2017–18 Baylor Bears basketball team

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.

2017–18 Baylor Bears basketball
NIT, Second Round
ConferenceBig 12 Conference
2017–18 record19–15 (8–10 Big 12)
Head coachScott Drew (15th season)
Associate head coachJerome Tang
Assistant coaches
Home arenaFerrell Center
2017–18 Big 12 men's basketball standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L PCT  W L PCT
No. 4 Kansas135 .722  318  .795
No. 14 Texas Tech117 .611  2710  .730
No. 15 West Virginia117 .611  2611  .703
Kansas State108 .556  2512  .676
TCU99 .500  2112  .636
Baylor810 .444  1915  .559
Texas810 .444  1915  .559
Oklahoma State810 .444  2115  .583
Oklahoma810 .444  1814  .563
Iowa State414 .222  1318  .419
2018 Big 12 Tournament winner
Rankings from AP Poll [1]

Previous season

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

Departures

NameNumberPos.HeightWeightYearHometownReason for departure
Wendell Mitchell1G6'3"180Freshman (RS)Rockdale, TXTransferred to Trinity Valley CC
Johnathan Motley5F6'10"230Junior (RS)Houston, TXEntered 2017 NBA Draft; Undrafted; Signed by the Dallas Mavericks
Ish Wainright24F6'5"235SeniorKansas City, MOGraduated; Joined football team with remaining year of eligibility
Al Freeman25G6'3"200Junior (RS)Charlotte, NCGraduated; Transferred to NC State

Incoming transfers

NameNumberPos.HeightWeightYearHometownPrevious School
Mario Kegler4F6'7"230SophomoreJackson, MSTransferred 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 II12C6'11"200SophomoreRound Rock, TXJunior college transferred from San Diego City College
Freddie Gillespie45F6'9"230JuniorSaint Paul, MNTransferred 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

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:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:
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

    Roster

    2017–18 Baylor Bears men's basketball team
    PlayersCoaches
    Pos.#NameHeightWeightYearPrevious schoolHometown
    F 0 Jo Lual-Acuil Jr. 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m)225 lb (102 kg) RS SrKingsway Christian College
    Neosho County CC
    Melbourne, Australia
    G 3 Jake Lindsey 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)190 lb (86 kg) JrOlympus Salt Lake City, UT
    F 4 Mario Kegler  6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)230 lb (104 kg) SoOak Hill Academy
    Mississippi State
    Jackson, MS
    G 10 Tyson Jolly 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)190 lb (86 kg) RS FrElev8 Basketball Academy Oklahoma City, OK
    F 11 Mark Vital 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)230 lb (104 kg) SoPrime Prep Academy Lake Charles, LA
    F 12 Leonard Allen 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m)235 lb (107 kg) SoRound Rock
    San Diego CC
    Round Rock, TX
    G 20 Manu Lecomte 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m)175 lb (79 kg) RS SrAthénée des Pagodes
    Miami (FL)
    Brussels, Belgium
    F 21 Nuni Omot 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)205 lb (93 kg) SrMahtomedi
    Indian Hills CC
    Mahtomedi, MN
    G 22 King McClure 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)215 lb (98 kg) JrTriple A Academy Ovilla, TX
    F 25 Tristan Clark 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)240 lb (109 kg) FrWagner San Antonio, TX
    F 30 Jonathan Davis 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)205 lb (93 kg) JrArgyle Argyle, TX
    F 31 Terry Maston 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)225 lb (102 kg) SrDeSoto DeSoto, TX
    G 34 Obim Okeke (W) 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)225 lb (102 kg) SoBishop Gorman Las Vegas, NV
    F 45 Freddie Gillespie (W)  6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)240 lb (109 kg) JrEast 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

    [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)
    Forth 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) No. 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) No. 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

    Ranking movements
    Legend: ██ Increase in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking.
    NR = Not ranked. RV = Received votes. т = Tied with team above or below. ( ) = First place votes.
    Week
    Poll Pre 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 Final 
    AP 24 25 22 16 23 21 18 18 RV RV NR NR NR NR NR RV Not released 
    Coaches 24 24 24 16 22 21 18 17 RV RV RV NR NR NR NR RV

    *AP does not release post-NCAA tournament rankings

    References

    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 2010-12-24.
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