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Daily Bears Report 12/29

Big XII Favorite Lady Bears open conference play against Kansas State. Baylor’s Men are college basketball’s biggest surprise. Baylor football won their bowl game.

By Ohio Baylor Fan
Obama Welcomes 2012 NCAA Women's Basketball Champions To White House
2011-2012 Lady Bears in the White House
Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Today’s Events

Women's Basketball, vs Kansas State, 7:00 PM, Watch, Listen

Lady Bears Basketball

  • After two weeks without a game, the No. 3/4 Baylor Lady Bears open Big 12 Conference action inside the Ferrell Center Today, Dec. 29, against Kansas State. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. (CT), Watch (premium stream), Listen (free).
Big XII Digital Network on 2016 Conference Play

  • The Baylor women’s basketball team was given the opportunity to grade themselves on the first 12 games of their season after they returned to Waco this week after a 12-day break for the holidays. Story by WacoTrib’s Tony Adame.

They gave themselves, their No. 3 national ranking and 11-1 record a big, fat ‘A’ — and it’s hard to argue with them after four wins over ranked teams already under their belts.

For their efforts, Baylor coach Kim Mulkey wrote that ‘A’ on a dry-erase board.

“Then I put a big X through it,” she said. “Because I don’t care about it anymore. Pat yourselves on the back. This part of your schedule, phase two, is for a championship … all we’re focused on now is a Big 12 championship.”

Mulkey’s point is underlined by the beginning of Big 12 play on Thursday night, with surprising Kansas State (10-2) visiting the Ferrell Center. Continue Reading.

Game time in Waco is set for 7 p.m., in the Ferrell Center. The game will be available on FOX Sports Plus.

K-State made a one-week appearance in the Associated Press top 25 before dropping its final nonconference game of 2016 with a 67-59 loss at Northern Iowa on Dec. 22.

Over the last four games, K-State is averaging 59.8 points per game and allowing 58.3. The Wildcats have been outrebounded in three of the last four games. In the previous eight games to open the season, the Wildcats were averaging 71.4 points and allowing 50.6 and had the edge on the glass. Continue Reading.

With the Big 12 starting league play Thursday, the conference will learn in three months whether it will have an active rooting interest in the Final Four in addition to hosting it.

Here are five questions and -- just maybe -- some answers: Continue Reading.

Football

  • The full game video of the Cactus Bowl has been posted several times on YouTube. Here is one posted by the Moscow Bruins. I didn’t know they had football in Moscow, let alone follow the Baylor Bears and take their name after them.

Back in the USA, from coast to coast, Baylor is in the news with yet another Bowl victory.

Man Bears Basketball

College basketball’s biggest surprise — and perhaps disappointment — are practically neighbors, I-35 rivals located 102 miles apart. From MyStatesman dot com.

As the calendar closes on 2016 and conference season begins, third-ranked Baylor is the team virtually nobody saw coming, one of six remaining unbeatens in the country.

And Texas could be the most baffling club in the nation, a mere 6-6 against the 100th-rated schedule, including home losses to Kent State and Texas-Arlington.

A special holiday version of Planting The Seeds, the American-Statesman’s annual NCAA Tournament projections, gives Baylor a No. 1 seed, along with defending national champ Villanova, Big 12 kingpin Kansas and undefeated UCLA.

The Bears own the nation’s best résumé — 3-0 vs. Top 25 teams and 5-0 vs. the RPI top 50. They did not receive a single point in the AP preseason poll. Now they have 1,458 points.

Texas, 21st in the preseason poll, is a long, long shot to make the NCAA field. The Longhorns’ best win is over Alabama, rated 80th in the Ken Pomeroy index and 82nd by Jeff Sagarin. The Horns are 147th in the Ratings Percentage Index and in the 75-85 range in most computers. Continue reading.

Lest we Forget

In a game where the Longhorns desperately needed to win, the Jayhawks pulled the upset. From FoxSports.

It's a loss that sent the internet in an uproar and ... cost Charlie Strong his job. But while we could sit here and throw out all sorts of facts and figures on the loss and -- wait a second, that sounds like a great idea.

Here are 9 insane facts, about the most stunning loss of the season. Continue reading.

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