Baylor Basketball: Redemption On The Rise?

2009 was going to be a year of hope for many.

After Baylor's remarkable season last year, capped off by their first NCAA Tournament appearance in 20 years, expectations and hopes were high. In the 2008 preseason polls, the Bears were picked to finish in a third-place tie with defending national champion Kansas.

Scott Drew's crew began the new year with revenge against Tarleton State, beating them in an exhibition game. They would take a 4-0 record to Anaheim to the 76 Classic, knocking off Providence and then-No. 14 Arizona State before dropping the tournament title to then-No. 19 Wake Forest.

Baylor would win out 2008, which included a huge road win against Washington State. As conference play started, the Bears were 12-2 and looked to be unstoppable, taking three of their first four, which included a thrilling overtime win against Oklahoma State in Waco. Just when things were looking so great, something happened.

A six-game losing streak.

The Bears would drop five of these to ranked teams, and they began to fall further down the ranks, falling to the bottom half of the Big 12 and completely dropping out of the Top 25.

They would win only two of their final six games, with both Texas A&M and Colorado falling in the Ferrell Center, but the ultimate damage had been done, as their RPI fell out of reach of the Big Dance. Things looked bleak for Baylor, who would be seeded ninth in the conference tournament.

Just 96 hours after bowing to Nebraska, Curtis Jerrells and Co. were looking to keep the season going. And suddenly, something sparked in them. Josh Lomers was putting up double-digit point totals, Kevin Rogers was outrebounding the Cornhuskers (20 to 18) and LaceDarius Dunn was back to his ways of the trey, knocking down shot after shot. Baylor advanced to the quarterfinals with a 65-49 rout of the eighth-seeded Huskers.

But now they had a bigger challenge ahead of them: they would now have to face the Kansas Jayhawks, the top seed in the tourney.

Coming into today, the only time a No. 1 seed had lost an opening round game was in 2001, when Iowa State fell to Baylor. In addition, Kansas had won 14 of 15 against Baylor all-time, and had not lost to Baylor in the Drew era.

But it appeared that the Bears were putting that aside, taking as much as a 17-point lead in the first half before going into the locker room with a 37-33 lead. But once the second half started, Kansas began putting up a fight, alternating between tying and trailing until the halfway point, where they opened up a 56-51 lead.

As the minutes dwindled down, Baylor really stayed in the game, which is something many Bear fans and Bear Pit faithful are not accustomed to.

They were grabbing more boards, sticking to their defense, and as the clock hit zero, you could hear the silence from the numerous Jayhawk fans, as their hopes of a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Championship were crushed with a 71-67 loss to Baylor.

One has to wonder if the Bears can continue their hot streak, and if maybe, just maybe, they still have a light at the end of the tunnel for back-to-back tournament bids. Find out tomorrow at 6:00 PM CST, as the Bears take on the Texas Longhorns.