Men's Basketball Awarded NIT No. 1 Seed
3/11/2018 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Baylor Bear Foundation
Left out of the NCAA Tournament for the first time in five years, the Baylor men's basketball team (18-14) is one of four No. 1 seeds for the National Invitation Tournament and will host eighth-seeded Wagner (23-9) in a first-round matchup at 6 p.m. Tuesday at the Ferrell Center.
"It was obviously disappointing not having a chance to be in the NCAA Tournament," Baylor coach Scott Drew said Sunday night after the selections were announced. "But, at the same time, it's a great opportunity to be a No. 1 seed in the NIT. We had success in the NIT before, and I know it's an outstanding accomplishment to be able to play in any postseason."
By virtue of being one of the "first four out" by the NCAA selection committee, Baylor was automatically a No. 1 seed for the 32-team NIT along with Notre Dame, USC and Saint Mary's. This is Baylor's 10th postseason tournament bid in the last 11 years under Drew after making just seven postseason appearances in the program's first 101 years.
"Obviously, we're down that we didn't make the (NCAA) tournament, but credit to the teams that made it," junior guard Jake Lindsey said. "We had opportunities to do it, and we have an opportunity in front of us. . . . Any opportunity to play basketball, if you love it, it's a blessing. Anytime you put on that uniform and get out there, (and) we get to do it at home."
As the top seed in its eight-team bracket, Baylor would get to host the first three rounds in a bid to make it to the NIT Final Four at Madison Square Garden in New York City for the third time in the last 10 years. The Bears lost to Penn State in the 2009 championship game and then blew out Iowa, 74-54, to win the 2013 tournament.
"I know everyone in the NIT would love to have a chance to play in New York," Drew said. "I've said this from our two experiences going to New York, having a chance to play in a Final Four is something that our guys . . . that's a highlight to their career. If we're blessed to advance, I know it's a great experience and one that they'll never forget."
The Bears draw a Wagner team that won the Northeast Conference regular-season title with a 16-4 mark in league play but lost to fourth-seeded LIU Brooklyn, 71-61, in last Tuesday's NEC Tournament final, snapping the Seahawks' 16-game home-court winning streak.
"Anytime you win 23 games and you win your conference, you're a quality team," Drew said. "And usually, when you look at teams that are successful, they all have good guard play. Obviously, it's a team that if they're shooting the 3, they're real dangerous, and they've got a lot of guys that can do that. Anyone in the NIT is a good team, and they're used to winning.'
Led by sixth-year head coach Bashir Mason, the Seahawks' three double-figure scorers are guards Blake Francis (17.1 ppg), Ramone Saunders (14.5 ppg, 6.3 rebounds) and JoJo Cooper (14.5 ppg, 6.2 assists). AJ Sumbry, a 6-8 junior forward who transferred from Quinnipiac, is their best inside presence with 6.3 points, 6.5 rebounds and 1.8 blocks per game.
"In playoff basketball, unlike best 4-of-7, if you're not ready to go on that first game, there is no second game," Drew said. "So really, we don't have to look any futher than Tuesday night, 6 p.m."
If Baylor wins on Tuesday, the Bears would host the winner of Wednesday's game between fourth-seeded Mississippi State (22-11) and fifth-seeded Nebraska (22-10). On the other side of the Baylor bracket, second-seeded Louisville (20-13) hosts seventh-seeded Northern Kentucky (22-9) and sixth-seeded Vermont (27-7) plays at third-seeded Middle Tennessee State (24-7), both on Tuesday.
Second-round games are scheduled for March 16-19, with the quarterfinals on March 20-21. At the NIT Final Four, the semifinals are played March 27 and the championship on March 29.
"Nothing beats a home crowd," Lindsey said. "Hopefully, we'll have a strong following out there and we'll be fired up. No senior wants to lose his last game on the home court, and we have five (seniors). They'll be desperate not to end their career on a note like that. I think we'll be very fired up to give them the type of sendoff they deserve in the Garden."
Tuesday's Baylor-Wagner game will be televised by ESPN2. Tickets for the NIT games in Waco are available at www.baylorbears.com/tickets. General admission tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for children ages 2-17.
2018 NIT Bracket
WACO, Texas - Baylor men's basketball has been awarded a No. 1 seed in the 2018 National Invitation Tournament. The Bears will host Northeast Conference champion Wagner in first round action at 6 p.m. CT Tuesday on ESPN2.
