Hang on to those game programs, clip those newspaper articles and keep any video of those Quincy Acy dunks that you can find.

You are watching the greatest era of Baylor men’s basketball in 60 years.

When the NCAA tournament bids are announced Sunday afternoon, the Bears will be winging their way to one of eight regional sites. There will be no high drama like 2008 when the Bears were the last team announced in the Big Dance.

Scott Drew has led Baylor to a 69-32 record in the last three years, and has his team on the verge of its third straight postseason tournament appearance.
Rod Aydelotte/Waco Tribune-Herald

Scott Drew’s 24-6 team probably won’t be lower than a No. 5 seed in the NCAA tournament, no matter how it performs beginning Thursday night in the Big 12 tournament. With a strong showing in Kansas City, they might climb to a No. 3 or 4 seed. Regardless, the No. 21 Bears will have a great shot to end a Sahara-like drought.

The Bears haven’t won an NCAA tournament game since 1950. That’s a long time, Harry Truman.

If you had told me in November that I’d be writing this column, I would have told you to see your analyst.

The Big 12 coaches picked the Bears 10th in the preseason poll, which seemed in the ballpark since they lost a trio of career 1,000-point scorers in Curtis Jerrells, Kevin Rogers and Henry Dugat who led a run to last year’s NIT championship game.

That prediction seemed a little low, but understandable since the Bears finished ninth in the league with a disappointing 5-11 record. The only sure thing was that LaceDarius Dunn would hit a bunch of 3-pointers and score a lot of points, and he’s lived up to his billing by ranking second in the Big 12 with a 19.2 scoring average.

Who would have guessed that transfer forward Ekpe Udoh would become such an offensive force to go along with his great defensive skills? Who could have predicted that Tweety Carter would develop into a triple threat as a senior point guard with his scoring, passing and defensive ability?

Along with Baylor’s trio of stars, center Josh Lomers, forward Anthony Jones and freshman point guard A.J. Walton have been superb role players. Throw in Acy, who brings incredible energy as sixth man, and you’ve got an explosive, well-rounded team that can play against anybody in the country.

Leadership and chemistry are mercurial qualities, but the Bears have developed tons of both to tie Kansas State and Texas A&M for second in the Big 12 with an 11-5 record.

“We’ve had tremendous leadership from our upperclassmen,” Drew said. “Because everyone on the team respects and follows those guys, we have great chemistry. Everyone on the team enjoys seeing each other have success. Tweety starts it out front by leading the Big 12 in assists, and his unselfishness trickles out to everyone else.”

If you don’t think the Bears were motivated by that 10th-place prediction, think again.

“We didn’t get the respect we deserved,” Carter said. “To go from a 10th-place prediction to the No. 3 seed in the Big 12 tournament is big for this team. We love each other and will do anything for each other.”

Led by coach Bill Henderson and All-America guard Jack Robinson, the 1945-50 era still stands as the greatest in school history with three NCAA tournament berths in five years, highlighted by an appearance in the 1948 championship game.

The Bears have enjoyed pockets of success since then, including an NCAA tournament berth in 1988 sandwiched between a pair of NIT appearances in 1987 and 1990 under Gene Iba. But the Bears had a lot more lows than highs before Drew came to town in 2003.

With a 69-32 record, the Bears have put together their three winningest consecutive seasons in school history, and are on the verge of their third straight postseason tournament appearance. That’s remarkable success considering Drew started with almost nothing when he took over a scandal-ridden program seven years ago.

“Scott’s done a nice job with this team, and they’ve got good players,” Kansas coach Bill Self said. “You knew Tweety and LaceDarius were going to be solid. They’re better than people thought because nobody knew the impact that Ekpe Udoh would have on the program.”

So enjoy the ride. This Baylor team looks like it still has more history to make.

jwerner@wacotrib.com

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