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Now that football is officially over and national signing day is behind us, it’s time to turn our full attention to Baylor basketball. Below are reasons why fans should feel motivated to be in Waco this last month of the season.
1.) This is the most entertaining home schedule that a good Baylor team has had the fortune of playing down the stretch. With everything on the line (more on that later), Baylor fans will be able to see the Bears play ranked teams in Kansas and West Virginia, along with a possibly 3rd rank team and NCAA runners-up Texas Tech. The previous two great Baylor teams (2009-2010 & 2011-2012) did not have the same luck. Both of those teams had the misfortune of only playing one ranked team at home during the final stretch of the season. The games will have national implications and will assuredly catch the attention of commentators, analysts, and a larger audience.
2.) Baylor is fighting for a #1 seed and a chance to play in Houston in March in the NCAA tournament. Most causal fans know that the Bears are the #1 team in the country, but not as many know of the implications of holding on to it. Even if Baylor drops a game and loses the coveted #1 ranking for a time being, that does not mean all is lost. Baylor has a legitimate chance to play NCAA tournament games in front of a large Baylor contingent in Houston, and the best chance of that happening is for the Bears to capture a #1 seed.
3.) The chance for a Big 12 regular season championship. It has never been done at Baylor despite some really solid teams. The Bears have already done a lot of the dirty work by going on the road and defeating Kansas and Texas Tech early in conference play. It would be a shame to not match those environments when the games are played in Waco.
I don’t think it’s unfair to say that this is the most exciting month of the Scott Drew era. And with a new basketball arena purportedly coming in the next few years, there is no better time than now to make memories in the Ferrell Center.