Men’s basketball ranked in AP Top 25

For weeks, the Baylor men’s basketball program has seemed on the verge of breaking into the top 25. Monday, they finally made it. Head coach Scott Drew’s Bears are ranked 25th in this week’s Associated Press poll, marking their first national ranking since February 1969 — almost exactly 18 months before Drew was born.

At 15-2, the Baylor men have tied the best start in program history and are now tied with No. 2-ranked Kansas at the top of the Big 12 standings with a 3-0 conference mark.

This week marks the first time the Bears and Lady Bears have ever been ranked at the same time, since women’s basketball wasn’t even a varsity sport at Baylor until 1974. Baylor is one of seven schools to have both their men and women in the AP top 25 this week as the Lady Bears are ranked No. 6 nationally.

Head coach Kim Mulkey’s team also is tied for the Big 12 lead with a 4-0 mark (16-1 overall). The Lady Bears knocked off 10th-ranked Oklahoma Sunday in a nationally televised showdown; Angela Tisdale was named Big 12 Player of the Week after leading Baylor with a career-high 35 points in the win at OU.

The Baylor men will put their ranking on the line Wednesday at 7 p.m. CT at No. 16 Texas A&M. The game will not be televised, so if you can make it to College Station, go cheer on the Bears! The Lady Bears are also on the road, tipping off Wednesday at 6 p.m. CT at Missouri.

Sic ’em, Baylor basketball!