Baylor (18-14, 8-10 Big 12) was announced Sunday evening as one of the first four teams out of the NCAA Tournament field, along with Notre Dame, USC and Saint Mary's. Those four teams received automatic No. 1 seeds for the NIT.
The Bears' first round opponent, Wagner (23-9, 14-4 NEC), earned an automatic berth in the NIT by winning the NEC regular season championship. The Seahawks lost in the NEC championship game against LIU Brooklyn.
The winner of Tuesday's game between Wagner and Baylor will advance to face the winner of No. 4 seed Mississippi State (22-11, 9-9 SEC) and No. 5 seed Nebraska (22-10, 13-5 Big Ten). Second round games will be played March 16-19 and quarterfinals are March 20-21. The NIT final four is played at New York's Madison Square Garden, with semifinal games on March 27 and the championship on March 29.
As the top seed in the lower left bracket, Baylor is eligible to host second round and quarterfinal games, should the Bears advance. All seven of Baylor's potential opponents in the lower left bracket won at least 20 games this season. The two first round games on the opposite side of the bracket feature No. 7 Northern Kentucky (22-9, 15-3 Horizon) at No. 2 Louisville (20-13, 9-9 ACC) and No. 6 Vermont (27-7, 15-1 America East) at Middle Tennessee (24-7, 16-2 Conference USA).
The NCAA will implement experimental rules for the 2018 NIT. Teams will play four 10-minute quarters as opposed to two 20-minute halves, and each team will shoot two free throws beginning with the fifth foul of each quarter. Additionally, the free throw lane will be widened from 12 feet to 16 feet, and the three-point line will be extended by approximately 20 inches to the same distance used for FIBA international competition (22 feet, 1.75 inches). Lastly, the shot clock will reset to 20 seconds after an offensive rebound instead of the full 30 seconds.
The Bears are 9-1 in their last two trips to the NIT and have advanced to the championship game both times. Baylor won the 2013 NIT title after home victories against Long Beach State, Arizona State and Providence and wins over BYU and Iowa at Madison Square Garden. The Bears advanced to New York in 2009 by winning a first-round home game against Georgetown, then going on the road to defeat Virginia Tech and Auburn. BU knocked off San Diego State in the semifinals before falling to Penn State in the championship.
Baylor's 2013 NIT title preceded the Bears' run of four consecutive NCAA Tournament berths, including trips to the Sweet 16 in 2014 and 2017. Baylor earned a top-6 seed as an at-large selection in each of those four NCAA Tournaments.
BU needs to win two games in the NIT to extend its school record with a seventh consecutive 20-win season. The Bears can also join South Carolina as the only teams to make three NIT finals appearances in a 10-year span since the NCAA Tournament expanded to 32 teams in 1975. An NIT title would make the Bears one of three teams to claim two titles in a six-year span in the modern-era NIT, joining South Carolina (2005, 2006) and Stanford (2012, 2015).
Tickets for NIT games in Waco are available at www.baylorbears.com/tickets. Tickets available to the general public are general admission are $10 per ticket for adults, $5 for children ages 2-17.
BAYLOR'S NIT HISTORY (9-4 record)
March 12, 1987 - UALR 42, Baylor 41 (Little Rock)
March 15, 1990 - Mississippi State 84, Baylor 75 (Starkville)
March 14, 2001 - New Mexico 83, Baylor 73 (Albuquerque)
March 18, 2009 - Baylor 74, Georgetown 72 (Waco)
March 21, 2009 - Baylor 84, Virginia Tech 66 (Blacksburg)
March 24, 2009 - Baylor 74, Auburn 72 (Auburn)
March 31, 2009 - Baylor 76, San Diego State 62 (New York)
April 2, 2009 - Penn State 69, Baylor 63 (New York)
March 20, 2013 - Baylor 112, Long Beach State 66 (Waco)
March 22, 2013 - Baylor 89, Arizona State 86 (Waco)
March 27, 2013 - Baylor 79, Providence 68 (Waco)
April 2, 2013 - Baylor 76, BYU 70 (New York)
April 4, 2013 - Baylor 74, Iowa 54 (New York)
PRESS CONFERENCE QUOTES
Head Coach Scott Drew
Opening Statement ...
"It is obviously disappointing not having the chance to be in the NCAA Tournament, but at the same time it's a great opportunity to be a No. 1 seed in the NIT Tournament, and as you saw there are a lot of really quality teams and a lot of great players in the field. We have had some success in the NIT before. It's an outstanding accomplish to be able to be in any postseason, and I know that we will be excited to have three possible home games, which is something that is tremendous too."
