Baylor Ranked in Top 5 in AP Preseason Poll
The Baylor Bears be ranked No. 5 in the country entering the 2022-23 season, per the release of the official AP Top 25 preseason rankings on Monday.
The Bears are one of five Big 12 teams in the rankings, joining the Kansas Jayhawks (T-No. 5), the Texas Longhorns (No. 12), the TCU Horned Frogs (No. 14), and the Texas Tech Red Raiders (No. 25). Baylor and Kansas tied in total votes, resulting in a shared spot at No. 5.
Baylor enters the new college basketball year after an offseason of significant turnover, but the team still remains near the top of the nation's totem pole.
Coming off a national championship last season, the Bears fell in the second round of the NCAA tournament to the eventual national runner-up North Carolina Tar Heels, who come in at No. 1 in the preseason rankings release.
The Bears will return important contributors like Adam Flagler and Flo Thamba for next season after losing Jeremy Sochan, Kendall Brown, and James Akinjo to the NBA.
The addition of guard Keyonte George along with both L.J Cryer and Langston Love returning from injury gives the Bears a major boost to the backcourt after being a team that was plagued with injury last season.
Baylor begins the regular season at home on Tuesday, Nov. 7 vs. Miss. Valley State.
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