Baylor Basketball: 3 takeaways from Bears victory over Central Arkansas

Defense looked rusty early

Through the first month of the season, Baylor gave up just 61 points per game and giving up 27 percent from beyond the arc. Both of those are good for top 30 in the country. However, Central Arkansas did not show any hesitance of shooting.

Central Arkansas shot 8-15 from beyond the arc in the first half. Central Arkansas was connecting on 40 percent of their shots from the field and matched Baylor’s assists total as well. Consistency in missed assignments

Baylor had five turnovers against Arkansas Pine Bluff. In the first half alone, Baylor turned the ball over seven times. The second half for the Bears would be a different story. Central Arkansas started the half 1-12 from the field and had seven turnovers within the first nine minutes

Central Arkansas would finish with just 21 points in the second half and look like the defense Baylor fans are used to in the last 20 minutes.

Central Arkansas would have 23 turnovers to just 16 assists. The rust looked to be off as the winding minutes of the game came to a close and that is a good sign for the upcoming games. Big 12 continues on Saturday with Iowa State.

The Cyclones are among the lower teams within the conference and fell to Kansas State in their Big 12 opener. However, this is the same team that took West Virginia to the wire in Morgantown. The Bears’ defense must be better over a 40-minute span if they want to win games where the offense does not perform as well.