Welcome back to the Monday Morning Sports Buzz. In honor of Palm Sunday, I got some shots up on the ol’ minihoop this weekend. That’s as close as I’ll ever come to palming a basketball.
Let’s get into it.
Springtime in the desert
Men’s basketball is headed to Las Vegas for the College Basketball Crown, a new, NIL-based postseason invitational tournament which launched last year. The Bears will open the invitational against Minnesota (15-17, 8-12 Big Ten) at 9:30 p.m. Wednesday.
“It’s a different experience for our guys who have not been in postseason, or have not been in postseason in a Baylor uniform,” head coach Scott Drew said. “Every time you have an opportunity to gain from an experience, that’s something that can help you in the future.”
The Bears are one of eight teams in the field for the Crown. The winner of Baylor-Minnesota will advance to face the winner of Oklahoma-Colorado in the semifinals on Saturday, followed by the championship game Sunday afternoon.
Back on track
Track and field honored a coaching legend this weekend, sweeping the 4x100m relays and winning the men’s 4x400m relays at the inaugural Clyde Hart Classic.
The 4×400 win was a fitting conclusion for the tribute. Hart coached nine Olympians, 566 All-American performances and 34 individual champions during his Baylor tenure from 1963-2005, including 20 national championships in the 4×400 relay.
Current head coach Michael Ford, who named the event in honor of Hart, hopes he would be proud.
“I would like to think he had his stopwatch in hand up in heaven,” Ford said.
Spring has sprung
Baylor football is back in action for spring practice, with an overhauled offense captained by new quarterback DJ Lagway. The junior signal-caller is a Baylor legacy who spent two years at Florida before coming home to Texas.
“Me and Coach Spav’s relationship has been great, with his ability to let me be me, let me play freely,” Lagway said. “It feels good to go out there and just have fun and know I have a coach that believes in me and wants me to succeed.”
Lagway, a former five-star recruit from Willis High School, is the latest in a long line of notable QBs to play for Spavital. He passed for 4,179 yards, 28 touchdowns and 23 interceptions during his time in Gainesville.
Around the horn
- Men’s Tennis (16-7, 3-1 Big 12) swept a Sunday doubleheader, knocking off No. 12 UCF 4-2 and Creighton 7-0. The Bears will host Utah on Thursday.
- Baseball (16-11, 5-4 Big 12) swept Houston in dominant fashion, scoring 30 runs in the road series. The Bears will host Tarleton State and BYU next week.
- Softball (21-12, 5-4 Big 12) lost a series sweep to No. 13 Arizona. The Wildcats scored 27 runs across the three games in Tucson.
- Women’s tennis (10-6, 6-3 Big 12) fell to No. 23 TCU in Fort Worth on Saturday, 4-1. Zuzanna Kubacha scored the Bears’ sole point in singles.
- Equestrian (3-9, 2-4 Big 12) fell to No. 6 Oklahoma State in the Big 12 Championship semifinals, 11-9. The Bears close conference play with a losing record for the seventh straight season.
- A&T knocked off No. 9 Duquesne to improve to 8-0. They’ll travel north to take on No. 2 Oregon in Eugene on April 6, a top-two rematch after the Bears got the best of the Ducks in February.
It’s another beautiful week for Baylor sports, spring weather and the FM72 prayer tent. Maybe I’ll catch you there.
Thanks for reading.
— JPose
