a putback jumper by Missi and Cornell’s Sean Hansen answered with the initial 3-pointer in the edifice. But that was the Big Red’s only lead of the contest as Baylor surged away from a 10-10 tie via an 18-4 run capped by a second-chance jumper by Walter at the 10:31 mark of the first half.

The Bears led by as many as 15 points before Cornell swung back and pulled to within 42-33 when Manon canned a jumper with 4:34 remaining in the half. Baylor ended the half with a 6-2 run as Walter’s ringing 3-pointer at the buzzer allowed Baylor to carry a 58-42 advantage into the break.

Williams paced all scorers with 14 points before halftime. Walter and Missi each had a dozen points to lead the Bears over the first 20 minutes as Baylor hit four of its final five shots of the half.

A pair of 3-pointers by Walter sandwiched around a layup from Manon in the first minute of the second half produced a 20-point lead for Baylor. The Bears sled 70-50 before Cornell forged a 13-0 run that finished with a layup by Manon halfway with 10:04 to play but the Big Red would get no closer.

Baylor opens Big 12 play on Saturday afternoon at Oklahoma State.

  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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