By Jackson Posey | Sports Writer, Aidan Pham | LTVN Sports Reporter
For the first time since Dec. 31, Baylor men’s basketball entered Saturday’s matchup against UCF with a healthy rotation.
In case you missed the game, LTVN’s Aidan Pham tells you what happened
Redshirt junior guard Langston Love made a triumphant return from the ankle-injury purgatory that had sidelined him since December, tying a season-high 16 points in the Bears’ 91-76 win at Foster Pavilion. But the afternoon was marred by further injury woes: five minutes into the game, starting center Josh Ojianwuna went down with an apparent left knee injury.
“Prayers go up for Josh,” head coach Scott Drew said after the game. “I know we serve a God of miracles, so hopefully he’s not out for the season.”
Both offenses looked hesitant to probe the defense, struggling to find much separation. They shot a combined 3-for-12 in the opening four minutes, with neither breaking the five-point mark until 15:28. But fans did get a taste of what they came for with athletic freshman VJ Edgecombe in the lob game — this time, as the table-setter.
It gets the people going#SicEm | #CultureOfJOY pic.twitter.com/zZb1QHHn2S
— Baylor Men’s Basketball (@BaylorMBB) February 8, 2025
Love, who has dealt with nagging injuries all season, made his 2025 debut off the bench to extended applause. He finished the game with 16 points and a season-high six rebounds.
“It’s just a blessing from God to be back on the floor,” Love said. “I tried to come back earlier [in the season], just wasn’t quite ready yet. … I was just happy to be back on the floor.”
Less than a minute later, Ojianwuna took a hard foul and went down hard, holding his left knee. A chorus of boos rang throughout Foster Pavilion, directed at the UCF bench, as trainers attended to the big man before helping him off the court to the locker room. He never returned.
“Obviously [the injuries are] really frustrating for us,” Drew said. “We finally got eight together, we outscored them on the bench 40-14, and you have this happen. God’s always got a plan; hopefully, we get a miracle and Josh doesn’t have a season-ending injury.”
Around the 11-minute mark, the Foster Pavilion air conditioners began malfunctioning, blaring deafening mechanical sounds reminiscent of an amplified snare drum. The teams made just two of their next nine shots as the cooling units continued to hum aggressively.
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With the score knotted up at 19, the air conditioners returned to normal — and before long, the Bears went on a tear, scoring nine straight to take a 30-25 lead. Baylor entered the break up 45-36; UCF only managed one assist in the first half.
“Stick to our normal schemes, make them play off the dribble a lot more,” Edgecombe said of the Bears’ first-half defensive success. “We just tried our hardest to keep them from kicking it to one another, making them beat us one-on-one.”
The Knights’ iso-heavy offense fell apart in the second half as Baylor finally broke free in transition. As UCF’s shots stopped falling, the Bears piled up a 16-0 run to crack the game open.
“I thought that 16-0 run was as fun as I’ve had in the Foster Pavilion,” Drew said. “VJ is good for a SportsCenter dunk every other game, and I get to see him do one in practice every other day.”
The Ojianwuna injury forced Drew to play some unconventional lineups in the second half. With Omier on the bench, the Bears rolled out a five-man lineup of Robert O. Wright III, Jeremy Roach, Love, Edgecombe and Jalen Celestine. Their average height — 6-foot-3 1/2 — is one of the smallest in recent memory.
For nearly two minutes, Celestine (6-foot-6) was tasked with guarding UCF center Moustapha Thiam (7-foot-2), who finished with 18 points on 7-of-10 shooting (3-for-4 on threes). The Bears managed to hold steady without either of their big men, tying the Knights 5-5 in that span.
“We hadn’t practiced that [lineup],” Love said. “But we’re going to hit first and give our best effort. And especially with that lineup we’re playing fast — as you can see, we were playing fast. It was a great experience and something new to try.”
The win moves the Bears to 7-5 in Big 12 play. They’ll get a short rest before hitting the road Monday to take on No. 5-ranked Houston at the Fertitta Center. The game will be broadcast live on ESPN.
