Browsing: Baylor men’s basketball

On Friday night, we were reminded why we watch college basketball. No. 3 Kentucky came into Arlington with three superstar Texas freshmen who Baylor had failed to entice in the last recruiting cycle. No matter. By the time the day was done, Baylor proved to be the better team for the second season in a row.

Baylor came out strong early with a 16-7 lead behind two early dunks from Cory Jefferson. Kentucky would fight their way back to 29-29 behind four three-pointers combined between Aaron Harrison and James Young. Kentucky’s run would coast them to a 38-35 halftime lead.

Baylor men’s basketball has gotten off to a hot start this season. The Bears have won seven of eight, with their only loss against now No. 4 Syracuse in the Maui Invitational championship game.

With the momentum, No. 20 Baylor (7-1) will look to upset No. 3 Kentucky (7-1) today at AT&T Stadium in Arlington. The game will be the third of the season for Baylor against a team that has been ranked in the top 25.

On April 28, center Isaiah Austin surprised Baylor fans by deciding to return for his sophomore season. Ever since being recruited as a consensus five-star prospect, it was assumed that Austin would leave after his freshman season.

Coming off his freshman season, the Basketball Times named Austin a Freshman All-American. The league’s media also named him All-Big 12 Second Team center. Austin averaged 13.0 points per game, 8.3 rebounds per game and 1.7 blocks per game on 45.9 percent from the field.

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.

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 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.

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.

Fresh off a championship run in the National Invitational Tournament last season, Baylor men’s basketball looks to return to the NCAA Tournament for the third time in five years under head basketball coach Scott Drew. Baylor comes into this season ranked No. 25 in the Associated Press poll, the seventh year in a row that Baylor has been ranked. 

Isaiah Austin, the highly-touted freshman center, announced Sunday that he is coming back to Baylor for his sophomore season.

Austin said he is excited to come back to Baylor and build off of last season’s NIT Championship.

He was projected by many to be a one-and-done player and bolt to the NBA following his freshman year, so to have Austin back in the green and gold is an immense boost for Baylor basketball.

Junior forward Cory Jefferson announced Thursday that he will be returning for another year and will not enter the NBA Draft.

After a breakout season, Jefferson was projected to be a late pick in the 2013 NBA Draft if he decided to enter.

Considering the Bears’ lofty preseason ranking of No. 19 in the country, it’s difficult to see this season as nothing short of bittersweet.

Sure, it’s fantastic for head coach Scott Drew and seniors Pierre Jackson and A.J. Walton to go out on top in with an NIT championship, but the NIT was never the goal for this group of Bears.

NEW YORK – The Baylor Bears won the NIT championship by defeating Iowa 74-54 Thursday and cut down the nets in victory at New York City’s Madison Square Garden. The NIT trophy is Baylor’s first-ever NIT Championship, and the Bears also became the first Big 12 team to ever take home the NIT hardware.

The Baylor men’s basketball team will take on the Iowa Hawkeyes tonight in the NIT Championship game at Madison Square Garden. The game will tip off at 8 p.m.

The Hawkeyes are 25-12 on the season and are coming off of a 71-60 win over Maryland.

The Baylor Bears defeated the BYU Cougars 76-70 Tuesday in the semifinal round of the NIT in Madison Square Garden. No. 2 seed Baylor and No. 3 seed BYU were in a closely contested game until Baylor’s senior superstar guard Pierre Jackson decided to go off for 15 second-half points to push the Bears into the NIT championship game.

The Baylor Bears defeated the Providence Friars in the quarterfinals of the NIT 79-68 on Wednesday night to move on to the semifinals on Tuesday in New York City’s Madison Square Garden.

“When you’ve got a lot on the line like a chance to go to New York and play in a Final Four-type atmosphere at Madison Square Garden, you know that you don’t have to motivate as a coach,” head coach Scott Drew said. “Our guys were extremely excited all day long for this game and Providence really played well in that first half, and we couldn’t stop them and in the second half I thought we did a much better job defensively. The big thing was that we took care of the ball all game with 19 assists and only five turnovers. Pierre Jackson had 13 assists and zero turnovers. I think everybody wants a point guard who can play a game like that and he was outstanding.”

The Baylor Bears defeated the Arizona State Sun Devils on Friday night at the Ferrell Center 89-86 to advance to the third round of the NIT. Senior point guard Pierre Jackson put on a show for the home fans by scoring 26 points and racking up a career-high 16 assists in the victory.

After defeating Long Beach State 112-66 Wednesday in the first round of the NIT, the No. 2 seed Baylor will host the No. 3 seed Arizona State Sun Devils at 7 p.m. tonight at the Ferrell Center.

The Baylor Bears defeated the Long Beach State 49ers 112-66 Wednesday at the Ferrell Center and advanced to the second round of the NIT.

“I thought it was a great way to start a tournament,” head coach Scott Drew said. “Obviously we did a lot of things well, starting with 31 assists and only 14 turnovers, shooting 63 percent and holding them to 33 percent. I thought we played like a weight was off of our shoulders and we really made a lot of extra passes and played well. In the last two games at home, I think we’ve really played well at home.”

