Baylor continues climb back to Top 25 while hosting Norfolk State

Baylor will look to take another step toward regaining a spot in the AP Top 25 poll when it hosts Norfolk State on Wednesday in Waco, Texas.

The Bears (6-3) bounced back from a road loss to two-time defending NCAA champion UConn with an 88-57 home victory over Abilene Christian on Monday. Baylor was playing its first game as an unranked team this season and improved to 4-0 on its home court as Jayden Nunn poured in 18 points to lead five Bears in double-figure scoring.

Baylor hit its first 10 shots from the floor and scored 12 of the game's initial 15 points on the way to a 46-22 lead at halftime as they shot 74.1 percent from the floor.

"It was just executing plays the first five minutes of the game, executing plays with a lot of pace," Nunn said about Baylor's torrid start. "I feel like that's going to get us going, and that's why were 10-for-10, for sure."

Norchad Omier finished with 15 points on 7-of-7 shooting for the Bears, with VJ Edgecombe adding 14 points and Josh Ojianwuna scoring 13. Baylor held Abilene Christian to just 34.5 percent shooting.

"That's one thing that's so tough about the game," Baylor coach Scott Drew said. "Sometimes, you get great looks, and they don't go in. Other times, they're going in. That's why offensive rebounding is so critical, because you've got to be able to get second-chance points."

Omier leads Baylor with 15.6 points per game, followed by Nunn (12.9), Jeremy Roach (12.8), Robert Wright III (12.6) and Edgecombe (11.4). Omier also is the top rebounder at 9.6 per game.

Norfolk State (6-4) travels to Waco after an 80-67 loss at home to Hofstra on Monday. The setback snapped the Spartans' 18-game home winning streak.

Jalen Myers led the Norfolk State with 17 points and five rebounds, and he sank 3 of 5 from 3-point range. Christian Ings had 12 points for the Spartans, who had come off a six-game road trip.

Brian Moore Jr., a Murray State transfer, leads Norfolk State in scoring average with 20 points per game. Moore is shooting 60.2 percent from the floor and 64.7 percent from beyond the arc.

"Brian was a good player coming in and now he's looking like a great player just due to confidence," Norfolk State coach Robert Jones said. "He feels like he can make the 3. He feels like he can make those pull-ups, and things like that."

Baylor has won four previous meetings with Norfolk State, including an 87-70 victory on Nov. 11, 2022, in the most recent contest.

--Field Level Media