# 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.

## 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

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Reason for departure |
| Wendell Mitchell | 1 | G | 6'3" | 180 | Freshman (RS) | Rockdale, TX | Transferred to Trinity Valley CC |
| Johnathan Motley | 5 | F | 6'10" | 230 | Junior (RS) | Houston, TX | Entered 2017 NBA draft; Undrafted; Signed by the Dallas Mavericks |
| Ish Wainright | 24 | F | 6'5" | 235 | Senior | Kansas City, MO | Graduated; Joined football team with remaining year of eligibility |
| Al Freeman | 25 | G | 6'3" | 200 | Junior (RS) | Charlotte, NC | Graduated; Transferred to NC State |

### Incoming transfers

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Previous School |
| Mario Kegler | 4 | F | 6'7" | 230 | Sophomore | Jackson, MS | Transferred 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 II | 12 | C | 6'11" | 200 | Sophomore | Round Rock, TX | Junior college transferred from San Diego City College |
| Freddie Gillespie | 45 | F | 6'9" | 230 | Junior | Saint Paul, MN | Transferred 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

US college sports recruiting information for 2018 recruits :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Matthew Mayer #15 SF | Austin, TX | Westlake High School | 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) | 200 lb (91 kg) | Jun 13, 2017 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: |||||||
| Flo Thamba #18 C | Grundy, VA | Mountain Mission School | 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) | 224 lb (102 kg) | Jan 15, 2018 |
| 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: "2018 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved November 6, 2017. |||||||

## Schedule and results

| 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) Fort 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) | (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) | (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 — = Not ranked RV = Received votes :
| | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | 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 | — | — | — | — | — | RV | | | | Not released |
| Coaches | 24 | 24 | 24 | 16 | 22 | 21 | 18 | 17 | RV | RV | RV | — | — | — | — | RV | | | | |
*AP does not release post-NCAA tournament rankings