Live In-Game Updates: No. 17 Baylor Bears Take On Arkansas Razorbacks in SEC/Big 12 Challenge
After up-and-down seasons tanked preseason top-10 expectations in Fayetteville (and, briefly, Waco), No. 17 Baylor (15-5, 5-3) and Arkansas (14-6, 3-5) are set to face off in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge.
It hasn't been the prettiest season for the Razorbacks, who entered the season with championship aspirations. Trevon Brazile tore his ACL in early December, and blue-chip freshman Nick Smith Jr – who missed the beginning of the season with a knee injury – re-injured it on Dec. 17.
The Razorbacks won that game, improving to 10-1, but have struggled since: they're 4-5 since Smith Jr's latest injury, including an 0-4 mark on the road. (Including neutral site games, they're 3-5 in non-home games, compared to 11-1 in Fayetteville.)
Many of their struggles can be attributed to a lack of shooting, ranking No. 350 nationally in three-point attempts per game and No. 322 in three-point percentage (30.8). And though the Razorbacks are getting to the line at a high clip – they're shooting 22.3 free throws per game – they're shooting just 70.2 percent on those shots, 223rd in the nation.
Baylor, meanwhile, is on a five-game winning streak after knocking off No. 9 Kansas on Monday. They're averaging 79.6 points per game in January, and haven't dropped a game since losing to No. 5 Kansas State by two points in overtime on Jan. 7.
Under-16: Baylor 7, Arkansas 2. Baylor's length proved difficult for the Razorbacks, whose lack of shooting creates offensive spacing issues. But they've locked in defensively – after hitting their first two shots, the Bears are 0/5 from the field.
Under-12: Baylor 16, Arkansas 8. LJ. Freaking. Cryer. He's shooting 4/7 from the field (2/3 from three) and scored 10 of the Bears' first 14 points. After dropping 22 points against Kansas, it appears that volume-scoring Cryer is here to stay.
Under-8: Baylor 19, Arkansas 13. The Razorback's offense has continued to struggle as the Bears have shrunk the court defensively. But they have built some momentum over the past three possessions, scoring an and-one layup and a backdoor dunk to cut the lead to six.
Under-4: Baylor 27, Arkansas 26. Arkansas capped off a 12-1 run to make it 20-20, seemingly scoring at will in the middle of the floor. They still haven't led, but the game has been within five points since 7:27.
HALFTIME: Arkansas 33, Baylor 27. ... yikes.
Under-16: Arkansas 40, Baylor 37. Well, that was ... nothing like the first half. In just 4:30 of game time, Baylor hit five field goals. (In the entire first half, the Bears hit eight.)
Under-12: Baylor 44, Arkansas 44. The Bears went over three minutes without a field goal, but have been highly efficient this half. They've made seven of their past nine field goal attempts, and Keyonte George is at the line with a chance to give Baylor its first lead since the 3:11 in the first half.
Under-8: Arkansas 49, Baylor 48. The story of the game so far has been Baylor's struggles to make shots. The Bears are shooting just 30.8 percent from the field, and their three-headed guard monster has combined to go 11/39 (28.2 percent).
Under-4: Baylor 53, Arkansas 53. Thanks to a few sloppy turnovers by the Razorbacks, who haven't made a field goal in over 2 1/2 minutes, the Bears are right back in this game. Flo Thamba is at the line to shoot two free throws after the break.
FINAL: Baylor 67, Arkansas 64. The Bears hit several key shots down the stretch to knock off the Razorbacks. For our full game story, click here.
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