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2017–18 Baylor Bears basketball team

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2017–18 Baylor Bears basketball
NIT, Second Round
ConferenceBig 12 Conference
Record19–15 (8–10 Big 12)
Head coach
Associate head coachJerome Tang
Assistant coaches
Home arenaFerrell Center
Seasons
2017–18 Big 12 men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
No. 4 Kansas 13 5   .722 31 8   .795
No. 14 Texas Tech 11 7   .611 27 10   .730
No. 15 West Virginia 11 7   .611 26 11   .703
Kansas State 10 8   .556 25 12   .676
TCU 9 9   .500 21 12   .636
Baylor 8 10   .444 19 15   .559
Texas 8 10   .444 19 15   .559
Oklahoma State 8 10   .444 21 15   .583
Oklahoma 8 10   .444 18 14   .563
Iowa State 4 14   .222 13 18   .419
2018 Big 12 Tournament winner
Rankings from AP poll [1]


The 2017–18 Baylor Bears basketball team represented Baylor University in the 2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. This was head coach Scott Drew's 15th season at Baylor. The Bears competed in the Big 12 Conference and played their home games at the Ferrell Center in Waco, TX. They finished the season 19–15 overall and 8–10 in Big 12 play, finishing in a four-way tie for sixth place. As the No. 6 seed in the Big 12 tournament, they were defeated by West Virginia in the quarterfinals. They were one of the last four teams not selected for the NCAA tournament and as a result earned a no. 1 seed in the National Invitation Tournament, where they defeated Wagner in the first round before losing to Mississippi State in the second round.

Previous season

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The Bears finished the 2016–17 season 27–8, 12–6 in Big 12 play to finish in a tie for second place. They lost to Kansas State in the quarterfinals of the Big 12 tournament. They received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament as a No. 3 seed. They defeated No. 14 seeded New Mexico State and No. 11 seeded USC in the first and second rounds before losing to No. 7 seeded South Carolina in the sweet sixteen.

Offseason

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Departures

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Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Reason for departure
Wendell Mitchell 1 G 6'3" 180 Freshman (RS) Rockdale, TX Transferred to Trinity Valley CC
Johnathan Motley 5 F 6'10" 230 Junior (RS) Houston, TX Entered 2017 NBA draft; Undrafted; Signed by the Dallas Mavericks
Ish Wainright 24 F 6'5" 235 Senior Kansas City, MO Graduated; Joined football team with remaining year of eligibility
Al Freeman 25 G 6'3" 200 Junior (RS) Charlotte, NC Graduated; Transferred to NC State

Incoming transfers

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Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Previous School
Mario Kegler 4 F 6'7" 230 Sophomore Jackson, MS Transferred from Mississippi State. Under NCAA transfer rules, Kegler will have to sit out for the 2017–18 season. Will have three years of remaining eligibility.
Leonard Allen II 12 C 6'11" 200 Sophomore Round Rock, TX Junior college transferred from San Diego City College
Freddie Gillespie 45 F 6'9" 230 Junior Saint Paul, MN Transferred from Carleton. Under NCAA transfer rules, Gillespie will have to sit out for the 2017–18 season. Will have two years of remaining eligibility. Will join the team as a preferred walk-on.

2017 recruiting class

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US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Tristan Clark
#42 PF
San Antonio, TX Karen Wagner High School 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Oct 16, 2015 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:4/5 stars   Rivals:4/5 stars   247Sports:4/5 stars    ESPN:3/5 stars
Overall recruiting rankings:
  • Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight.
  • In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.

Sources:

  • "2017 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved November 6, 2017.

2018 recruiting class

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US college sports recruiting information for 2018 recruits
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Matthew Mayer
#15 SF
Austin, TX Westlake High School 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Jun 13, 2017 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:4/5 stars   Rivals:4/5 stars   247Sports:4/5 stars    ESPN:4/5 stars
Flo Thamba
#18 C
Grundy, VA Mountain Mission School 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 224 lb (102 kg) Jan 15, 2018 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:3/5 stars   Rivals:3/5 stars   247Sports:3/5 stars    ESPN:4/5 stars
Overall recruiting rankings:
  • Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight.
  • In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.

