By Gio Gennero | Sports Writer
For the second year in a row, Baylor was assigned top two seeds for men’s and women’s basketball. Baylor men’s basketball earned their second-straight No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament while Baylor women’s basketball was selected as the No. 2 seed. It’s the 11th-straight year the women’s team has been seeded second or higher in the tournament.
This marks the men’s team’s 14th tournament appearance, and 10th under head coach Scott Drew. The Regular Season Co-Big 12 champions (26-6, 14-4 Big 12) were selected to the East Region of the bracket and will face off against No. 16 Norfolk State University (24-6, 12-2 Mid-Eastern Athletic) for just the third time, Baylor is 2-0 in their previous meetings. Tipoff will be at 1 p.m. on Thursday in Dickie’s Arena in Fort Worth.
“No matter what region you look at, or what game you look at, you look at it and say ‘Man, that’s a tough game,’” Drew said. “They call it March madness for a reason. You look at the numbers, 1-16, 2-15, 3-14, it looks like a big difference but us coaches know there’s really not that big of difference. Survive and advance, you better be ready to go otherwise you’re going home.”
Baylor women’s basketball enters the NCAA Tournament for their 20th appearance. The Bears (27-6, 15-3 Big 12) won their 12th consecutive Big 12 regular season championship and made it to the finals of the Big 12 tournament. The Bears will compete against No. 15 University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa (20-9, 13-3 Big West) at 3 p.m. on Friday in the Ferrell Center.
“Certainly disappointed we didn’t get a one seed, but I’ll tell you, it’s the same bracket,” head coach Nicki Collen said. “It’s just whether we’re at the top or the bottom, it’s what color uniforms you’re wearing.”
