# 2014–15 Baylor Bears basketball team

The 2014–15 Baylor Bears basketball team represented Baylor University in the 2014–15 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. This was head coach Scott Drew's twelfth season at Baylor. The Bears competed in the Big 12 Conference and played their home games at the Ferrell Center. They finished the season 24–10, 11–7 in Big 12 play to finish in a tie for fourth place. They advanced to the semifinals of the Big 12 tournament where they lost to Kansas. They received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament where they were upset in the first round by Georgia State.

## Pre-season
### Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Notes |
| Gary Franklin | 4 | PG | 6'2" | 190 | Senior (RS) | Santa Ana, California | Graduated |
| Brady Heslip | 5 | SG | 6'2" | 180 | Senior (RS) | Montreal | Graduated; Entered 2014 NBA Development League Draft; Selected 1st Round, Pick #11 by the Reno Bighorns |
| Isaiah Austin | 21 | C | 7'1" | 225 | Sophomore | Arlington, Texas | Entered 2014 NBA draft; Withdrew after being diagnosed with Marfan syndrome forcing him to retire from basketball; Returned to school as a Student Assistant Coach |
| Cory Jefferson | 34 | PF | 6'9" | 220 | Senior | Killeen, Texas | Graduated; Entered 2014 NBA Draft; Selected 2nd Round, Pick #60 by the San Antonio Spurs |

### Recruits

College recruiting information :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Damiyne Durham SG | Oakword, Texas | Oakwood High School | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | 190 lb (86 kg) | Aug 24, 2013 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ||||||
| T.J. Maston PF | Desoto, TX | Desoto High School | 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) | 215 lb (98 kg) | Sep 8, 2013 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ||||||
| Deng Deng PF | Melbourne, Australia | Lee College | 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) | 215 lb (98 kg) | May 4, 2014 |
| Star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN: N/A ||||||
| Lester Medford PG | Tucson, AZ | Indian Hills Community College | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | 170 lb (77 kg) | Nov 20, 2013 |
| Star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: N/A ||||||
| 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: "2014 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved June 1, 2013. ||||||

