# 2018–19 Baylor Bears basketball team

The 2018–19 Baylor Bears basketball team represented Baylor University in the 2018–19 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. This was head coach Scott Drew's 16th 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 20-14, 10-8 to finish in 4th place. They lost in the quarterfinals of the Big 12 tournament to Iowa State. They received a at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament where they defeated Syracuse in the first round before losing in the second round to Gonzaga.

## Previous season

The Bears finished the 2017–18 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.

## Offseason
### Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Reason for departure |
| Jo Lual-Acuil | 0 | F | 7'0" | 225 | RS Senior | Melbourne, Australia | Graduated; Signed with Hapoel Jerusalem B.C. |
| Tyson Jolly | 10 | G | 6'4" | 190 | RS Freshman | Oklahoma City, OK | Transferred to Trinity Valley CC |
| Leonard Allen | 12 | F | 7'0" | 235 | Sophomore | Round Rock, TX | Injury |
| Manu Lecomte | 20 | G | 5'11" | 175 | RS Senior | Brussels, Belgium | Graduated |
| Nuni Omot | 21 | F | 6'9" | 205 | Senior | Mahtomedi, MN | Graduated |
| Jonathan Davis | 30 | F | 6'6" | 205 | Junior | Argyle, TX | Transferred to Azusa Pacific |
| Terry Maston | 31 | F | 6'8" | 225 | Senior | DeSoto, TX | Graduated |

### Incoming transfers

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Previous School |
| Darius Allen | 1 | G | 6'4" | 185 | Junior | Melbourne, FL | Palm Beach State College |
| Devonte Bandoo | 2 | G | 6'3" | 185 | Junior | Brampton, ON | Hutchinson CC |
| MaCio Teague | 5 | G | 6'3" | 190 | Junior | Cincinnati, OH | UNC Asheville |
| Makai Mason | 11 | G | 6'1" | 185 | RS Senior | Greenfield, MA | Yale |
| Davion Mitchell | 45 | G | 6'1" | 200 | Sophomore | Hinesville, GA | Auburn |

### 2018 recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Jared Butler #20 PG | Reserve, LA | Riverside Academy | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | 180 lb (82 kg) | Aug 19, 2018 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ||||||
| Matthew Mayer #24 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 #26 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 September 9, 2018. ||||||

### 2019 recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for 2019 recruits :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Jordan Turner #23 SF | Houston, TX | Sunrise Christian Academy | 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) | 180 lb (82 kg) | Jun 13, 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: "2019 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved September 9, 2018. |||||||

