Take Five With Jerry
3/12/2018 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
TAKE FIVE WITH JERRY
Director of Sports Journalism Jerry Hill gives his five takes for Tuesday's NIT first-round matchup between top-seeded Baylor (18-14) and eighth-seeded Wagner (23-9), which tips at 6 p.m. at the Ferrell Center and will be televised live by ESPN2.
1. 10th postseason bid. Scott Drew's team is making its 10th postseason appearance in the last 11 years and third in the NIT. The Bears advanced to the Final Four at Madison Square Garden in their last two NIT appearances, losing to Penn State in the 2009 final and then blowing out Iowa, 74-54, to win the 2013 tournament.
2. Senior leadership. Baylor's four seniors - Manu Lecomte, Jo Lual-Acuil, Terry Maston and Nuni Omot - have accounted for 63.2 percent of the scoring this season. Lecomte (16.0) and Lual-Acuil (14.0) are the Bears' two double-figure scorers, with Maston (9.8) and Omot (8.2) being the third and fourth options.
3. Fill the Ferrell. Coach Drew remembers the 2009 NIT matchup against Georgetown as one of the loudest and best atmospheres since he's been at Baylor. General admission tickets for Tuesday's game are just $10 for adults and $5 for children ages 2-17. Baylor students receive free tickets with a student i.d. and center-court seats in the lower part of section 113.
4. Giant killer. Wagner recorded its first postseason victory in the program's 97-year history with a 79-75 win at top-seeded St. Bonaventure in the 2016 NIT. But, the Seahawks topped that a few months later when they knocked off 18th-ranked UConn, 67-58, handing the Huskies their first-ever season-opening loss at their campus arena in Storrs.
5. Defending the 3. Even with the NIT using the FIBA 3-point line (22 feet, 1.75 inches), the Bears will need to get out on Wagner's shooters. The Seahawks have put up a whopping 739 attempts from 3-point range and are shooting at a 35.6 percent clip.
