• Men’s basketball to face Yale in NCAA tournament first round

    Men's basketball selection show party

    Scott Drew has led Baylor basketball to unprecedented success in his 13 seasons leading the Bears. He’s won more games (and a higher percentage of his games) than any coach in program history, reached three Sweet 16s and two Elite Eights, and produced 5 NBA players.

    Now, he can add another accomplishment to his resume: For the first time in program history, the Bears are headed to the NCAA tournament for a third straight season. Baylor is headed to Providence, R.I., as a No. 5 seed in this year’s NCAA championship; they will Yale in the first round on Thursday (approximately 1:40 p.m. CT, CBS). The winner of that game will face either No. 13 Duke or Colonial Athletic Association champ UNC-Wilmington in the next round on Saturday.

    [KEY LINKS: BaylorBears.com Tournament Central || Ticket info for season ticket holders & Bear Foundation members || Tickets via NCAA.com || Complete bracket]

    Yale, the Ivy League champions, are making their first NCAA tournament appearance since 1962. The Bulldogs are led by back-to-back Ivy League Player of the Year Justin Sears, a senior forward who averaged 15.8 points, 7.5 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.8 blocks per game. Senior forward Brandon Sherrod (12.5 ppg, 7.1 rpg) and sophomore guard Makai Mason (15.8 ppg, 3.7 apg) joined Sears as first-team All-Ivy selections.

    Led by seniors Taurean Prince, Rico Gathers and Lester Medford, Baylor enters the tournament with a 22-11 record and ranked 20th nationally by the NCAA tournament committee (Yale is No. 49 in that ranking). Prince is averaging 15.5 points, 6.0 rebounds, 1.5 steals and .75 blocks per game — the only player to rank in the Big 12’s top 15 in all four categories.

    [MORE: Baylor selection show photos || Reaction video from BaylorBears.com || CBS Selection Show video clip || West Region previews: ESPN, Sports IllustratedUSA Today || Yale’s reaction to playing Baylor]

    Such numbers led league coaches to name Prince to the All-Big 12 First Team, just the fifth Baylor player in the league’s 20-year history to earn first-team recognition. Gathers (who holds Baylor’s career, single-season and single-game rebounding records) and sophomore Johnathan Motley (the Big 12’s leader in shooting percentage) were named to the All-Big 12 Third Team, and Medford (who ranks 11th in the nation in assists per game) earned All-Big 12 Honorable Mention.

    Sic ’em, Baylor basketball!