MCLENNAN COUNTY, Texas — As both the Baylor Men's and Women's Basketball teams prepare to compete in March Madness, excitement fills the campus as students reflect on the challenges of the season and express their hopes for a strong tournament performance.
- The Baylor Men's and Women's Basketball teams are both headed to March Madness, with the Women's team making their 21st consecutive appearance and the Men's team reaching the tournament for the 10th time in the last 11 seasons
- Baylor students Celestte Arvizu and Jackson Cooper share high hopes for both teams, despite a challenging season marked by injuries affecting their performance
- Fans like Benjamin Jacob, who are part of the Baylor Bear Pit, emphasize the importance of student support and energy, believing it plays a crucial role in the teams' successes during home games and in the tournament
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
Both the Baylor Men's and Women's Basketball teams are set to go to compete in March Madness again this year.
"I think this year has been interesting, I think a lot of injuries made it tough for us to perform as well as a lot of people were hoping," Duncan Kedersha said.
This is the Women team's 21st straight appearance in March Madness, and the Mens 10th appearance in the last 11 seasons — including the 2021 National Championship team.
Several Baylor Students have high expectations for their green and gold.
"My biased opinion, they're gonna go far," Celestte Arvizu said.
"I think the women are definitely going to do pretty good, I know that we have it in us in the men, and it hasn't really shown really well in the regular season, but I don't know I have hope," Jackson Cooper said.
Benjamin Jacob who has been a Baylor Basketball fan since he was 8-years-old.
"I love going to the games, and being able to cheer on the teams, I can't really imagine myself being anywhere else to be honest," Jacob said.
Now he's one of the students that's a part of the Baylor Bear Pit in the newly built Foster Pavillion, a BU group of students who sit courtside at every single home game.
"We lead the chants, we set up the student section before the games," Jacob said.
Celeste Arvizu also a part of the pit believes they play a pivotal role in the teams wins.
"Here at Baylor, we depend on each other and that's the energy that we give to our players."
