It's hard not to rate the Baylor men's basketball team highly right now because they recently won the national championship last month. In totality though, the Bears don't have a whole lot of basketball history. Before Scott Drew took over as head coach beginning with the 2003-04 season, Baylor had appeared in the NCAA tournament just four times; the first three of those occurring in 1946, 1948, and 1950 (a long time ago).
Baylor actually made the Final Four in both 1948 and 1950, advancing to the national championship game in 1948 before losing to a Kentucky team led by legendary coach Adolph Rupp. It would be 73 years before Baylor returned to the national championship game this year and they won it in dominating fashion, an 86-70 victory over then-undefeated and ranked No. 1 Gonzaga. As a Georgia Tech fan, it gives me hope that I'll see my team win a national championship in my lifetime. Congrats to the Bears on their amazing accomplishment.
A court or basketball arena will have to be named after Scott Drew and a statue will have to be erected in his honor for all that he has done for Baylor. He has taken the men's basketball program to historic heights. To date, he's led the team to nine NCAA tournament appearances which is more than double the number of total appearances before he arrived in Waco. He also led Baylor to the NIT championship in 2013.
When watching Baylor in the 2021 NCAA tournament, it was easy to root for the "Mullet Bros," Matthew Mayer and Jackson Moffatt: https://www.instagram.com/p/CMs_Sf0HPN5/.
Notable former Baylor players who went on to have careers in the NBA include Vinnie Johnson, Taurean Prince, Brian Skinner, Ekpe Udoh, David Wesley, and Micheal Williams.
The Baylor basketball team plays at the Paul J. Meyer Arena at the Ferrell Center, located on the east side of Baylor's campus. The center opened in 1988 and the arena has a seating capacity of 10,284. It's the second-smallest basketball arena in the Big 12 Conference. read more