DALLAS, Texas (KXXV) — The Baylor Bears got that first win feeling on Saturday as they beat ranked Arkansas 72-67.
"I feel like hustle plays really just changed like the momentum of the game," Jayden Nunn said.
"We need those hustle plays at the end. I'm willing to do anything to win. Like I'm a sore loser. So, I'm gonna make all the hustle plays I gotta do like for the team," he said.
Nunn finished with 16 points and grabbed two rebounds.
"It's a great way for us to see early on our deficiencies, maybe our strengths, and then just for a freshman, how hard you have to play because college is an adjustment and that is a different feeling," head coach Scott Drew said.
The crowd was electric at the American Airlines Center as Razorback and Baylor nation showed out. Getting a win at a place like the AAC will go down in the books for the team.
"It's a memory that will last them. I mean, you look at college basketball, we're the only school that have four straight top 20 picks in the last four years. A lot of guys, we had four now that are in the NBA from last year's team and you got a team for eight months and you don't know what happens from there. So, these guys will remember this for the rest of their life," Drew said.
"You never know when it's gonna be the last time playing. We got life ahead of basketball. This is only you know a short period of time, so we just gotta have fun. We weren't having fun, I feel like that's all. We just gotta have fun and everybody just gotta be energy," Nunn said.
This is a complete 180 feeling from Baylor's opening lopsided loss to Gonzaga. It's a new team for the Bears, looking to figure stuff out. After this win the question is, did we get to see Baylor basketball?
"Yeah, we did. We took care of the ball, we shared it a lot more, took much better shots, defended a lot better. Just across the board, it was a typical Baylor game. I mean, that's why that first game was the worst loss since 2007. Shoot, some of our guys weren't born, I don't think," Drew said.
Baylor will look to turn this win into a winning streak. They will get that opportunity in their home opener on Tuesday, November 12 against Sam Houston. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.
