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The Baylor Bears appear to be a lock to reach the NCAA Tournament as the 2023-24 college basketball regular season enters its final week. While their postseason seeding is still to be determined by their success in the Big 12 Tournament, the No.11-ranked Bears are in prime position to reach their fifth consecutive March Madness, excluding the 2019-20 season when they were a top-five team in the nation before the tournament was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
With Selection Sunday less than two weeks away, take a look at the Baylor Bears' NCAA Tournament history below.
How many times have the Baylor Bears made the NCAA Tournament?
The Baylor Bears have made the NCAA Tournament 15 times in program history. While the first tournament was held in the 1938-39 season, the Bears did not make an appearance until the 1945-46 season, when only eight teams qualified for the postseason. However, they were 0-2 in the tournament. After missing out the following season, they returned to March Madness in 1947-48.
The Bears earned their first postseason win in program history as they won two games, advancing to the national championship before falling 58-42 to the Kentucky Wildcats. They would reach the Final Four two years later, finishing 1-2 in the Tournament.
Baylor did not return to postseason play for nearly four decades, as their next appearance came in 1987-88, where they were bounced in the first round of the now-single elimination tournament. It took another two decades for the Bears to return to March Madness. However, they were once again eliminated in the first round in 2007-08.
After missing the postseason the following season, Baylor returned in 2009-10, advancing to the Elite Eight before losing to the eventual national champion Duke Blue Devils. They once again reached the Elite Eight in 2011-12 after missing the tournament the previous year. However, they fell to the eventual national champion, the Wildcats.
The Bears missed the postseason again in 2012-13. However, they returned the following season, advancing to the Sweet Sixteen. After being bounced in the first round in each of the following two seasons, they once again reached the Sweet Sixteen in the 2016-17 season. They failed to reach the postseason the following year before falling in the second round in 2018-19.
After the COVID-19 pandemic led to the cancellation of the NCAA Tournament in 2019-20, the Baylor Bears won their first title the following season. They have been eliminated in the second round in each of the past two seasons and have an all-time tournament record of 22-16.
