Dance Card: Baylor, Big 12 champs

Who? The Lady Bears of Baylor.

What? Bruiser is the fuzzy one; Baylor also has real bears and a real bear habitat. (I guess it's better than ferrets...)

Where? Waco, Texas, home of the Texas Sports Hall of Fame.

When? March 11th, in Dallas, Texas.

Why? They won the Big XII conference tournament.

How? Iowa State got the first basket, but Baylor got the bit between their teeth and rolled to a 75-47 win. Brittney Griner had 31 points and Odyssey Sims added 20.

Surprise? Predicted to finish first in the conference, they finished first in the conference and undefeated in Big 12 play, six games ahead of Iowa State.

RPI: 1

SOS: 2

Record: 32-1 (18-0 Big XII)

Good wins: At Notre Dame, at UConn.

Bad losses: Stanford, by default, but you can't say that's a bad loss.

Who's running this show? Kim Mulkey, since 2000. Tiny but fierce!

Extra, Extra! The Dallas Morning News seems unaware of athletes without Y chromosomes, and the Waco Tribune is stuck behind a paywall no longer trapped! Hat tip to commenter ambitin for pointing that out.

23.3 points, 9 rebounds, over 4 blocks per game, and a positive A/TO: ladies and gentlemen, meet senior center Brittney Griner, in case you managed to get here without having heard of her. A game-changer on both ends of the floor, she's the anchor for a dynamic Baylor team that averages a 27-point margin of victory. Junior point guard Odyssey Sims runs the show with 5.7 assists per game, adding 12.2 points.

Senior guard Kimetria "Nae-Nae" Hayden has always struck me as the X factor for this team, so if they somehow end up in a situation where they need one, look to her.