Baylor Brew 11/28: Hoop Dreams

Bears Climb National Polls Ahead of Two-Game Week For Both Squads

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Baylor Brew Crew
November 28, 2023

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🐻 The Official Daily Newsletter For Baylor Athletics

Happy Tuesday Bears! There are over 350 Division I institutions that play basketball.

A grand total of ☝️ school with two undefeated teams that are both ranked in the top-15 nationally.

That is YOUR Baylor Bears.

What all do we have stirrin’ in today’s Brew? Check it out!

🏀 They’re Bacckkk
📈 Poll Position
💫 Spur Of The Moment
🐻 And much, much more!

🎙 INSIDE BAYLOR SPORTS

Nov. 28th Episode: 
Discussing the Future of Baylor Football & Chatting with RayJ Dennis

We've got a lot to unpack on this Tuesday edition of Inside Baylor Sports as former BU linebacker Elliot Coffey joins the show to discuss the future of Baylor football, including a shift in coaching, what the offseason should look like, and how NIL & the transfer portal impact the team.

Plus, we sit down with Baylor men's basketball RayJ Dennis to chat about the season so far, his journey to Baylor, and how far this team can go.

📈 STOCK UP

🔺 They’re Bacckkkk. The ninth-ranked Bears return to the court at the Ferrell Center for the first time in two weeks TONIGHT!

After taking a Thanksgiving trip to the Big Apple and picking up two big time wins, the Baylor men’s team returns home to take on Nicholls State looking to extend its season-opening winning streak to six.

🔺 Got Lunch Plans? Send ‘Em Off In Style! Take a late lunch and swing on by campus to help send off the 23rd-ranked BU volleyball team to their EIGHTH straight NCAA Tournament.

The Bears will head off to Lexington to battle seventh-seeded JMU on Thursday.

The squad will be rolling out of Hawkins Indoor Tennis Center at 12:45 p.m. Swing on by and give the Bears some good vibes as they hit the road.

🔺 Looking Ahead. “Everything counts, everything matters.”

This week, BU VP & Director of Athletics Mack Rhoades sat down with The View From The Hill, to talk in-depth about the future of the football program and what he sees coming for the Green & Gold.

🔺 Poll Position. While the weather may be cooling down, the play of both Baylor hoops squad is definitely not.

With a combined record of 11-0, both squads have continued to climb in the national polls.

The men’s squad made it five straight seasons in the top-10 nationally as they moved to #9 in the country at 6-0, while the women climbed to #13 after another 2-0 week.

🔺 Spur Of The Moment. There’s a pretty big story developing for the San Antonio Spurs this season.

And no, we’re not talking about Victor Wembanyama.

We’re talking about former BU standout Jeremy Sochan, who is taking on some point guard roles for the nearby NBA team and is currently leading all former Bears in points (10.4 ppg) and rebounds (5.4) per game, while also dishing out 4.4 assists per game, which is second only to Keyonte George, who is averaging over five assists per game with the Jazz.

🐻 DOUBLE DOSE

🔺 Crown Him. Entering this season, there was a ton of hype surrounding incoming transfer RayJ Dennis of the BU men’s hoops squad.

Three weeks into the 2023-24 season, Dennis has proven the hype is real.

A stellar week in NYC at the NIT Season Tip-Off landed the Toledo transfer MVP honors after averaging 16 points, seven assists and 3.5 rebounds.

That MVP award preceded him being named Big 12 Co-Newcomer of the Week on Monday.

🔺 Runnin’ Reese. Sophomore RB Richard Reese ended his 2023 season in a BIG way on Saturday.

The speedster became the first player in program history to take back-to-back kickoffs to the house and just the 26th time in FBS history that a player has scored on multiple kickoffs in the same game.

For his performance, he was named Big 12 Special Teams Player of the Week.

🏆 AWARD WINNING

When you’re looking for the best, it pays to stay local. Our friends at Award Specialties in Waco, Texas is a family-operated trophy shop providing you the highest quality when it comes to trophies, plaques, name tags and more.

🤔 SIC ’EM TRIVIA

With Baylor’s men’s squad moving to #9 in the national polls, the Bears have now earned a top-10 ranking in five consecutive seasons.

How many total programs have earned at least one top-10 ranking in the each of the past five seasons?

Got a guess?

Scroll on down to the bottom of this email for the answer!

📬 STICK WITH US

Did someone send you the Baylor Brew? Well, the first thing you should do is thank them. The next thing you should do is subscribe here and get it in your inbox every weekday morning just in time for your first cup of coffee!

🗓 ON THE DOCKET

Tuesday, November 28
🏀 Men’s Basketball vs. Nicholls @ 7pm

Thursday, November 30
🏀 Women’s Basketball vs. SMU @ 7pm

Saturday, December 2
🏀 Men’s Basketball vs. Northwestern State @ 5pm

Sunday, December 3
🏀 Women’s Basketball vs. Oregon @ 1pm

🎉 TRIVIA ANSWER

Answer: 3.

Baylor is joined by Duke and Kansas as the only other program to earn a top-10 national ranking in each of the past five seasons.

🐻 Let’s have a great Tuesday, y’all!

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