Baylor Lady Bears
Big 12 (30-3, 17-1)
Baylor overcame a rare home conference loss to Texas back on February 6th to win their seventh consecutive Big 12 regular season championship. This edition of the Bears is another balanced offensive unit that can also lock opponents down defensively since on most nights Baylor has the athleticism advantage. The key is going to be how do the Bears respond when they face a team that can match their physicality and are equally elite defensively.
Big Wins: 11/14 UCLA (84-70), 12/4 at Tennessee (88-66), 2/20 at Texas (70-67)
Bad Losses: 11/17 at Connecticut (61-72), 2/6 Texas (79-85), 3/6 vs West Virginia (66-77)
Coach: Kim Mulkey
Why They Can Surprise:
When Baylor took on Connecticut early on in November, the Bears didn’t play scared against the Huskies and were tied at 54 late in the contest. And that was in Storrs. So if Baylor gets another shot at Connecticut on a neutral floor, they should have plenty of confidence that they can beat the Huskies. Alexis Jones and Alexis Prince are both very effective shooters from the behind the three-point arc and, when they are on, it opens things up down low for Nina Davis to dominate in the paint. Davis is a very efficient shooter as she is shooting 54.8 percent from the floor on the season. Kalani Brown does an outstanding job of controlling the glass with offensive and defensive rebounds and that sets the tone defensively for the rest of the team.
Why They Can Disappoint:
In the loss to Texas, the Bears did not come out with enough intensity and focus at the defensive end of the court. The Longhorns scored 47 points in the first half. In addition, Texas was able to shoot over 50 percent from the floor for the game, which is also a very rare occurrence for a Kim Mulkey coached team. If Baylor has issues shooting the basketball as the NCAA Tournament goes on that will also increase their risk of losing. They had a critical stretch in the loss to Connecticut where they could not buy a basket and turned the ball over several times. Free throw shooting is another potential problem spot as the Bears are only shooting 67.4 percent from the line heading into the NCAA Tournament. Missed free throws proved to be very costly in the Elite Eight last year in Dallas against Oregon State in a 60-57 loss.
Probable Starters:
Alexis Jones, Senior, Guard, 13.9 ppg, 4.8 apg
Kristy Wallace, Junior, Guard, 7.2 ppg, 5.6 apg, 3.9 rpg
Alexis Prince, Senior, Guard, 12.1 ppg, 2.4 apg, 5.9 rpg
Nina Davis, Senior, Forward, 12.5 ppg, 5.6 rpg
Kalani Brown, Sophomore, Forward, 15.2 ppg, 8.2 rpg, 1.9 bpg
Key Role Players:
Beatrice Mompremier, Sophomore, Center, 7.9 ppg, 6.1 rpg, 1.4 bpg
Lauren Cox, Freshman, Forward, 7.7 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 1.5 bpg
Khadijah Cave, Senior, Center, 7.0 ppg, 4.2 rpg
Natalie Chou, Freshman, Guard, 4.4 ppg, 1.6 apg
By the Numbers:
Scoring Offense: 89.2 (2nd in nation, 1st in conference)
Scoring Defense: 54.6 (12, 1)
Field-Goal Percentage: 49.2 (5, 1)
Field-Goal Defense: 30.6 (1, 1)
Three-Point Field Goals Per Game: 5.6 (179, 7)
Three-Point Field-Goal Percentage: 40.1 (1, 1)
Free-Throw Percentage: 67.4 (230, 7)
Rebound Margin: 21.6 (1, 1)
Assists Per Game: 22.0 (3, 1)
Turnovers Per Game: 13.3 (30, 2)
Recent Postseason Appearances:
2016 NCAA Round of 64 win over Idaho
2016 NCAA Round of 32 win over Auburn
2016 NCAA Regional Semifinal win over Florida State
2016 NCAA Regional Final loss to Oregon State
2015 NCAA Round of 64 win over Northwestern State
2015 NCAA Round of 32 win over Arkansas
2015 NCAA Regional Semifinal win over Iowa
2015 NCAA Regional Final loss to Notre Dame
2014 NCAA Round of 64 win over Western Kentucky
2014 NCAA Round of 32 win over California
2014 NCAA Regional Semifinal win over Kentucky
2014 NCAA Regional Final loss to Notre Dame
2013 NCAA Round of 64 win over Prairie View A&M
2013 NCAA Round of 32 win over Florida State
2013 NCAA Regional Semifinal loss to Louisville
2012 NCAA Round of 64 win over UC Santa Barbara
2012 NCAA Round of 32 win over Florida
2012 NCAA Regional Semifinal win over Georgia Tech
2012 NCAA Regional Final win over Tennessee
2012 NCAA National Semifinal win over Stanford
2012 NCAA National Final win over Notre Dame
2011 NCAA Round of 64 win over Prairie View A&M
2011 NCAA Round of 32 win over West Virginia
2011 NCAA Regional Semifinal win over Green Bay
2011 NCAA Regional Final loss to Texas A&M
2010 NCAA Round of 64 win over Fresno State
2010 NCAA Round of 32 win over Georgetown
2010 NCAA Regional Semifinal win Tennessee
2010 NCAA Regional Final win Duke
2010 NCAA National Semifinal loss to Connecticut
2009 NCAA Round of 64 win over Texas-San Antonio
2009 NCAA Round of 32 win over South Dakota State
2009 NCAA Regional Semifinal loss to Louisville
2008 NCAA Round of 64 win over Fresno State
2008 NCAA Round of 32 loss to Pittsburgh
2007 NCAA Round of 64 win over Chattanooga
2007 NCAA Round of 32 loss to North Carolina State
2005 NCAA Round of 64 win over Illinois State
2005 NCAA Round of 32 win over Oregon
2005 NCAA Regional Semifinal win over Minnesota
2005 NCAA Regional Final win over North Carolina
2005 NCAA National Semifinal win over LSU
2005 NCAA National Final win over Michigan State
*all team stats through 3/2
