On Friday night, we were reminded why we watch college basketball. No. 3 Kentucky came into Arlington with three superstar Texas freshmen who Baylor had failed to entice in the last recruiting cycle. No matter. By the time the day was done, Baylor proved to be the better team for the second season in a row.

Baylor came out strong early with a 16-7 lead behind two early dunks from Cory Jefferson. Kentucky would fight their way back to 29-29 behind four three-pointers combined between Aaron Harrison and James Young. Kentucky’s run would coast them to a 38-35 halftime lead.

Baylor men’s basketball has gotten off to a hot start this season. The Bears have won seven of eight, with their only loss against now No. 4 Syracuse in the Maui Invitational championship game.

With the momentum, No. 20 Baylor (7-1) will look to upset No. 3 Kentucky (7-1) today at AT&T Stadium in Arlington. The game will be the third of the season for Baylor against a team that has been ranked in the top 25.

On April 28, center Isaiah Austin surprised Baylor fans by deciding to return for his sophomore season. Ever since being recruited as a consensus five-star prospect, it was assumed that Austin would leave after his freshman season.

Coming off his freshman season, the Basketball Times named Austin a Freshman All-American. The league’s media also named him All-Big 12 Second Team center. Austin averaged 13.0 points per game, 8.3 rebounds per game and 1.7 blocks per game on 45.9 percent from the field.

For the first time in over 20 years, No. 20 Baylor basketball was invited to take part in the Maui Invitational Tournament, one of the biggest preseason tournaments in the nation. Baylor fought their way to wins over Chaminade and Dayton before falling to No. 8 Syracuse in the title game.

The Bears opened the tournament against Division II Hawaiian college Chaminade. The Silverswords came out with a strong fight in the first half behind senior guard Christophe Varidel. The Swiss guard hit seven three-pointers in the first half to pull Chaminade within 45-45 at the half. Varidel finished with 42 points for the game, one off of the tournament record of 43.

The Bears earned a 69-64 victory Wednesday at the Ferrell Center to move to 4-0 on the season, despite letting a double-digit lead disappear when Charleston Southern cut the lead to 67-64 in the waning minute of the game.

Baylor sophomore center Isaiah Austin set the tone early with a massive block on the first play of the game for Baylor. The Bears scored the first eight points of the contest, including two jumpers from senior power forward Cory Jefferson.