Sources:

Roster

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2017–18 Baylor Bears men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown
F 0 Jo Lual-Acuil 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 225 lb (102 kg) RS Sr Kingsway Christian College
Neosho County CC
Melbourne, Australia
G 3 Jake Lindsey 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Jr Olympus Salt Lake City, UT
F 4 Mario Kegler Current redshirt 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 230 lb (104 kg) So Oak Hill Academy
Mississippi State
Jackson, MS
G 10 Tyson Jolly 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 190 lb (86 kg) RS Fr Elev8 Basketball Academy Oklahoma City, OK
F 11 Mark Vital 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 230 lb (104 kg) So Advanced Prep International Lake Charles, LA
F 12 Leonard Allen 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 235 lb (107 kg) So Round Rock
San Diego CC
Round Rock, TX
G 20 Manu Lecomte 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) 175 lb (79 kg) RS Sr Athénée des Pagodes
Miami (FL)
Brussels, Belgium
F 21 Nuni Omot 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Sr Mahtomedi
Indian Hills CC
Mahtomedi, MN
G 22 King McClure 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Jr Triple A Academy Ovilla, TX
F 25 Tristan Clark 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 240 lb (109 kg) Fr Wagner San Antonio, TX
F 30 Jonathan Davis 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Jr Argyle Argyle, TX
F 31 Terry Maston 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 225 lb (102 kg) Sr DeSoto DeSoto, TX
G 34 Obim Okeke (W) 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 225 lb (102 kg) So Bishop Gorman Las Vegas, NV
F 45 Freddie Gillespie (W) Current redshirt 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 240 lb (109 kg) Jr East Ridge
Carleton
St. Paul, MN
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

Roster

Schedule and results

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[2]

