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No. 4 Baylor football’s defense has gone through a transformation in the last year, going from worst to first. After being ranked 119 out of 120 in the FBS at one point last year, Baylor is now 11th in total defense and first in the Big 12, in part because of the depth of the defense.

As Baylor continues to play tougher opponents with more potent offenses, having talented players on defense to back up the starters is an advantage because it allows players to keep their energy for longer periods of time.

The games just keep on keep on getting bigger for Baylor. Only two weeks ago, fans were hoping Baylor could get some legitimacy as a program with a test against No. 10 Oklahoma. After passing that test with flying colors, Baylor destroyed Texas Tech. Every test that Baylor has been given, it has aced.

The eyes of the nation will be on Stillwater this Saturday night as No. 4 Baylor (9-0, 6-0) puts everything on the line in a program-altering matchup with No. 10 Oklahoma State (9-1, 6-1). Baylor has not won a game in Stillwater since 1939.

By Shehan Jeyarajah Sports Writer No. 20 Oklahoma (8-2, 5-2) at Kansas State (6-4, 4-3) Oklahoma was largely eliminated from…

The No. 9 Baylor Lady Bears defended home court with a decisive 99-31 win over Savannah State Thursday at the Ferrell Center.

Senior guard Odyssey Sims finished with 22 points. Sophomore post Kristina Higgins had her first career double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds.

The Bears earned a 69-64 victory Wednesday at the Ferrell Center to move to 4-0 on the season, despite letting a double-digit lead disappear when Charleston Southern cut the lead to 67-64 in the waning minute of the game.

Baylor sophomore center Isaiah Austin set the tone early with a massive block on the first play of the game for Baylor. The Bears scored the first eight points of the contest, including two jumpers from senior power forward Cory Jefferson.

The No. 9 Baylor Lady Bears will put their 60-game home winning streak on the line with a three-game home stand for the Athletes in Action Classic at the Ferrell Center.

The three-day tournament will pit the Lady Bears against Savannah State today, Northwestern State Friday and UTSA Saturday.

“You get a lot of basketball,” Baylor head coach Kim Mulkey said. “You get to continue to see a lot of combinations. We’ll attack a lot of different defenses. I’m sure we’ll see a lot of zone, and we need to do that. We need to attack zones. We need to do a better job with rebounding.”

Baylor volleyball lost to the Kansas State Wildcats on Wednesday at Ahearn Field House in Manhattan, Kan. The Wildcats won all three sets 25-17, 25-17 and 25-17.

Baylor (12-18, 4-10) hit .194 in the first set. Things only went downhill from there as the Bears hit .026 in the second set and .000 in the third and final set.

Senior defensive specialist Kayci Evans posted 11 digs and sophomore middle hitter Adrien Richburg earned nine kills.

No. 20 Baylor basketball defeated Charleston Southern 69-64 on Wednesday night at the Ferrell Center.

Senior power forward Cory Jefferson led with 16 points, 11 rebounds and three blocks on the night for Baylor.

Sophomore center Isaiah Austin had 16 points, eight rebounds and six blocks. Senior guard Sheldon Strickland led CSU with 14 points on 4-for-5 from three in the loss.

Baylor’s game against No. 10 Oklahoma on Nov. 7 could have easily been a disastrous turn in the season. Baylor lost three of its top offensive weapons in senior running back Glasco Martin, junior running back Lache Seastrunk and senior wide receiver Tevin Reese.

Heading into the OU game, those three players had combined for 1,999 yards and 24 touchdowns, or 39.7 percent of Baylor’s offensive yards and 44.4 percent of Baylor’s offensive touchdowns this season.

Leadership has different forms. For senior guard Odyssey Sims, it’s all about action. Her ability to take over games and propel No. 9 Baylor Lady Bears to wins is unmatched.

Despite Sims being the only returning starter, Baylor hasn’t lost a step, winning by an average of margin of 47 points.

Baylor men’s basketball has started off the 2013-14 season with three straight wins in non-conference play. The men will look to make it four straight against Charleston Southern (2-2) in the first-ever meeting between these two opponents. The Bears will host Charleston Southern at 6 p.m. Wednesday at the Ferrell Center.

Senior guard Brady Heslip leads Baylor with 16.3 points per game on 51.9 percent from the field and 52.4 percent from the three-point line. Junior point guard Kenny Chery is averaging 14.3 points per game and 3.7 assists per game on 57.7 percent from the field.

