• Men’s hoops to play for NIT championship!

    Isaiah AustinBaylor fans will get to enjoy watching seniors Pierre Jackson and A.J. Walton in the green and gold for one more game.

    Jackson’s 24 points and 10 assists led Baylor men’s basketball past BYU Tuesday night, 76-70, in the NIT semifinals. [See photos from Baylor Photography and the AP.] The Bears will now face Iowa for the 2013 NIT championship Thursday night (8 p.m. CT, ESPN).

    Head coach Scott Drew’s squad is in the NIT title game for the second time in five years; Baylor lost in the 2009 championship game to Penn State, 69-63; that game was the last at Baylor for Curtis Jerrells, Kevin Rogers, Henry Dugat and Mamadou Diene. But it also featured freshmen Quincy Acy and Anthony Jones and sophomore LaceDarius Dunn, players who would lead the Bears to two NCAA Elite Eights in the following three years.

    [Want to show your support for the Bears as they aim for the NIT title? Back the Bears with a gift of $5, $15 or $50 to the Baylor Bear Foundation Endowed Athletic Scholarship Fund!]

    Overall, the last five years under Drew have seen the Bears reach two NCAA Elite Eights and two NIT championship games. The Bears’ postseason record in that time is 14-3.

    Baylor fans in Dallas (Christie’s, 2811 McKinney Ave.), Houston (Champps Americana, 1121 Uptown Park Blvd.) and other cities can gather with other Bears for watch parties Thursday night; to find out if there’s a gathering in your town, contact the Baylor Alumni Network.

    Sic ’em, Baylor basketball!