Baylor savoring its first No. 1 seed
Scott Drew has built Baylor into a regular NCAA Tournament team capable of making deep pushes into March. This time, the Bears will have a shot to do it with the first No. 1 seed in their history.
Baylor headlines the South Region and opens against America East Conference champion Hartford. The Bears never had been higher than a No. 3 seed previously.
Drew has guided Baylor to two regional finals but never to a Final Four in his first 17 seasons.
‘‘It means that people think the accomplishments are worthy of a No. 1 seed,’’ Drew said Sunday. ‘‘It means people appreciate what [players] were able to achieve for the year. So there’s always a lot of pride in being able to get a No. 1 seed.
‘‘It doesn’t necessarily guarantee you’re going to be successful in the tournament, which we all know . . . . Seeding numbers don’t matter. It’s who plays best in that 40 minutes.’’
Led by the backcourt of Jared Butler and MaCio Teague, the Bears finished atop the Big 12 standings in the regular season despite a threeweek pause related to COVID-19 concerns.
Baylor was ranked No. 2 in every Associated Press Top 25 poll this season except one, when it spent a week at No. 3.
‘‘For me, I’m excited we’re a No. 1 seed,’’ Butler said. ‘‘I feel like we’re in a great spot. I don’t care if it’s a Cinderella story or we’re expected to win. Winning is the most important thing.’’
Scoring punch
Fans who want high-scoring offense probably should tune in for the matchup between No. 3 seed Arkansas and No. 14 seed Colgate.
The Raiders won the Patriot League title and entered Selection Sunday averaging 86.3 points. They trail only No. 1 overall seed Gonzaga (92.1) in scoring offense and also rank among the national leaders in shooting percentage (49.8%) and three-point percentage (40%).
The Razorbacks are averaging 82.4 points to rank seventh in the country.
Starting strong
North Carolina coach Roy Williams always has his teams ready for an NCAA Tournament opener. When his No. 8 seed Tar Heels face No. 9 seed Wisconsin, Williams will look to improve to 30-0 in firstround NCAA Tournament games.