For a while, Baylor looked to be in big trouble on Saturday. Texas Tech was playing flawless football, and back-to-back touchdown throws to junior tight end Jace Amaro gave Tech a sudden 20-7 lead over Baylor with 3:25 left in the first quarter.

It was all Baylor from there.No. 5 Baylor (9-0, 6-0) overcame an early 14-point deficit to win 63-34 over Texas Tech (7-4, 4-4) in Arlington at AT&T Stadium for the Texas Farm Bureau Insurance Shootout.

Baylor is ranked No. 1 in the latest NCEA Rankings after jumping up three spots in Monday’s NCEA Rankings.

The Bears are 5-1 on the season and their last event was a 12-8 win over Oklahoma State on Oct. 26. The three teams ranked ahead of Baylor all lost since the last NCEA poll was released on Oct. 25. As a result, the Bears jumped to the No. 1 spot in the rankings.

It was the Odyssey Sims show as the senior guard put on a dominating performance Monday, leading No. 9 Baylor to a 79-46 win at the Ferrell Center to move to 3-0 this season.

Sims finished the night with 33 points, three assists and two rebounds and outscored Rice at halftime 21-16. When head coach Kim Mulkey took Sims out, she only trailed the entire Rice team by one point. This is the fourth straight game Sims has scored more than 20 points dating back to last year’s Sweet 16 game.

By Ada Zhang Staff Writer They are glorified for their athletic capabilities, which is why the public often forgets that…

Baylor men’s basketball extended the nation’s second longest win streak to eight games, and the Bears moved to 3-0 on the season with a 87-68 win over Louisiana-Lafayette on Sunday at the Ferrell Center.

Baylor got off to a slow start in the first half, missing four straight shots to start the game. ULL jumped out to a 9-3 lead over Baylor with 14:50 left in the first half. The Bears would then go on a 13-2 run over the next five minutes to take a 16-11 lead after a three-pointer by junior point guard Kenny Chery. After cutting the lead to 16-15, ULL would never get within more than three points.

In front of a crowd of 69,188 raucous fans, Baylor football showed the nation that you never really have an advantage against the Bear’s high-powered offense. Despite Texas Tech scoring the first 14 points of the game, Baylor’s high-powered offense would score 60 or more points for the sixth time this season, and No. 5 Baylor (9-0, 6-0) cruised to 63-34 victory over Texas Tech (7-4, 4-4) in Arlington.

Redshirt freshman running back Shock Linwood led Baylor with 187 rushing yards on 29 carries and a touchdown in his first collegiate start at running back. Fellow redshirt freshman running back Devin Chafin added 100 yards and two touchdowns on only 11 carries in his first major action.

Baylor leads Texas Tech 35-27 at halftime at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

Junior inside receiver Levi Norwood has been the top player for Baylor. He has 141 yards receiving and two touchdowns to go along with a 58-yard punt return for touchdown. Quarterback Bryce Petty has 227 yards and three touchdowns.

In the second game of the season, the No. 9 ranked Lady Bears dominated unranked Nicholls State University with a 111-58 win on Thursday at the Ferrell Center. The Lady Bears have scored more than 110 points in every game thus far, averaging 110.5 per game.

“You just have to give Baylor the credit in terms of their personnel, the depth they have, the ability to, in a good way, they can just wear you down,” Nicholls State head coach DoBee Plaisance said. “They’re outstanding. They’re not number nine in the country for nothing.”

Following a 41-12 win over No. 10 Oklahoma, Baylor moved into the top five in the BCS for the first time. With higher rankings come higher stakes, and there are few stages more fitting for high-stakes football than AT&T Stadium in Arlington.

No. 5 Baylor football (8-0, 5-0) travels up I-35 to Arlington to take on Texas Tech (7-3, 4-3) in a matchup at the home of the Dallas Cowboys.

Baylor football is off to a historic 8-0 start and it doesn’t look like Baylor is ready to slow down anytime soon.

Despite the uncertainty around the Big 12, Baylor Head Coach Art Briles’ position at Baylor is cemented with a 10-year contract extension, which was approved by the regents Wednesday night.

There’s only a minute left in the half as Floyd Casey’s sea of black roars waiting for Oklahoma to snap the ball. Seconds later, the ball is in senior linebacker Eddie Lackey’s hands as he comes away with the interception sending the crowd into a frenzy. Forty-seven seconds later, the Baylor offense makes the Sooners pay.

