SI, Obama recognize Baylor teams are ready for deep tournament runs

Is it safe to say Baylor is now a basketball powerhouse? One stat that says yes: Over the last two years, only two schools — Duke and UConn — have had their men’s and women’s basketball squads together in the AP Top 10 for more weeks than Baylor.

Sports Illustrated recognized the combined success of the No. 9-ranked Baylor men and No. 1-ranked Lady Bears, giving BU six spots on its March Madness cover collage (pictured at right; click the photo for a larger version). Can you find them all?*

President Barack Obama also predicted the Bears will upset Duke and reach the Elite Eight in his full men’s bracket, and picked the Lady Bears in his women’s Final Four (full bracket not yet released).

The Baylor men open the 2012 tournament tomorrow night vs. South Dakota State; game time is set for 6:27 p.m. CT on truTV. The Lady Bears don’t play until Sunday, when they will face UC-Santa Barbara; tip-off is approximately 1:30 p.m. CT, and the game will air on ESPN2.

Sic ’em, Baylor basketball!

[* Baylor’s six appearances on this week’s SI cover: Baylor cheerleader and Bruiser next to the “D” in “Illustrated”; Lady Bears coach Kim Mulkey three people to the right of the cheerleader; Pierre Jackson and Brittney Griner straight down from cover subject Anthony Davis’ raised knee; BU superfan in green and gold near bottom right corner.]