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Regular season ||||||
| Nov 6, 2018* 8:30 pm, FSSW Alt. | | Texas Southern | L 69–72 | 0–1 | Ferrell Center (4,327) Waco, TX |
| Nov 10, 2018* 5:00 pm, FSSW | | Southern Emerald Coast Classic first round | W 80–53 | 1–1 | Ferrell Center (4,344) Waco, TX |
| Nov 12, 2018* 7:00 pm, FSSW Alt. | | Prairie View A&M | W 91–80 | 2–1 | Ferrell Center (4,019) Waco, TX |
| Nov 16, 2018* 11:00 am, FSSW | | Nicholls State Emerald Coast Classic second round | W 81–54 | 3–1 | Ferrell Center (8,721) Waco, TX |
| Nov 23, 2018* 8:30 pm, CBSSN | | vs. Ole Miss Emerald Coast Classic semifinals | L 70–78 | 3–2 | The Arena at NFSC (1,250) Niceville, FL |
| Nov 24, 2018* 3:00 pm | | vs. George Mason Emerald Coast Classic 3rd place game | W 72–61 | 4–2 | The Arena at NFSC (1,250) Niceville, FL |
| Nov 27, 2018* 7:00 pm, FSSW+ | | South Dakota | W 63–57 | 5–2 | Ferrell Center (4,083) Waco, TX |
| Dec 1, 2018* 7:00 pm, CBSSN | | at Wichita State | L 63–71 | 5–3 | Charles Koch Arena (10,506) Wichita, KS |
| Dec 15, 2018* 10:00 pm, ESPN2 | | at Arizona | W 58–49 | 6–3 | McKale Center (13,058) Tucson, AZ |
| Dec 18, 2018* 7:30 pm, FSSW Alt. | | Stephen F. Austin | L 58–59 | 6–4 | Ferrell Center (4,336) Waco, TX |
| Dec 21, 2018* 6:00 pm, ESPN2 | | Oregon | W 57–47 | 7–4 | Ferrell Center (7,411) Waco, TX |
| Dec 29, 2018* 5:00 pm, FSSW+ | | New Orleans | W 84–44 | 8–4 | Ferrell Center (6,123) Waco, TX |
| Jan 5, 2019 3:00 pm, ESPNU | | at TCU | L 81–85 | 8–5 (0–1) | Schollmaier Arena (6,396) Fort Worth, TX |
| Jan 8, 2019 6:00 pm, ESPNews | | No. 20 Iowa State | W 73–70 | 9–5 (1–1) | Ferrell Center (5,930) Waco, TX |
| Jan 12, 2019 3:00 pm, ESPN | | No. 7 Kansas | L 68–73 | 9–6 (1–2) | Ferrell Center (9,091) Waco, TX |
| Jan 14, 2019 8:00 pm, ESPNU | | at Oklahoma State | W 73–69 | 10–6 (2–2) | Gallagher-Iba Arena (8,194) Stillwater, OK |
| Jan 19, 2019 5:00 pm, ESPN2 | | No. 8 Texas Tech | W 73–62 | 11–6 (3–2) | Ferrell Center (9,018) Waco, TX |
| Jan 21, 2019 8:00 pm, ESPNU | | at West Virginia | W 85–73 | 12–6 (4–2) | WVU Coliseum (9,936) Morgantown, WV |
| Jan 26, 2019* 11:00 am, ESPNU | | Alabama Big 12/SEC Challenge | W 73–68 | 13–6 | Ferrell Center (7,094) Waco, TX |
| Jan 28, 2019 8:00 pm, ESPNU | | at Oklahoma | W 77–47 | 14–6 (5–2) | Lloyd Noble Center (10,193) Norman, OK |
| Feb 2, 2019 7:00 pm, ESPNU | | TCU | W 90–64 | 15–6 (6–2) | Ferrell Center (7,337) Waco, TX |
| Feb 6, 2019 7:00 pm, LHN | | at Texas | L 72–84 | 15–7 (6–3) | Frank Erwin Center (9,831) Austin, TX |
| Feb 9, 2019 5:00 pm, ESPN2 | | Kansas State | L 63–70 | 15–8 (6–4) | Ferrell Center (8,466) Waco, TX |
| Feb 11, 2019 8:00 pm, ESPN2 | | Oklahoma | W 59–53 | 16–8 (7–4) | Ferrell Center (4,517) Waco, TX |
| Feb 16, 2019 1:00 pm, ESPN | | at No. 15 Texas Tech | L 61–86 | 16–9 (7–5) | United Supermarkets Arena (14,598) Lubbock, TX |
| Feb 19, 2019 8:00 pm, ESPN2 | | at No. 19 Iowa State | W 73–69 | 17–9 (8–5) | Hilton Coliseum (14,084) Ames, IA |
| Feb 23, 2019 1:00 pm, ESPNU | | West Virginia | W 82–75 | 18–9 (9–5) | Ferrell Center (6,262) Waco, TX |
| Feb 27, 2019 8:00 pm, ESPN2 | | Texas | W 84–83 $^{OT}$ | 19–9 (10–5) | Ferrell Center (5,796) Waco, TX |
| Mar 2, 2019 7:00 pm, ESPN2 | | at No. 16 Kansas State | L 60–66 | 19–10 (10–6) | Bramlage Coliseum (9,855) Manhattan, KS |
| Mar 6, 2019 8:00 pm, ESPN2 | | Oklahoma State | L 64–67 | 19–11 (10–7) | Ferrell Center (5,041) Waco, TX |
| Mar 9, 2019 1:00 pm, ESPN | | at No. 13 Kansas | L 70–78 | 19–12 (10–8) | Allen Fieldhouse (16,300) Lawrence, KS |
| Big 12 tournament ||||||
| Mar 14, 2019 12:30 pm, ESPN2 | (4) | vs. (5) Iowa State Quarterfinals | L 66–83 | 19–13 | Sprint Center (18,930) Kansas City, MO |
| NCAA tournament ||||||
| Mar 21, 2019* 8:57 pm, truTV | (9 W) | vs. (8 W) Syracuse First Round | W 78–69 | 20–13 | Vivint Smart Home Arena (16,807) Salt Lake City, UT |
| Mar 23, 2019* 6:10 pm, TBS | (9 W) | vs. (1 W) No. 4 Gonzaga Second Round | L 71–83 | 20–14 | Vivint Smart Home Arena (17,792) Salt Lake City, UT |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. W=West. All times are in Central Time. ||||||