Baylor’s defense has forced 60 turnovers in the last 25 games. Statistics don’t always tell the whole story, and while Lackey’s stats speak volumes, it’s the intangibles that make the difference. Lackey’s leadership has been on display this season as his intensity has fueled the defense to play to its highest potential.

Coming off of a three-match losing streak, Baylor turned things around in a home tilt versus Texas Tech. The Bears (12-16, 4-8) defeated Texas Tech (9-19, 2-10) in straight sets on Wednesday in Waco. The Bears won sets 25-21, 25-19, 25-22.

Baylor trailed 7-10 in the first set but came back to tie the set at 12-12 behind an ace from freshman outside hitter Sam Hill and two kills from senior middle hitter Adrien Richburg. The Bears took a four-point lead but struggled to put the Red Raiders away. Tech cut the lead to 20-19, but Baylor managed to win the set 25-21. The Bears hit .414 in the set while holding Tech to .038.

Baylor Football is off to an historic 8-0 start and it doesn’t look like Baylor is ready to slow down any time soon. Despite the uncertainty around the Big 12, Baylor Head Coach Art Briles’ position at Baylor is cemented with a 10-year contract extension, which was approved by the regents Wednesday night.

The numbers of the new contract have not been disclosed, but under the previous deal, Briles was set to average $3.5 annually. In 2012, Briles made $2.4 million, which is a significant raise from the $1.5 million he made in 2010.

Baylor basketball opened its home season Tuesday afternoon at the Ferrell Center with a hard-fought 66-64 win over SEC opponent South Carolina. With the showcase win in front of a national television ESPN audience, Baylor (2-0) has won eight straight home openers in the Scott Drew era.

Both Baylor and South Carolina started hot right out of the gates. The two teams came out shooting 15-for-17 from the field, including 3-for-3 from the three-point line. South Carolina jumped out to a 17-19 lead with 12:58 in the first half.

It’s a new year and a new team for the Baylor Lady Bears after losing six seniors – center Brittney Griner, guard Kimetria Hayden, guard Jordan Madden, forward Brooklyn Pope, forward Destiny Williams and student assistant Shanay Washington.

With the Griner era over, it’s up to the new seniors to lead the talented underclassmen to their potential. It will be a big task for the post players, but after practicing against Griner, they are up to the challenge.

With talks of rebuilding surrounding No. 10 Baylor, the Lady Bears played with something prove en route to a 110-55 win over the Grambling State Lady Tigers on Saturday at the Ferrell Center. Baylor’s 55-point victory was the largest margin of victory in a season opener under head coach Kim Mulkey.

The Lady Bears balanced offense had plenty of scorers, but it was senior guard Odyssey Sims who stole the show with her 28-point, four-assist, four-rebound and five-steal performance. Four other Lady Bears scored in double digits with three of the four players coming off the bench, some of which can be attributed to Sims helping draw defenders.

Coming into this year, hopes were high for the Bears after last year’s success, but those dreams came crashing down on Monday when the Bears found out their season ended after not being selected to the NCAA Tournament as a bubble team.

After starting the season ranked No. 10, Baylor began to climb steadily only to go into a free-fall during a six game winless streak. After a three game winning streak, Baylor’s last hope was to win the Big 12 Tournament, but No. 1 seed West Virginia shattered any hope Baylor had with a 1-0 win Friday night at Swope Soccer Village in Kansas City, Mo., in the Big 12 Championship Semifinals.

Baylor basketball opened its season last Friday night in the 2013 Bucks and Boots Showcase at the American Airlines Center in Dallas. The Bears played a 2013 NCAA Tournament team in the Colorado Buffaloes for a rematch of an early-season matchup last season.

Baylor led from start to finish in a 72-60 win over Colorado.

No. 5 Baylor (8-0) didn’t quite meet the all-time attendance record against No. 10 Oklahoma (7-2), but that was OK. The Bears still played in front of the most raucous crowd in the history of Floyd Casey Stadium on Thursday. In front of 50,337 screaming, blacked- out fans watching the biggest football game in Baylor history, the Bears made a statement with a 41-12 win over the Sooners.

“We showed tonight we can compete with any team in this conference and in the nation,” senior defensive end Chris McAllister said to a crowd of dozens of reporters after the 41-12 thrashing of Oklahoma.