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  • Baylor men’s basketball retakes the No. 1 spot in the nation

    // Posted In Athletics, Honors

    Jonathan Tchamwa Tchatchoua holds up a finger while running down court

    For the third year in a row, Baylor men’s basketball has claimed the No. 1 spot in the national rankings.

    Head coach Scott Drew’s team moved up to No. 1 on Monday after the Bears soundly defeated No. 6 Villanova on Sunday and previous No. 1 Purdue lost to unranked Rutgers earlier in the week. Baylor claimed all 61 first-place votes in the AP poll, and 30 of 32 first-place votes in the coaches poll.

    Baylor previously reached No. 1 in the rankings in January 2017, January-February 2020, and both the preseason and final coaches polls in 2020-21 — making this the program’s fourth appearance at No. 1 in the last six seasons. Only four schools have done that: Baylor, Gonzaga, Duke and Kansas. And of course, only Baylor is the reigning national champion.

    But it’s not just men’s basketball that’s excelling at Baylor this year:

    • Acrobatics & tumbling won its sixth straight national title in April.
    • Men’s tennis fell one win shy of giving Baylor a third national title this spring, finishing as the NCAA runner-up (after having already won the Big 12 regular season and tournament titles).
    • Equestrian is ranked No. 4 in the final fall NCEA rankings.
    • Women’s basketball is the 11-time reigning Big 12 champion, currently ranked No. 5 in the nation coming off last year’s Elite Eight finish.
    • Volleyball ranked as high as No. 5 this season and reached the NCAA Sweet 16 for the third straight year.
    • Football has tied the program record for wins, is ranked No. 6 in both the AP and coaches polls (No. 7 in the CFP), and is slated for its second New Year’s Six bowl in three years.
    • Women’s track finished 9th at the NCAA indoor championships in March, and 24th at the NCAA outdoor championships in June.
    • Women’s tennis came in at No. 14 in the final national rankings last May.
    • Women’s golf is ranked No. 16 by Golfstat (No. 22 by Golfweek).
    • Men’s track tied for 18th at the NCAA indoor championships in March.
    • Softball made its 9th NCAA tournament appearance in 10 years this spring.

    So to summarize, that’s eight Baylor programs currently ranked in the top 10, and 12 in the top 25. Oh, and Baylor also leads the Big 12 Conference in graduation success rate for the eighth straight year.

    It looks like 2021 is wrapping up nicely… Let’s see where 2022 takes us!

    Sic ’em, Bears!