RPI WATCH: 1/5/2011

I think the negative tone of my KNOW THY ENEMY preview might have pissed off Baylor.

LaceDarius Dunn fell one point shy of tying Michael Beasley and Denis Clemente for the Big 12 single-game scoring record, but he did record career highs for points (43) and 3-pointers made (10) to spark a 19-4 second-half run that erased a Morgan State lead and led to an 89-72 blowout win in what had been a close game.

How sick was Dunn's night from long-range? Consider that at one point, he hit three 3s in a 58-second span. I guess he's out of his shooting slump.

Now, Morgan State is a pretty good team that won its conference and went to the NCAA Tournament last season.

But that doesn't mean Baylor has "arrived," by any means. Last year, the Big 12 Bears held the MEAC Bears to nine fewer points (although they themselves scored 10 fewer points than last season).

As I wrote in the preview, Baylor is a potent team when Dunn is "on" (and also when freshman sensation Perry Jones III scores 17 points, instead of the goose egg he posted against Texas Southern), but I still think defense will be the team's bugaboo all season long.

This Baylor team is more like the 2008-09 model than the 2009-10 version.

In the Southwestern Athletic Conference openers, it was a mixed bag. Both games went to overtime — the aforementioned Texas Southern won on the road to move to 1-0, but Alcorn State lost at home to fall to 0-1.

Since the latter is winless this season, that wasn't really a huge surprise.

Finally, what a bad night for Arkansas. Not only did the football team blow a perfect opportunity for a comeback victory over the Luckeyes, but the basketball team absolutely was walloped in Austin.

And both games were simultaneous, which must have driven the Razorbacks' fans insane.

Associated Press Ranking = 17

ESPN/USA Today Ranking = 17

Overall Record = 12-3

RPI = 27

SOS = 33

Signature Wins (RPI 1-30) = none

Quality Wins (RPI 31-100) = James Madison, Virginia Tech, Presbyterian, Gonzaga, Washington State

Bad Losses (RPI 101 or greater) = none

• James Madison (11-3, 1-1 CAA) | RPI = 49
  
• Virginia Tech (9-4, 0-1 ACC) | RPI = 59
  
• Presbyterian (7-8, 1-2 Big South) | RPI = 81
  
• Gonzaga (10-5) | RPI = 44
  
• No. 1 Duke (13-0, 1-0 ACC) | RPI = 9
  
• Texas Southern (3-9, 1-0 SWAC) | RPI = 157: Win at Southern (81-74 in overtime)
  
• Emporia State (8-4, 5-1 MIAA*)
  
• Washington State (10-4, 0-2 Pac-10) | RPI = 60
  
• Alcorn State (0-11, 0-1 SWAC) | RPI = 269: Loss to Prairie View (66-68 in overtime)
  
• Loyola-Chicago (10-5, 1-3 Horizon League) | RPI = 172
  
• Florida (11-3) | RPI = 14
  
• No. 25 UNLV (12-2) | RPI = 23
  
• UMKC (8-6, 1-3 Summit League) | RPI = 241
  
• North Florida (4-9, 1-1 Atlantic Sun) | RPI = 126
  
• Savannah State (2-15) | RPI = 311
  
• Oklahoma State (12-2) | RPI = 41
  
• Colorado (10-4) | RPI = 135
  
• Texas Tech (8-7) | RPI = 202: Win over Delaware State (79-60)
  
• No. 9 Missouri (13-1) | RPI = 36
  
• No. 16 Texas A&M (13-1) | RPI = 31
  
• Baylor (10-3) | RPI = 143: Win over Morgan State (89-72)
  
• No. 3 Kansas (13-0) | RPI = 2
  
• Nebraska (11-2) | RPI = 117
  
• Iowa State (13-2) | RPI = 100
  
• Oklahoma (8-6) | RPI = 208
  
• No. 12 Texas (12-2) | RPI = 24: Win over Arkansas (79-46)
  

*Division II