When Baylor popped up on the NCAA tournament bracket during Sunday’s telecast at the Ferrell Center, 800 fans erupted in cheers and the players hugged and slapped hands.

But nobody was smiling bigger than Baylor guards Tweety Carter and LaceDarius Dunn.

The two Louisiana natives will be heading home when the No. 3-seeded Bears face No. 14 Sam Houston State at about 2 p.m. Thursday at New Orleans Arena in the opening round of the South Region.

“It’s a blessing for Lace and I to get to go back home,” said Carter, a native of Reserve, La. “I grew up 20 minutes from New Orleans and everyone’s going to be at the game. But we know what we’ve got in front of us. We know everyone’s going to give us their best shot, and we’ve got to continue to stay focused.”

Dunn is from Monroe, La., located a few hours north of New Orleans, but he’s just as thrilled to play in his home state.

“I’m excited to get back to Louisiana and get some good home cooking and see a lot of old friends,” Dunn said. “But we’ve got a lot of goals we haven’t reached. We still have a long way to go.”

(From left) Baylor basketball players Fred Ellis, Tweety Carter, LaceDarius Dunn and Oscar Griffin celebrate their No. 3 seed in the NCAA tournament. The Bears will play Sam Houston State on Thursday in New Orleans. In front is Seven Tang, son of assistant coach Jerome Tang.
Jerry Larson/Waco Tribune-Herald

Baylor’s immediate goal is to win its first NCAA tournament game since 1950. With its highest seed since the NCAA tournament began seeding in 1979, the Bears have a unique opportunity to break the 60-year drought against a Sam Houston State team that’s 25-7 and received an automatic bid by winning the Southland Conference tournament championship.

If the Bears beat the Bearkats, they’ll advance to the round of 32 Saturday against either No. 6 Notre Dame (23-11) or No. 11 Old Dominion (26-8). Two wins would earn the Bears a trip to the Sweet 16 at Reliant Stadium in Houston on March 26.

Baylor couldn’t have received a much more favorable draw with both regional sites accessible to the Baylor fans. Minutes after the Bears learned they were heading to New Orleans for the opening two games, Baylor coach Scott Drew grabbed a microphone at the Ferrell Center.

“Students, I have two words — road trip,” Drew smiled. “Tweety and Lace promise the city will be waiting for you.”

Drew was still beaming during the press conference following the NCAA tournament selection show. The Bears were among a record seven Big 12 teams selected for the NCAA tournament, including No. 1-seeded Kansas, No. 2 Kansas State, No. 5 Texas A&M, No. 7 Oklahoma State, No. 8 Texas and No. 10 Missouri.

“I think Tweety’s smile showed how we all feel,” Drew said. “You couldn’t have written a better script. The way we closed strong gave us a chance to be a No. 3 seed in New Orleans where our fans can come and watch and support us. I’m very pleased that our hard work was rewarded. ”

When the Bears made the NCAA tournament as a No. 11 seed two years ago under Drew, they looked shellshocked in the opening round as they fell into a deep hole against Purdue and were quickly ousted with a 90-79 loss in Washington, D.C. It was the Bears’ first NCAA tournament appearance in 20 years after the No. 8-seeded 1988 team lost to Memphis in the first round.

Tournament experience

But the Baylor upperclassmen believe the last NCAA tournament experience will help them this time around. The Bears are playing some of their best basketball going into the tournament with eight wins in the last 10 games. After tying Kansas State and Texas A&M for second in the Big 12 with an 11-5 record, the Bears beat Texas in the first round of the conference tournament before losing to Kansas State.

Tweety Carter (left) and LaceDarius Dunn react with teammates Sunday after learning the Baylor men’s basketball team will be a No. 3 seed going into the NCAA tournament. Baylor will play Sam Houston State in New Orleans in the first round.
Jerry Larson/Waco Tribune-Herald

“We want to do more than just make it,” Carter said. “All year, we’ve gone against top teams and performed well. We’re going to go out there and play our style of basketball. It’s an honor to be a No. 3 seed and we want to represent it well.”

The Bears are taking nothing for granted in New Orleans. Sam Houston State features an explosive offensive team led by 6-6 forward Gilberto Clavell, who is averaging a team-high 16.9 points and 6.3 rebounds. Guard Corey Allmond is averaging 15.9 points while nailing 94 treys for the season.

If the Bears beat Sam Houston, they could face a Notre Dame team led by powerful center Luke Harangody, who is averaging 22.4 points and 9.2 rebounds. Old Dominion is a strong defensive team that’s allowing opponents just 57.1 points per game.

But Baylor has plenty of confidence after rolling through a tough Big 12 schedule.

“We know we’ll have our hands full with Sam Houston because they’ve done well against Big 12 teams the last few years,” Drew said. “But the good thing about our team is that we can adjust. In previous years, we were more one-dimensional. This year’s team can win a halfcourt game or an up-and-down game.”

BEAR FACTS — Baylor will receive approximately 500 tickets for its first-round NCAA tournament game. Fans who desire to purchase tickets may call the Baylor ticket office beginning at 8 a.m. today at 710-1000.

jwerner@wacotrib.com

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