The 2012-13 season for the Baylor men’s basketball team was a rather rocky one. Baylor was able to win some highly impressive games this season but its inconsistency led it to lose some easier games on the schedule.

The Bears handed Kentucky its first home loss in 55 games, which was John Calipari’s first home loss as head coach of the Wildcats.

The Baylor Bears started the season ranked No. 19 in the preseason AP Top 25 poll.

The Bears went into the Big 12 Tournament as the No. 6 seed setting up a rematch with Oklahoma State. The Bears lost a heartbreaker to the Cowboys 74-72 in Kansas City at the Sprint Center. The Bears were down 42-24 at half and battled back in the second half to give Oklahoma State a run for their money. Senior point guard Pierre Jackson had a chance to win the game with a three at the buzzer but the shot deflected off the rim.

In a memorable Senior Night for Baylor basketball, the Bears upset the No. 4 Kansas Jayhawks 81-58 Saturday. The Bears shot 58% from the field.

The Baylor Bears lost to the Texas Longhorns 79-70 in Austin on Monday. It was a loss that carried a lot of weight in determining Baylor’s hopes of earning an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament. With only one regular season game remaining on Saturday against Kansas, the Bears will likely have to have a stellar performance in the Big 12 tournament to earn an NCAA bid.

With one second left in the game and the score tied 61-61, Kansas State senior guard Rodney McGruder buried a three-pointer at the buzzer to sink Baylor 64-61 in regulation.

It was a heart-breaking loss for the Bears considering they played toe-to-toe with the No. 13 team in the country for 59 minutes and 59 seconds.

The Baylor Bears are set to take on the No. 13 Kansas State Wildcats at 6 p.m. Saturday at the Ferrell Center. The Bears are fresh off of a 65-62 road win against West Virginia and are trying to gain momentum for the last three games of the Big 12 Conference schedule.

“It was a good road win for us,” senior guard A.J. Walton said. “We’ve been working hard in practice just trying to stay focused and stay together and not get down on ourselves. We’re 1-6 now in games under five points so it’s good for us to get that win. It just shows how much we’ve been working and how much we’ve grown.”

The Baylor Bears men’s basketball team makes its first conference road trip to Morgantown, W. Va., to take on the Mountaineers tonight. This 7 p.m. showdown will most likely help determine seeding for the Big 12 tournament in Kansas City.

The Bears (16-9, 7-7) lead West Virginia by only one game in the Big 12 standings. The Mountaineers are 13-14 overall and 6-8 in the conference. The Bears have lost six of their last eight games and are 3-6 on the road in conference games.

In Baylor’s last contest, Oklahoma defeated the Bears 90-76. With just four games remaining in the Big 12 schedule, the Bears must salvage the season and gain some momentum heading into the postseason.

Baylor’s 90-76 loss to the Oklahoma Sooners on Saturday puts the team in a tough situation. The loss brings the Bears’ record to 16-11 overall and 7-7 in the Big 12 Conference. This places the team at No. 6 in the Big 12.

Losing to the Sooners decreased the Bears’ chances of being selected for the NCAA Tournament.

With just a .500 record in conference, Baylor has a daunting challenge ahead for the remainder of the season if they want to pull off a coveted NCAA Tournament bid.

With only three home games remaining in the schedule, Baylor basketball had a golden opportunity to get a resumé — boosting win against Iowa State on Wednesday night.

The opportunity slipped through the Bears’ fingers as Iowa State defeated Baylor 87-82.

The Bears are now 7-6 in the Big 12 Conference and are on the verge of missing the NCAA tournament entirely and going straight to the NIT.

The Baylor Bears lost to the Iowa State Cyclones 87-82 Wednesday at the Ferrell Center on a night where the Cyclones made 11 three-pointers to sink the Bears. Jackson led the Bears in scoring with 30.

“This is a tough loss for us,” Baylor head coach Scott Drew said. “Iowa State shot 54 percent from the field. That and our 55 percent from the free throw line was the difference in the game. 82 points is enough points to win, but the other team shoots 54 percent and scores 87. Defensively tonight, that was disappointing.”

The Baylor Bears and Iowa State Cyclones are locked in a fast-paced shootout so far tonight at the Ferrell Center. At the half, Iowa State leads 41-36 over the Bears.

The contest started out with senior point guard Pierre Jackson playing with revenge on his mind after he posted just seven points against Kansas State.

The Baylor Bears will host the Iowa State Cyclones at 8 p.m. today in the Ferrell Center in a crucial Big 12 Conference match up. With both teams knotted at 7-5 in conference, this single game could determine seeding in the Big 12 tournament and eventually in the NCAA tournament.

“Every home game is so critical, especially at this time of the year in the Big 12,” Baylor head coach Scott Drew said. “We’ve won two out of our last three and we need to keep that momentum going.”