After exhibition wins against preseason AP No. 1 Florida and No. 3 Illinois , safe to say that the Bears had a successful preseason. Coach Scott Drew leads Baylor into his 24th season, and will have his sights set on the games at hand, but also towards tournament time.
The Bears finished 17-17 last season (6-12 Big 12), but if the exhibition games are any kind of metric to judge, both of those win totals could be drastically higher this season. Although the Bears aren't currently ranked in the AP Top 25 , I don't expect it to take very long for the voters to take notice of Baylor.
Mar 12, 2025; Kansas City, MO, USA; Baylor Bears mascot performs during a timeout against the Kansas State Wildcats at T-Mobile Center. Mandatory Credit: William Purnell-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
The first opponent for the Bears' regular season will be today, Monday November 2nd at 8:30 p.m. CT on ESPN+ . A home game at Foster Pavilion, Baylor is heavily favored in this one. Coach Scott Drew will be looking for his 6th consecutive win against the Demons, a streak that goes back to 2013.
From the Southland Conference, the Demons were 10-22 (8-14 Southland) last season. Demons coach Rick Cabrera would love nothing more than to be able to claim that his team beat the Bears, but unfortunately for Cabrera, I don't expect the Bears to spend much time struggling to show their difference in physicality and overall skill.
It's certainly no disrespect to Northwestern State, but this game may not be very competitive once tipoff has concluded. The Demons finished near the bottom of Division 1 last season, struggling as a road team and currently focused more on their own rebuilding than being able to compete for a full game against a Bears team expected to be heavily favored by sportsbooks like Fanduel (though no official lines are available as of the time of this publication).
Kansas Jayhawks guard Elmarko Jackson (13) reaches for a rebound against Baylor Bears center Juslin Bodo Bodo (21) during the game inside Allen Fieldhouse on Jan. 16, 2026. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
Baylor's second opponent of the season will be Arkansas-Pine Bluff on Friday, November 6th at 4:00 p.m. CT on ESPN+. Another home game at Foster Pavilion, Baylor looks to be heavily favored in this one as well. Expect the Bears to show the same overwhelming dominance as they'll once again be overmatched for the Golden Lions just as they were for the Demons.
In what could be another game effectively decided by the end of the first half, coach Drew may utilize as much time as possible rotating and testing out various options for his team's approach as possible. I expect the starters to get solid time, but I also expect Baylor to pull away early and rotations to occur frequently throughout the second half.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com/college/baylor as Look Ahead: Baylor Basketball Opens 2026-27 Season With Two Home Games .
