The 2020–21 Baylor Bears basketball team represented

Baylor University Baylor University is a private Baptist Christian research university in Waco, Texas. Baylor was chartered in 1845 by the last Congress of the Republic of Texas. Baylor is the oldest continuously operating university in Texas and one of the fir ...

in the

2020–21 NCAA Division I men's basketball season The 2020–21 NCAA Division I men's basketball season began on November 25, 2020 and concluded on March 14, 2021. The 2021 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament culminated the season and began on March 18 and concluded on April 5. Season ...

. The Bears, members of the

Big 12 Conference The Big 12 Conference is a college athletic conference headquartered in Irving, Texas, USA. It consists of ten full-member universities. It is a member of Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) for all sports. Its ...

, played their home games at the

Ferrell Center The Paul J. Meyer Arena, which is part of the Ferrell Center, is an arena in Waco, Texas. Built in 1988 and located adjacent to the Brazos River, it is home to the Baylor University Bears basketball and volleyball teams. It is named for Charle ...

Waco, Texas Waco ( ) is the county seat of McLennan County, Texas, United States. It is situated along the Brazos River and I-35, halfway between Dallas and Austin. The city had a 2020 population of 138,486, making it the 22nd-most populous city in the ...

. They were led by 18th-year head coach

Scott Drew Scott Homer Drew (born October 23, 1970) is an American college basketball coach who is the head coach of the Baylor Bears, a position he has held since 2003. Drew began his coaching career as an assistant for Valparaiso under his father Home ...

. The 2020–21 season was the greatest season in Baylor's 115-year basketball history. They finished the season 28–2, 13–1 in Big 12 play to win their first regular season championship of any sort since 1950. In the Big 12 tournament, they defeated

Kansas State Kansas State University (KSU, Kansas State, or K-State) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Manhattan, Kansas, United States. It was opened as the state's land-grant college in 1863 and was the first public instit ...

in the quarterfinals before losing to

Oklahoma State Oklahoma (; Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a state in the South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the north, Missouri on the northeast, Arkansas on the east, New M ...

in the semifinals. They received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament as the No. 1 seed in the South region. The Bears defeated

Hartford Hartford is the capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It was the seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960. It is the core city in the Greater Hartford metropolitan area. Census estimates since the ...

and

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

to advance to the Sweet Sixteen. They defeated Villanova and

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the Osage ...

to advance to the school's first Final Four since

1950 Events January * January 1 – The International Police Association (IPA) – the largest police organization in the world – is formed. * January 5 – 1950 Sverdlovsk plane crash, Sverdlovsk plane crash: ''Aeroflot'' Lisunov Li-2 cr ...

. In the Final Four, they defeated

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

to advance to the school's second National Championship Game. In the championship, they defeated No. 1 overall seed Gonzaga to win the school's first National Championship.

Previous season

The

Bears Bears are carnivoran mammals of the family Ursidae. They are classified as caniforms, or doglike carnivorans. Although only eight species of bears are extant, they are widespread, appearing in a wide variety of habitats throughout the North ...

finished the season 2019–20 season 26–4 and 15–3 in Big 12 play to finish in second place. The team was scheduled to play

in the quarterfinals of the Big 12 tournament before the tournament was canceled due to the ongoing

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

. The NCAA tournament was also canceled due to the pandemic.

Offseason

Departures

Incoming transfers

Recruiting classes

2020 recruiting class

2021 Recruiting class

Preseason

Big 12 coaches' poll

The Big 12 preseason coaches' poll was released on October 29, 2020. Baylor was predicted to come in first place.

Roster

Schedule and results

The Bears' initial schedule included participation in the Empire Classic at

Mohegan Sun Arena The Mohegan Sun Arena is a 10,000 seat multi-purpose arena in Uncasville, Connecticut, located inside the Mohegan Sun casino resort. The arena facility features of configurable exhibition space and a clear span. It was built by the Perini Buil ...

Uncasville, Connecticut Uncasville is an area in the New England town, town of Montville, Connecticut, Montville, Connecticut, United States. It is a Administrative divisions of Connecticut#Village, neighborhood, section of town, village in southeastern Montville, at the ...

, where they would have played

Arizona State Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public research university in the Phoenix metropolitan area. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, ASU is one of the largest public universities by enrollment in the ...

on November 25, followed by either Villanova or

Boston College Boston College (BC) is a private Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. Founded in 1863, the university has more than 9,300 full-time undergraduates and nearly 5,000 graduate students. Although Boston College is classifie ...

on November 26; however, the Bears were forced to withdraw after Scott Drew announced he had tested positive for

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. The Bears were likewise forced to cancel their game scheduled for November 29 against

Seton Hall Seton Hall University (SHU) is a private Catholic research university in South Orange, New Jersey. Founded in 1856 by then-Bishop James Roosevelt Bayley and named after his aunt, Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton, Seton Hall is the oldest diocesan u ...

. , - !colspan=12 style=, Regular Season , - !colspan=12 style=, Big 12 Tournament , - !colspan=12 style=, NCAA tournament source:

Rankings

^Coaches did not release a Week 1 poll.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:2020-21 Baylor Bears Basketball Team Baylor Baylor Bears men's basketball seasons Baylor Baylor Baylor NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament Final Four seasons NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament championship seasons