Baylor MBB named No. 1 seed in the South Region

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For the first time in the history of the program, the Baylor men’s basketball team was named a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament that begins on Thursday in Indianapolis. Baylor is the No. 2-overall seed in the tournament behind only Gonzaga.

The Bears were placed in the South region of the bracket and will face No. 16-seed Hartford in its first game on Friday March 19th. 

Hartford was 15-8 (8-6) in the America East but won their conference tournament beating UMASS Lowell 64-50.  KenPom has Hartford at #192 in the strength metrics.  

With a win over the Hawks, Baylor would advance to the Round of 32 to face the winner of No. 8-seed North Carolina and No. 9-seed Wisconsin. 

Baylor finished the regular season and the Big 12 tournament with a 22-2 overall record and a 13-1 record in Big 12 play. After starting the the season with a 17-0 record, Baylor was shut down for 21 days due to multuple positive COVID-19 tests. A total of five games postponed or canceled beginning on Feb. 6. 

The Bears returned to action on Feb. 23 against Iowa State and won five of six games to conclude the regular season including three wins against ranked opponents. Baylor posted a 1-1 mark in the Big 12 Tournament with a win over Kansas State and a loss to Oklahoma State in the semifinals. 

The trip to the NCAA Tournament is the 13^th for Baylor and the third-consecutive season which the Bears would have been concluded in the field if not for the cancelation of the NCAA Tournament due to COVID-19 last spring. Baylor was also on pace to be a No. 1 seed after finished second in the Big 12 behind projected No. 1-overall seed Kansas. 

This is Baylor’s eighth trip to the NCAA Tournament since 2010 including seventh in the last eight seasons. Baylor’s only time to miss the tournament since 2014 came in the 2018 season following a trip to Sweet 16 in 2017.