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Regular season ||||||
| 11/14/2014* 8:30 pm, FSSW+ | | McNeese State | W 80–39 | 1–0 | Ferrell Center (6,158) Waco, TX |
| 11/18/2014* 11:00 am, ESPN | | at South Carolina ESPN College Hoops Tip-Off Marathon | W 69–65 | 2–0 | Colonial Life Arena (13,291) Columbia, SC |
| 11/21/2014* 6:30 pm, FSSW | | Prairie View A&M Las Vegas Invitational Opening Round | W 60–45 | 3–0 | Ferrell Center (5,208) Waco, TX |
| 11/24/2014* 7:00 pm, FSSW | | Stephen F. Austin Las Vegas Invitational Opening Round | W 67–51 | 4–0 | Ferrell Center (5,503) Waco, TX |
| 11/27/2014* 10:59 pm, FS1 | | vs. Memphis Las Vegas Invitational Semifinals | W 71–47 | 5–0 | Orleans Arena (N/A) Paradise, NV |
| 11/28/2014* 9:30 pm, FS1 | | vs. Illinois Las Vegas Invitational Championship | L 54–62 | 5–1 | Orleans Arena (N/A) Las Vegas, NV |
| 12/01/2014* 8:00 pm, ESPNU | | Texas Southern | W 75–49 | 6–1 | Ferrell Center (4,286) Waco, TX |
| 12/04/2014* 6:00 pm, ESPNU | | at Vanderbilt Big 12/SEC Challenge | W 66–63 | 7–1 | Memorial Gymnasium (7,740) Nashville, TN |
| 12/09/2014* 8:00 pm, ESPN2 | | Texas A&M | W 77–63 | 8–1 | Ferrell Center (7,265) Waco, TX |
| 12/17/2014* 8:00 pm, ESPNU | | New Mexico State | W 66–55 | 9–1 | Ferrell Center (4,787) Waco, TX |
| 12/22/2014* 7:00 pm, FSSW | No. 22 | Southern | W 70–66 | 10–1 | Ferrell Center (5,379) Waco, TX |
| 12/30/2014* 7:00 pm, FSSW | No. 22 | Norfolk State | W 92–51 | 11–1 | Ferrell Center (5,138) Waco, TX |
| 01/03/2015 3:00 pm, ESPNU | No. 22 | at No. 18 Oklahoma | L 63–73 | 11–2 (0–1) | Lloyd Noble Center (12,322) Norman, OK |
| 01/07/2015 8:00 pm, ESPNU | No. 21 | No. 12 Kansas | L 55–56 | 11–3 (0–2) | Ferrell Center (7,088) Waco, TX |
| 01/10/2015 3:00 pm, ESPN2 | No. 21 | at TCU | W 66–59 $^{OT}$ | 12–3 (1–2) | Wilkerson-Greines Activity Center (5,388) Fort Worth, TX |
| 01/14/2015 8:00 pm, ESPNU | No. 22 | No. 11 Iowa State | W 74–73 | 13–3 (2–2) | Ferrell Center (6,576) Waco, TX |
| 01/17/2015 2:00 pm, ESPNU | No. 22 | at Kansas State | L 61–63 | 13–4 (2–3) | Bramlage Coliseum (12,528) Manhattan, KS |
| 01/21/2015* 7:00 pm, FSSW | No. 21 | Huston–Tillotson | W 81–61 | 14–4 | Ferrell Center (4,760) Waco, TX |
| 01/24/2015 5:00 pm, ESPN2 | No. 21 | No. 19 Oklahoma | W 69–58 | 15–4 (3–3) | Ferrell Center (8,753) Waco, TX |
| 01/27/2015 8:00 pm, ESPNews | No. 20 | at Oklahoma State | L 53–64 | 15–5 (3–4) | Gallagher-Iba Arena (7,364) Stillwater, OK |
| 01/31/2015 5:00 pm, ESPN2 | No. 20 | No. 19 Texas | W 83–60 | 16–5 (4–4) | Ferrell Center (9,680) Waco, TX |
| 02/04/2015 8:00 pm, ESPNews | No. 19 | TCU | W 77–57 | 17–5 (5–4) | Ferrell Center (5,405) Waco, TX |
| 02/07/2015 11:00 am, ESPNU | No. 19 | at No. 15 West Virginia | W 87–69 | 18–5 (6–4) | WVU Coliseum (12,783) Morgantown, WV |
| 02/09/2015 6:00 pm, ESPNU | No. 16 | No. 21 Oklahoma State | L 65–74 | 18–6 (6–5) | Ferrell Center (6,720) Waco, TX |
| 02/14/2015 12:00 pm, CBS | No. 16 | at No. 8 Kansas | L 64–74 | 18–7 (6–6) | Allen Fieldhouse (16,300) Lawrence, KS |
| 02/17/2015 6:00 pm, ESPN2 | No. 20 | at Texas Tech | W 54–49 | 19–7 (7–6) | United Supermarkets Arena (6,572) Lubbock, TX |
| 02/21/2015 12:00 pm, ESPNU | No. 20 | Kansas State | W 69–42 | 20–7 (8–6) | Ferrell Center (8,046) Waco, TX |
| 02/25/2015 8:00 pm, ESPNU | No. 19 | at No. 12 Iowa State | W 79–70 | 21–7 (9–6) | Hilton Coliseum (14,384) Ames, IA |
| 02/28/2015 3:00 pm, ESPNU | No. 19 | No. 20 West Virginia | W 78–66 | 22–7 (10–6) | Ferrell Center (9,385) Waco, TX |
| 03/02/2015 6:00 pm, ESPN | No. 14 | at Texas | L 59–61 | 22–8 (10–7) | Frank Erwin Center (12,139) Austin, TX |
| 03/06/2015 8:00 pm, ESPN2 | No. 14 | Texas Tech | W 77–74 | 23–8 (11–7) | Ferrell Center (9,554) Waco, TX |
| Big 12 tournament ||||||
| 03/12/2015 11:30 am, ESPN2 | (4) No. 16 | vs. (5) No. 18 West Virginia Quarterfinals | W 80–70 | 24–8 | Sprint Center (18,972) Kansas City, MO |
| 03/13/2015 6:00 pm, ESPN2 | (4) No. 16 | vs. (1) No. 9 Kansas Semifinals | L 52–62 | 24–9 | Sprint Center (18,972) Kansas City, MO |
| NCAA tournament ||||||
| 03/19/2015* 12:40 pm, TBS | (3 W) No. 16 | vs. (14 W) Georgia State First round | L 56–57 | 24–10 | Veterans Memorial Arena (N/A) Jacksonville, FL |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. W=West Region. All times are in Central Time. ||||||

## Rankings

Ranking movement Legend: ██ Improvement in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking. RV=Received votes. :
| Poll | Pre | Wk 2 | Wk 3 | Wk 4 | Wk 5 | Wk 6 | Wk 7 | Wk 8 | Wk 9 | Wk 10 | Wk 11 | Wk 12 | Wk 13 | Wk 14 | Wk 15 | Wk 16 | Wk 17 | Wk 18 | Wk 19 | Final |
| AP | RV | NR | NR | RV | RV | RV | 22 | 22 | 21 | 22 | 21 | 20 | 19 | 16 | 20 | 19 | 14 | 16 | 16 | N/A |
| Coaches | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | 22 | 22 | 22 | 23 | 21 | 19 | 19 | 16 | 20 | 20 | 16 | 16 | 17 | 21 |