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<h1 align="right" style="text-align:right"><b><span style="font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif;text-decoration:none">BAYLOR ATHLETICS COMMUNICATIONS – April 25, 2024<o:p></o:p></span></b></h1>
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<h2 align="left" style="text-align:left"><b><span style="font-size:13.0pt;font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif;font-style:normal">Baylor MBB to Face Connecticut in Big 12-Big East Battle<o:p></o:p></span></b></h2>
<h2 align="left" style="text-align:left"><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif;font-style:normal">The matchup features two of the last three programs to win a national title</span></b><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif;font-style:normal"><o:p></o:p></span></b></h2>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:9.0pt">For more information contact:
</span></b><span style="font-size:9.0pt">Matt Roberts, 254-227-2280, </span><a href="mailto:WM_Roberts@Baylor.edu"><span style="font-size:9.0pt">WM_Roberts@Baylor.edu</span></a><span style="font-size:9.0pt"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><strong><span style="font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif;color:black;background:white">WACO, Texas – </span></strong><span style="color:black;background:white">Baylor men's basketball will headline the 2024 Big 12-Big East Battle when the Bears
travel to take on the two-time defending champion UCONN Huskies on Wednesday, Dec. 4, the Big 12 announced Thursday.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:black;background:white"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:black;background:white">Game times and network assignments will be announced at a later date. The meeting will mark the first between these two programs since 1965, a 96-88 UCONN win in Waco.
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:black;background:white">The Huskies are coming off a second-straight national championship, while the Bears are coming off a fifth-straight NCAA Tournament appearance. BU is the only team in the nation to be a No. 3 seed
or higher in the last four NCAA tournaments, and one of just four teams in the nation to win at least one game in each of the last five tournaments. The Bears are 2-3 against defending national champions under Scott Drew.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:black;background:white"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:black;background:white">After a win over the eventual NIT Champion Seton Hall Pirates in the 2023 Big East-Big 12 Battle, Baylor will enter the 2024 cross-conference showdown with a 14-3 record against Big East teams
under Drew.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:black;background:white"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:black;background:white">BU is looking for its first win over a Big East team on the road in the Drew era, currently sitting at 0-2. It boasts a perfect 6-0 mark at home and an 8-1 record at neutral sites against the conference.
A win over the Huskies would give the Bears a win over nine of the 11 Big East squads, already with victories against Xavier (3-1), Creighton (2-1), Providence (2-0), Villanova (3-0), St. John's (1-0), Georgetown (1-0), Butler (1-0) and Seton Hall (1-0).<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:black;background:white"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:black;background:white">BU won its inaugural Big East-Big 12 Battle matchup when the No. 11-ranked Bears hosted No. 19 Butler at the Ferrell Center on Dec. 10, 2019. Baylor led the game wire-to-wire, and </span><a href="https://baylorbears.com/roster.aspx?rp_id=10370"><span style="color:black;background:white;text-decoration:none">Mark
Vital</span></a><span style="color:black;background:white"> had a block in the final seconds to seal a 53-52 victory.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:black;background:white"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:black;background:white">Baylor is 14-4 all-time in conference challenges, the best record of any Big 12 team. The Bears hold the best record of any team at 8-2 in the Big 12/SEC Challenge, a 3-1 mark in the Big 12/Pac-10
Hardwood Series and a 3-1 record in the Big East-Big 12 Battle.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:black;background:white"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:black">Follow @BaylorMBB on X, Instagram and Facebook for additional updates.<span style="background:white"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
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<a href="http://www.BaylorBears.com">www.BaylorBears.com</a><o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black;mso-ligatures:none">Matt Roberts | Associate Director of Athletic Communications (MBB/MGOLF/ WGOLF) <br>
Department of Athletics | Baylor University<br>
C: 254-227-2280</span><span style="font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:#212121;mso-ligatures:none"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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