On previous success in the NIT and what it does for a program ...
"There is nothing like playoff basketball. It's a win or go home mentality and that experience your players get in postseason really goes a long way for the following years. Not only is it exciting for the fans to see how you do, but the NIT is completely different than it has been in the past with the great coverage that ESPN gives it. You get tremendous publicity being in the NIT and with the parody in college basketball. People look at it and the last two Final Fours, half the Final Four teams haven't made the NCAA Tournament the next year. It's not a given you are getting into it every year. I believe if we would have gotten into it this year, someone said that we would have been one of something like 10 programs to go five straight. It's just hard to do, and it's a blessing when you get that opportunity. When you have a chance to play postseason like the NIT it's great visibility for your program and it's exciting for your fans to see you play different teams in a win or go home environment."
On if it took him a while to get over missing the NCAA Tournament ...
"Once you find out you're not in it's on to the next thing, and the great news for us is that there was no suspense because you knew the last four out were the first seeds in the NIT. If you can't go the NCAA Tournament, you have a chance to host three games at home to have a chance to go to Madison Square Garden and possibly win an NIT Championship. That's exciting enough."
On the NIT field ...
"This year seemed like more than ever there were quality teams on the bubble and obviously all those teams now are in the NIT field, so a lot of big name players and great programs. Everyone is excited to keep playing because March is the best time to play and the most exciting time to play. Usually the teams that want to keep playing do a little bit better when it comes this time of year and having a chance to be on the home court gives you an advantage, so to have three possible home games is huge."
On the quadrant system ...
"I don't know if I really understand it. I know that we didn't have any losses in Quadrant 3 and Quadrant 4 and I know we only lost one game to a non-tournament team and that's at Iowa State which, according to KenPom, is the second-hardest place to play. I don't know if I really understand it all, but what I do understand is the NIT field is a lot of good teams and a lot of good players and I know everyone in the NIT would love to have a chance to play in New York. I have said this from our two previous experiences from going to New York, having a chance to play in a final four is something that our guys can add to the highlights of their career and they really do a great job in the NIT with that, so if we are blessed enough to advance, I know that it's a great experience and one that they'll never forget."
On Baylor's side of the bracket ...
"The big thing in playoff basketball, unlike best four of seven, is if you are not ready to go on that first game there is no second game, so really we don't have to look any further than Tuesday night, 6 p.m. I know one of the most exciting, loudest times I've heard the Ferrell Center is the year we played Georgetown in the NIT here and I thought that was a tremendous environment, and I know the last time we played Arizona State and Providence and Long Beach we had great crowd support and good environments as well."
On seniors going out with a win ...
"Well, there are only two happy teams at the end of the year and that's who wins the NCAA Tournament and who wins the NIT championship, so if you are blessed to be one of those two teams it's a great summer."
On short prep time for Tuesday's game and the experimental rules ...
"Really the biggest thing is mind set and being excited to play, being ready to play and the teams that usually do that usually are successful in the first game, so that's the biggest thing to be concerned with rather than the court and all that. I mean, Manu (Lecomte) loves the FIBA line, in fact, most of our guys prefer farther back anyways, so that's not a problem. We are always trying to get guys to post up in the lane and now they have a reason to not post up as hard."
On Wagner ...
"Anytime you win 23 games and you win your conference, you're a quality team. Usually when you look at teams that are successful they all have good guard play and at the end of the night we will know a lot more about them, but obviously it's a team that if they are shooting the three they're really dangerous, and they've got a lot of guys who can do that. Anyone in the NIT field is a good team, and they are used to winning."
Junior Guard Jake Lindsey
On the team's approach to the NIT ...
"We've talked about it this year how getting any opportunity to play basketball because you love it is a blessing. Anytime you get to put on that uniform and go out there, and we get to do it at home. Obviously, we're down about not making the tournament, but credit to the teams that made it and we had opportunities to do it and now we have an opportunity from it."
On playing at home ...
"It's terrific. Nothing beats a home crowd and hopefully we will have a strong following out there. We'll be fired up. No senior wants to lose their last game on their home court, and we have five that we really care about. They'll be desperate not to end their careers on a note like that, and I think we will be fired up to give them the type of sendoff they deserve in the Garden."
On experimental rules for the NIT ...
"I'm looking forward to it. I think that college games should go to 24 (seconds on the shot clock), widen the arch, three seconds in the lane to put some space in there, but I'm looking forward to it. It'll be fun and it's essentially still players making plays. The better team will win on that day, and I am looking forward to it."
