Baylor were back in action on Friday afternoon for their second game of the 2026-27 season, taking on Arkansas-Pine Bluff with the confidence of a comfortable opening win still fresh. After Monday night’s 87-65 victory over Northwestern State, Scott Drew’s side now had a different kind of early test: stay sharp, stay organised and avoid letting a lesser-known opponent turn the game into something messy.
That is the early-season challenge for a team like Baylor. The wins matter, but so does how they arrive, and Friday’s matchup gave them another chance to build rhythm before the schedule becomes more demanding. Arkansas-Pine Bluff came in after a heavy 106-61 loss to Arkansas, so the Bears were not facing a side arriving with much momentum. Even so, these are the games where standards can slip if a favourite takes its foot off the gas.
Why this game mattered for Baylor
The wider focus was not just on the result, but on how Baylor looked in a second outing of the season. The Monday win over Northwestern State gave Scott Drew a solid starting point, but this was another chance to sharpen the details. Early in the year, teams are often still working out roles, rotations and the right balance between control and tempo.
That is also why Juslin Bodo Bodo was part of the conversation. He was being framed as an important paint presence for Baylor this season after missing last season, and that makes his role easy to understand. At 6'8", he gives the Bears a different kind of physical option inside, something that can matter when a team wants to protect the rim, finish around the basket and bring some stability to the frontcourt.
Bodo Bodo’s return adds another layer
The key point is not simply that Bodo Bodo is back. It is that Baylor can now lean on a player who was absent last season and whose presence changes the look of the paint. For a team trying to establish an identity early in the campaign, that matters. It gives Drew another piece to work with as he settles on combinations and tries to build consistency.
Arkansas-Pine Bluff, meanwhile, arrived needing to reset quickly after the 106-61 defeat to Arkansas. That kind of result can leave a team with little margin, especially against a Baylor side that had already started the season with a win. So while the game was still an early one, it carried a simple question: could Baylor turn a promising start into something more settled, and could Arkansas-Pine Bluff make the trip to Texas competitive after such a difficult opening?
For Baylor, the answer would help shape the mood around the first stretch of the season. The result against Northwestern State had set a positive tone, and Friday afternoon offered another step in that process. The next phase for Scott Drew’s team would depend on whether they could keep stacking performances, with Bodo Bodo’s presence inside one of the more interesting parts of the equation.
