Baylor’s Stay at No. 1 Likely to be Short. Will Jayhawks supplant Bears?
(AP) - A look at things to
Hopefully Isaiah Austin’s pro career will turn out smoother than its rocky start.
After signing with Red Star Belgrade affiliate FMP to play in Serbia in the Adriatic league, Austin lost his luggage en route and couldn’t read the signs in his new home.
Ain’t changed clothes in 3 days dawg. Lost my bags, at least I’m finally in Serbia but damn I’m sick about my bags yo lol
— Isaiah Austin (@IsaiahAustin) January 10, 2017
lol I’m gone walk to Serbia if I have to ?
— Isaiah Austin (@IsaiahAustin) January 10, 2017
I’m in this airport lost can’t read no signs and don’t know what gate to go to smh
— Isaiah Austin (@IsaiahAustin) January 10, 2017
Austin, whose NBA career was derailed before it began because of a rare genetic disorder that affects his heart, was cleared to play basketball again in November.
By JIM O’CONNELL
Baylor is No. 1 in The Associated Press men’s basketball poll for the first time.
The Bears (15-0) have made a meteoric rise in the poll, going from a team that didn’t receive a vote in the preseason poll to one that received 55 first-place votes from the 65-member national media panel on Monday.
Baylor is the 59th school to be ranked No. 1 since the poll started in the 1948-49 season. The Bears will be tested on top right away, playing at West Virginia on Tuesday and at Kansas State on Saturday.
Villanova, which received one first-place vote, had been No. 1 for the last five weeks, but the Wildcats (15-1) dropped to third after losing at Butler last week.
Kansas (14-1), which was No. 1 on eight ballots, moved up from third to second, giving the Big 12 the top two teams in the poll.
UCLA (16-1), which got the other first-place vote, stayed fourth.
WACO, Texas (AP) — Manu Lecomte scored 17 points, Johnathan Motley had 13 and second-ranked Baylor closed in on the school’s first No. 1 ranking with a 61-57 victory against Oklahoma State on Saturday night.
The Bears (15-0, 3-0 Big 12), one of two unbeaten teams in the nation along with No. 5 Gonzaga, are in position to reach the top of the poll after No. 1 Villanova’s 20-game winning streak ended Wednesday — the same night Baylor beat Iowa State on a late jumper from Lecomte.
A rowdy crowd that included new Baylor football coach Matt Rhule in the first row of the student section chanted “No. 1, No. 1” in the final seconds of the Bears’ 11th straight home victory.
WACO, Texas (AP) — Manu Lecomte scored 24 points and No. 9 Baylor took over in the second half in a 76-61 victory over No. 7 Xavier on Saturday.
Johnathan Motley added 17 points and eight rebounds for the Bears (8-0), who have beaten three Top 10 teams in the same season for first time. Half of Baylor’s eight wins have come against Top 25 teams.
Xavier (7-1) was up 51-50 when Edmond Sumner, who had 19 points, hit a 3-pointer with 11:15 to play. The Musketeers then went almost 9 minutes before making another field goal.
Lecomte, the former Miami transfer, put Baylor ahead to stay with two free throws. By time he made a jumper with 3:36 left, it capped a 21-2 run to put the Bears up 71-53.
Trevon Blueitt, who led the Musketeers with 23 points and fouled out, made a 3-pointer with 2:33 for their first basket since their last lead.
Isaiah Austin, whose NBA career was derailed before it began because of a rare genetic disorder that affects his heart, has been cleared to play basketball again and is mulling several overseas offers.
“He is weighing through his offers,” a source told ZAGSBLOG. “He’s had [overseas] offers as teams were waiting for medical clearance.”
The former Baylor center, who left school after his sophomore season to enter the 2014 NBA Draft, was diagnosed with Marfan syndrome, which affects the body’s connective tissue.
According to the Mayo Clinic, complications from Marfan syndrome can weaken the aorta, the artery that supplies blood from the heart to the rest of the body.
