Baylor Basketball: Championships, Selection Shows, and the Round of 64
As the NCAA Tournament begins, there is a ton to catch up to speed on
At long last, March Madness has commenced! We may be past the Ides of March, but the crazy game endings and off court controversy is in full force.
In the past 12 hours alone we have had the opening game decided by eights points, two games decided by one point, and an epic collapse by Michigan State to UCLA in the last 90 seconds and overtime.
Meanwhile, the internet broke when everyone realized that the NCAA is not providing their women’s athletes in San Antonio the same amenities and freedoms as their male counterparts in Indianapolis. Their ‘weight rooms’ are the equivalent to that of a low star hotel and their care packages looked like they were hastily assembled at a near by gas station.
The NCAA has to stop pretending that these female athletes are not world class and therefore do not proper nutrition or equipment. As someone who played four years within one of the top women’s programs in the nation, I can tell you that these girls can easily compete with the best of their male counterparts.
What a joke; it makes me sick.
Baylor Lady Bears
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So let’s begin with the Lady Bears’ and their two championships. NaLyssa Smith was Big 12 POY, on the all-tournament team and was recently named first team All-American. They dominated Texas in the semifinals and then West Virginia in the title game.
It is Baylor’s ninth championship in the last 10 title games (where they competed in all of them). They are now in the River Walk Region as the No. 2 seed with No. 1 UConn, No. 3 Tennessee, and No. 4 Kentucky. Former Baylor legend Nina Davis is an assistant with No. 14 Middle Tennessee State and former Baylor coach Toyelle Wilson is with No. 6 Michigan.
But does Coach Kim Mulkey find this region as historic and special as I do? Short answer is no.
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Baylor seems to be coming along at the right time; I detail five keys the Lady Bears must do in order to win it all. Which former President Barack Obama as them doing.
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All that there is to say about this team has been said; now the Bears just have to play the games.
I wrote about Jared Butler’s career arc at Baylor. About how he has grown as a player and a person from his first NCAA Tournament appearance as a freshman when Baylor lost to Gonzaga to now—where they look to play Gonzaga again, but in the title game.
I also wrote a 68-point free-flowing stream of consciousness about anything March Madness related. A ton of tidbits on both the Bears and Lady Bears. I also go down a rabbit hole of the 2008 tournament, which may be the best ever in history and was Coach Drew’s first time taking Baylor dancing.
Finally, I welcome former Baylor walk-on John Heard into the Miner Lounge for a great conversation about this team, his top career highlights, and the highs and lows of March Madness.
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Miner Minute: Chronicling March Madness. The First Four.
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All that is left to do is put on that Sailor Bear volt hoodie and cheer on the Bears and Lady Bears through the madness. Sic’Em!