Gameday Thread: No. 5 Baylor vs No. 12 Vanderbilt

BLACKSBURG, Va. – The Baylor women’s basketball team makes its 20th-straight NCAA Tournament appearance on Friday when it faces the Vanderbilt Commodores in the first round at Cassell Coliseum.

Tip-off between the No. 5-seeded Bears (24-7) and the 12th-seeded Commodores (23-9) is set for 5 p.m. CT, or 30 minutes following the conclusion of the Virginia Tech/Marshall game, which is slated for 2:30 p.m. CT.

The game airs nationally on ESPNU with Jay Alter and Kelly Gramlich on the call. A live radio broadcast will be available on ESPN Central Texas (1660 AM/92.3 FM) and live in-game updates will be provided via Twitter and live stats.

STARTING FIVE

• Baylor is making its 20th-straight NCAA Tournament appearance in 2024. The Bears hold the fourth-longest active streak in the country in consecutive appearances behind Tennessee (42), Stanford (36) and UConn (35).
• In the first round, Baylor will be facing an opponent for the first time in program history, whether it is Vanderbilt or Columbia.
• Baylor is 55-18 all-time in the NCAA Tournament with three national championships, four Final Four appearances, 10 trips to the Elite Eight and 14 Sweet 16 appearances.
• The Bears rank eighth nationally in three-point percentage defense, holding their opponents to 26.1% from behind the arc this season. Baylor has held its opponent to below 20% shooting from 3-point range in three of the last five games heading into the tournament.
• Baylor is an impressive 20-1 this season when outrebounding its opponents. The Bears have recorded 50-plus rebounds in six contests this season, eclipsing 60 boards in wins over McNeese (68) and Delaware State (64).

THREATENING (AND PROTECTING) FROM THREE

• For the third-straight season, the Bears have made at least 230 3-pointers, sitting at a program-record 236 on the year heading into the NCAA Tournament.
• In Nicki Collen’s first season at the helm (2021-22), Baylor broke the pre-existing record of 210 set in 2016-17 with 233.
• The Bears followed that up, connecting on 230 treys in 2022-23.
• Senior Sarah Andrews has a team-leading 65 treys on the year, ranking sixth in a single season in program history. For her career, the guard ranks second in BU women’s basketball history with 229 made 3-pointers.
• Baylor has protected the 3-point arc just as much as it has capitalized from it this year. Heading into the tournament, the Bears rank eighth in NCAA Division I and lead the Big 12 in three-point percentage defense (26.1%).

SIGNATURE WINS

• Baylor is one of two Big 12 programs, and one of 10 Division I programs in the country, with six-or-more AP top-25 wins this season.
• The Bears join the Iowa State Cyclones as the only Big 12 programs with six wins over ranked opponents.
• Baylor has signature wins over Utah, Miami, Texas, TCU and a pair over West Virginia. Two of those victories were top-five wins by the Bears.
• The Bears are tied for fourth nationally in win percentage (.667) versus the NET Top 25 (with a minimum two games played) heading into the 2024 NCAA Tournament.
• Baylor has a 4-2 record in those contests and its winning percentage (.667) is tied with USC and Oklahoma. The only teams with better win percentages in those games are South Carolina (1.000), Texas (.714) and Notre Dame (.700).