Baylor Basketball: 2024-25 season preview for the Bears
By Joey Loose
What Scott Drew has done for Baylor over the last two decades cannot be overstated, inheriting a broken and scandal-ridden program and turning into national contenders. The Bears cut down the nets as winners of the 2021 NCAA Tournament and have finished Top 4 in the Big 12 in each of the last six seasons, showing no signs of slowing down.
What’s unfortunate for Baylor is that this team has not gotten out of the opening round of the NCAA Tournament since that title run. Three straight losses in the Round of 32 is somewhat disappointing, especially with the talent assembled in Waco in recent years. Drew has regularly brought talent to town both through recruiting and the Transfer Portal, bolstering and sometimes completely remaking rotations for winning teams.
Their significance in recent years looks to continue even in the new-look Big 12, a league which has swelled from 10 to 16 schools over the last two offseasons. A team that has missed just one of the last ten NCAA Tournaments is now focused on continuing that streak of good fortune, and Drew certainly has the team to make noise yet again.
Many of the names are different and nobody remains from that national title run, but there’s a chance for this Baylor squad to be special; it’s all about how they handle the games that matter. Before we get ahead of ourselves, we’ll be previewing what’s to come for Baylor, diving into the roster, the schedule, and what we can reasonably expect this season. Is this the year for another deep Tournament run for the Bears?