Date
time, TV
Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site (attendance)
city, state
Exhibition
Oct 21, 2017*
12:00 pm
Houston
Hurricane Harvey Relief Exhibition
L 78–81 
Ferrell Center (2,551)
Waco, TX
Regular season
Nov 10, 2017*
12:00 pm, FSSW
No. 24 Central Arkansas
Hall of Fame Classic campus-site game
W 107–66  1–0
Ferrell Center (7,791)
Waco, TX
Nov 13, 2017*
7:00 pm, FCS
No. 25 Texas A&M–Corpus Christi W 70–46  2–0
Ferrell Center (4,454)
Waco, TX
Nov 17, 2017*
8:00 pm, FCS
No. 25 Alcorn State
Hall of Fame Classic campus-site game
W 78–61  3–0
Ferrell Center (5,330)
Waco, TX
Nov 20, 2017*
8:30 pm, ESPN2
No. 22 vs. Wisconsin
Hall of Fame Classic semifinals
W 70–65  4–0
Sprint Center (10,243)
Kansas City, MO
Nov 21, 2017*
9:00 pm, ESPN2
No. 22 vs. Creighton
Hall of Fame Classic championship
W 65–59  5–0
Sprint Center (10,160)
Kansas City, MO
Nov 28, 2017*
5:30 pm, FS1
No. 16 at No. 21 Xavier L 63–76  5–1
Cintas Center (10,503)
Cincinnati, OH
Dec. 2, 2017*
1:00 pm, ESPNU
No. 16 No. 8 Wichita State L 62–69  5–2
Ferrell Center (9,733)
Waco, TX
Dec 4, 2017*
7:00 pm, FSSW+
No. 23 Sam Houston State W 84–56  6–2
Ferrell Center (5,015)
Waco, TX
Dec 9, 2017*
6:00 pm, FSSW+
No. 23 vs. Randall
Fort Hood Showcase
W 105–82  7–2
Abrams Gym (2,500)
Fort Hood, TX
Dec 14, 2017*
7:30 pm, ESPN2
No. 21 Texas Southern W 99–68  8–2
Ferrell Center (5,459)
Waco, TX
Dec 17, 2017*
2:00 pm, FSSW
No. 21 Savannah State W 118–86  9–2
Ferrell Center (6,996)
Waco, TX
Dec 20, 2017*
7:00 pm, FCS
No. 18-t Southern W 80–60  10–2
Ferrell Center (5,877)
Waco, TX
Dec 29, 2017
7:00 pm, FCS
No. 18 at No. 22 Texas Tech L 53–77  10–3
(0–1)
United Supermarkets Arena (12,827)
Lubbock, TX
Jan 2, 2018
7:00 pm, ESPNews
No. 16 TCU L 78–81  10–4
(0–2)
Ferrell Center (5,776)
Waco, TX
Jan 6, 2018
1:00 pm, ESPNU
Texas W 69–60  11–4
(1–2)
Ferrell Center (7,119)
Waco, TX
Jan 9, 2018
6:00 pm, ESPN2
at No. 2 West Virginia L 54–57  11–5
(1–3)
WVU Coliseum (12,551)
Morgantown, WV
Jan 13, 2018
2:00 pm, ESPNews
at Iowa State L 65–75  11–6
(1–4)
Hilton Coliseum (14,283)
Ames, IA
Jan 15, 2018
8:00 pm, ESPNU
Oklahoma State W 76–60  12–6
(2–4)
Ferrell Center (6,078)
Waco, TX
Jan 20, 2018
5:00 pm, ESPN
at No. 10 Kansas L 67–70  12–7
(2–5)
Allen Fieldhouse (16,300)
Lawrence, KS
Jan 22, 2018
8:00 pm, ESPNU
Kansas State L 83–90  12–8
(2–6)
Ferrell Center (4,787)
Waco, TX
Jan 27, 2018*
11:00 am, ESPN
at No. 20 Florida
Big 12/SEC Challenge
L 60–81  12–9
O'Connell Center (10,623)
Gainesville, FL
Jan 30, 2018
8:00 pm, ESPN2
at No. 12 Oklahoma L 96–98  12–10
(2–7)
Lloyd Noble Center (10,574)
Norman, OK
Feb 3, 2018
7:00 pm, ESPN2
Iowa State W 81–67  13–10
(3–7)
Ferrell Center (6,852)
Waco, TX
Feb 6, 2018
7:00 pm, ESPNU
at Oklahoma State W 67–56  14–10
(4–7)
Gallagher-Iba Arena (6,017)
Stillwater, OK
Feb 10, 2018
1:00 pm, CBS
No. 10 Kansas W 80–64  15–10
(5–7)
Ferrell Center (9,323)
Waco, TX
Feb 12, 2018
8:00 pm, ESPN
at Texas W 74–73 2OT 16–10
(6–7)
Frank Erwin Center (9,204)
Austin, TX
Feb 17, 2018
6:30 pm, ESPNU
No. 7 Texas Tech W 59–57  17–10
(7–7)
Ferrell Center (10,627)
Waco, TX
Feb 20, 2018
6:00 pm, ESPN2
No. 21 West Virginia L 60–71  17–11
(7–8)
Ferrell Center (7,519)
Waco, TX
Feb 24, 2018
11:00 am, ESPN2
at TCU L 72–82  17–12
(7–9)
Schollmaier Arena (6,451)
Fort Worth, TX
Feb 27, 2018
8:00 pm, ESPN2
Oklahoma W 87–64  18–12
(8–9)
Ferrell Center (7,334)
Waco, TX
Mar 3, 2018
1:00 pm, ESPN
at Kansas State L 67–77  18–13
(8–10)
Bramlage Coliseum (10,299)
Manhattan, KS
Big 12 tournament
Mar 8, 2018
8:00 pm, ESPNU
(6) vs. (3) No. 18 West Virginia
Quarterfinals
L 65–78  18–14
Sprint Center (17,653)
Kansas City, MO
NIT
Mar 13, 2018*
6:00 pm, ESPN2
(1) (8) Wagner
First Round – Baylor Bracket
W 80–58  19–14
Ferrell Center (1,988)
Waco, TX
Mar 18, 2018*
11:00 am, ESPN
(1) (4) Mississippi State
Second Round – Baylor Bracket
L 77–78  19–15
Ferrell Center (2,246)
Waco, TX
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Central Time.

Rankings

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Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked RV = Received votes
Week
PollPre123456789101112131415161718Final
AP2425221623211818RVRVRVNot released
Coaches2424241622211817RVRVRVRV

*AP does not release post-NCAA tournament rankings

References

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  1. ^ "2019-20 Big 12 Men's Basketball Record Book" (PDF). Big 12 Conference. pp. 26–30. Retrieved June 18, 2020.
  2. ^ "2017-18 Baylor Bears". Baylor Bears men's basketball schedule. Archived from the original on December 24, 2010.