By Michael Haag | Sports Editor
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Baylor redshirt sophomore guard Langston Love must have picked up pennies on the tails side or walked under ladders growing up.
Love is out for the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament with a series of ankle injuries, and the setback came after dealing with a torn ACL his freshman year, followed by an eye injury down the stretch of the 2022-23 season.
Baylor's Langston Love (ankle) is OUT for this weekend's NCAA Tournament games and is doubtful for the rest of March Madness, per Scott Drew.
Averages 11 PPG.
Bears face Colgate on Friday in Memphis.
— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) March 21, 2024
He just can’t stay healthy when he wants to be on the court most, but he says the adversity builds him up.
“I just feel like God has a plan for me and that with heavy trials you always come out better on the other side,” Love said. “So I’ve been gradually getting better with my body every year, so hopefully next year I go to no injuries and then keep that going for the rest of my career.
“But just dealing with different things like this, you just learn to get stronger mentally [and] really find yourself in other aspects of your life.”
Love is one of six Bears to average double-digit points so far this year. The Universal City native has missed nine of the last 11 games, and he’ll be inactive for his third straight contest when No. 3 seed Baylor plays No. 14 seed Colgate at 11:40 a.m. on Friday in the FedExForum in Memphis.
The 6-foot-5-inch guard first injured his ankle late in the second half of Baylor’s 79-73 win over Texas Tech on Feb. 6 in Waco. Love missed the next three games and returned to play 15 minutes in a loss at BYU on Feb. 20.
Love was helped off the court during that game after reinjuring his ankle, and he went on to miss the following four games. He returned for the season finale loss at Texas Tech on March 9 but hurt his ankle once again at a team practice.
“I had made a lot of progress to return,” Love said. “I played in the Texas Tech game, and after that, obviously [Coach Drew] said that I had gotten stepped on in practice just going through some drills.
“But I’m just working every day just to get the swelling out of my ankle and just deal with the pain in my ankle. So, moving forward, I’m just going to try to get as healthy as possible and just see where I’m at.”
Despite being unavailable for the first two games of March Madness, Love said he’s fully bought into helping lead the team from the sideline. Drew said it speaks volumes to have a player like Love, who’s been through so much adversity, be able to stay engaged on team-oriented goals.
“His foundation [and] spiritual foundation has really helped him,” Drew said. “And, I tell you, he’s been a great. I know he doesn’t like to be called a coach, but he’s done a great job coaching.
“He’ll continue to do that, and he gives a lot of wisdom to our freshmen and first-time guys. And everybody looks up to him because they respect how he’s handled his injuries, how he’s overcome and how he’s — regardless if he’s played or not played — been locked in to help the team.”
More from Love, who expanded on battling through the adversity of three straight injury-riddled years:
"I just feel like God has a plan for me that with heavy trials, you always come out better on the other side. … Hopefully next year I go to no injuries."
— Michael Haag (@MichaelHaag_) March 21, 2024
With Love unable to suit up for the Bears (23-10), senior forward Jalen Bridges said it will take a collective effort to make up for the sixth-man’s absence. Freshman guard Miro Little is expected to take over as the primary guard off the bench. Little got double-digit minutes in three of four games from Feb. 10 to Feb. 20 during part of Love’s missed time.
The Tampere, Finland, native said he’s ready to step in as needed, even if it’s his first NCAA Tournament.
“My confidence is higher than it has been the whole season,” Little said. “We’re really tight as a team, and everybody understands that we have roles, and everybody [is] playing their roles.”
Tipoff for Baylor and Colgate’s first-round meeting is set for 11:40 a.m. on Friday in Memphis, as the two sides will be meeting for the first time in program history. The Raiders (25-9) are looking for their first-ever NCAA Tournament win in their fifth straight appearance.
Love said he’s confident in the depth of the Bears to be able to make it out of the weekend without him. His status is still in question if Baylor were to advance beyond the round of 32 for the first time since 2020-21, when it won the national championship.
“I know the guys out there are going to give everything, give all the effort,” Love said. “And then we have guys like Miro Little that are going to get an opportunity just to show themselves. I feel like we just have a lot that’s unseen, untouched. And then we just put in the work in practice, so it’s going to show.”
