It’s been nearly two years since Caleb Lohner transferred from BYU and signed with Baylor. But on Tuesday, the former Cougar will face his old team for the first time as an opponent.
No. 18 BYU will face the No. 14 Bears on the road in what will be the second Big 12 matchup of the season for the Cougars.
Lohner played for BYU in the 2020-21 and 2021-22 seasons. He averaged 7 points per game at BYU, scoring a career-high 20 points with the Cougars in a National Invitation Tournament win over Long Beach State in March 2022.
Lohner, who comes off the bench for Baylor, is averaging 3.4 points and 2.9 rebounds while shooting 59.4% from the field and 40% from the 3-point line.
Lohner was asked Monday how he felt about facing his old team. Here is what he said.
On facing BYU
“You transfer from a school, you want to beat them. But they have a great program, a great team. Either way, selfishly, for me, it would be a great win. But also for the team, they’re a great basketball program. So any game in the Big 12 we can win is a good game.”
On his friends at BYU
“I still keep up with quite a few of the guys. A lot of the guys that I played with in the past and at BYU are great guys. My situation, [I] think I just needed to be at Baylor and that was it. But yeah, still great relationships over there.
On what he thinks of BYU as a team
“They shoot the ball really well. They cut, super active, especially when their big gets it at the top of the key. They run all these different motions and pin-downs and ball screens. Fast-paced team on offense. I think it’ll be important for us to talk through a lot of those switches and defensive schemes that we’re going to have going into the game. But they’re great basketball team, great basketball program. It’s going to be a good one.”
On defending BYU’s passing
“They have a great big who is really, really smart with the ball. Traditionally, I think a lot of we’ve played in the past, they’ve had more traditional rollers. So with them just being the assist team that they are, keeping your head on a swivel, making sure you’re not getting back cut, watching out for guys on the help side. Again, they’re a great passing team, a great 3-point shooting team. So it’s going to challenge us.”
