Tweety Carter and LaceDarius Dunn knew before even playing a game this season that Baylor had a much better team than the Big 12 coaches expected.
They have already proven that, and have a chance to accomplish even more since they are still playing.
``Being picked 10th, we took that as disrespect,'' Dunn said Monday. ``We knew we're a better team than 10th. ... We knew we had to come out and prove a point.''
The Bears (27-7) have made it to the NCAA round of 16, joining Kansas State as the only Big 12 teams still left with a chance to play for the national championship.
What about Kansas, the preseason Big 12 favorite by the coaches and the No. 1 overall NCAA seed? The Jayhawks have already been eliminated along with Texas, the league coaches' preseason No. 2 which started 17-0 and reached No. 1 in the AP poll in mid-January.
``I don't play this game to worry about what anybody else thinks. As long as this family here is tight, I'm all right,'' said Carter, the point guard and one of only two Baylor seniors. ``At the same time, it comes up in the back of your mind, you've got to come out and show them why we're better than 10th.''
In an NCAA tournament filled with upsets, most notably Kansas' second-round loss to Northern Iowa, Baylor has remained unscathed as the No. 3 seed in the South Regional.
After defeating Sam Houston State and 11th-seeded Old Dominion in New Orleans, the Bears will be even closer to home for their next game. They play in Houston on Friday night against No. 10 Saint Mary's (28-5), which advanced with victories over Richmond and Villanova.
Before last week, Baylor hadn't won an NCAA tournament game since 1950. The Gaels, often overshadowed in the West Coast Conference by Gonzaga, had gone only nine years fewer without an NCAA victory.
``Both teams had similar roads. Both teams have been competitive the last few years,'' Baylor coach Scott Drew said. ``They've been knocking on the door, and we've been knocking on the door. Both of us have just entered together.''
Baylor has its third consecutive 20-win season, has already set a school record for victories and has not lost any game by more than seven points.
The Bears made it to the NCAA tournament two years ago, but lost to Purdue in the opening round. (The Boilermakers are also in Houston and play top-seeded Duke in the other game Friday night).
Baylor overcame a late-season slump last year to make it to the Big 12 tournament championship game then had an extended farewell for seniors Curtis Jerrells, Kevin Rogers and Henry Dugat, making it to the NIT final before losing to Penn State in Madison Square Garden.
That trio's career began in 2005-06, when Baylor was limited to playing only a half-season. The Bears played only conference games as part of NCAA penalties for wrongdoing under previous coach Dave Bliss that was uncovered following the shooting death of player Patrick Dennehy by teammate Carlton Dotson in the summer of 2003.
Jerrells, Rogers and Dugat played significant roles in the rebuilding of the program, including that NCAA appearance two years ago.
When they graduated, there was some uncertainty about how the Bears would fare - at least outside, based on how the Big 12 coaches picked.
``That goes to respect of what the guys who left the program last year did. We were picked low for a reason, and it was out of respect to them,'' Drew said. ``With the returning players, give all the credit to them for having great chemistry, great upperclassman leadership.''
While Dunn (19.4 points per game) and Carter (15.1 points, 6 rebounds) have excelled, the Bears got a boost from the addition of 6-foot-10, 240-pound Ekpe Udoh, who had to sit out last season after transferring from Michigan.
Udoh provided an inside presence that had been missing, setting a Big 12 record with 128 blocked shots while contributing 13.9 points and 9.7 rebounds a game.
``Last summer, just to be around each other and get the feel for each other playing pickup games, that's where it all started,'' Dunn said. ``Everybody got on the same page and agreed on the same thing and had the same goal. That really got us going and got us where we are now.''
