JONATHAN TCHAMWA TCHATCHOUA

Baylor men's basketball head coach Scott Drew talked to Fox News Digital about how he's been able to turn around the program and offered his thoughts about alum Brittney Griner.

Matthew Mayer scored a career-high 22 points and defending national champion Baylor opened the NCAA Tournament with an 85-49 victory over Norfolk State.

The top six and seven of the top 10 teams in the AP Top 25 lost on the same day last week, both records.

No. 19 Texas Tech has now beaten consecutive top-10 opponents in the Big 12.

TCU Baylor Basketball Baylor guard Kendall Brown (2) smiles as he, forward Jonathan Tchamwa Tchatchoua, center back, and guard Adam Flagler (10) walk off the floor after an NCAA college basketball game against TCU in Fort Worth, Texas, Saturday, Jan. 8, 2022. 1 in The Associated Press men's college basketball poll once again, while fifth-ranked Southern California climbed to its highest ranking in nearly five decades. The reigning national champion Bears earned all 61 first-place votes in Monday’s poll for the fourth time in five weeks. That came after the AP Top 25 featured no new teams for each of the past two weeks. ___Follow Aaron Beard on Twitter at https://twitter.com/aaronbeardap___More AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball and https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25Copyright 2022 The Associated Press.

Baylor is once again the unanimous No. 1 in The Associated Press men’s college basketball poll, and fifth-ranked Southern California climbed to its highest ranking in nearly five decades.

Oklahoma Baylor Basketball Baylor guard Adam Flagler shoots a 3-pointer over Oklahoma guard Elijah Harkless during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game Tuesday, Jan. 4, 2022, in Waco, Texas. (AP Photo/Jerry Larson) (Jerry Larson)WACO, Texas — (AP) — James Akinjo matched his career high with 27 points, Adam Flagler scored 22 and top-ranked Baylor stretched its national-best winning streak to 20 games with an 84-74 win over Oklahoma on Tuesday night. In a game with not too many missed shots, Baylor outscored Oklahoma 19-0 on second-chance points. Baylor: The Bears have only the fourth 20-game winning streak in Big 12 history. Baylor set the conference record with a 23-game winning streak two seasons ago, while Kansas has two such streaks: 22 games in 1997-97 and a 20-game 10 years after that.

James Akinjo matched his career high with 27 points, Adam Flagler scored 22 and top-ranked Baylor stretched its national-best winning streak to 20 games with an 84-74 win over Oklahoma.

James Akinjo scored 16 points, LJ Cryer had 10 of his 13 in the second half, and top-ranked Baylor beat No. 8 Iowa State 77-72 for the Cyclones’ first loss.

(AP Photo/Rod Aydelotte) (Rod Aydelotte)A combination of cancellations and the holidays made for a quiet week in college basketball. The top five remained the same from last week, with Duke, Purdue, Gonzaga and UCLA behind Baylor. RISING SPARTANSMichigan State coach Tom Izzo was irritated when his team wasn't ranked in the AP preseason poll. Michigan State moved into the top 10 for the first time since Week 5 of last season, climbing a spot to No. Michigan State (10-2) has won five straight since a loss to top-ranked Baylor and its other loss was to No.

(AP Photo/Rod Aydelotte) (Rod Aydelotte)A combination of cancelations and the holidays made for a quiet week in college basketball. The top five remained the same from last week, with Duke, Purdue, Gonzaga and UCLA behind Baylor. RISING SPARTANSMichigan State coach Tom Izzo was irritated when his team wasn't ranked in the AP preseason poll. Michigan State moved into the top 10 for the first time since Week 5 of last season, climbing a spot to No. Michigan State (10-2) has won five straight since a loss to top-ranked Baylor and its other loss was to No.

Baylor remained No. 1 for the third straight week in The Associated Press men's college basketball poll, receiving all 61 first-place votes from a national media panel.

Baylor Oregon Basketball Baylor forward Jonathan Tchamwa Tchatchoua (23) celebrates in the second half against Oregon during an NCAA college basketball game in Eugene, Ore., Saturday, Dec. 18, 2021. (AP Photo/Thomas Boyd) (Thomas Boyd)Defending national champion Baylor maintained its top spot in The Associated Press men's college basketball poll, though not without ceding a No. 1 vote and climbed two spots to sixth heading into a brutal stretch of games over the next three weeks. Last year everyone had limited crowds,” said Baylor coach Scott Drew, who picked up his 400th career win. Throw in a trip to Arizona State on Jan. 8 and the Wildcats won't play a home game for 24 days.

Defending national champion Baylor has maintained its top spot in The Associated Press men's college basketball poll, though not without ceding a No. 1 vote to Arizona, while the six remaining unbeatens continued their rise.

Villanova Baylor Basketball Villanova guard Justin Moore, left, drives past Baylor forward Jonathan Tchamwa Tchatchoua (23) to the basket during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game on Sunday, Dec. 12, 2021, in Waco, Texas. (AP Photo/Ray Carlin) (Ray Carlin)WACO, Texas — (AP) — James Akinjo had 16 points with seven rebounds and second-ranked Baylor defensively dominated No. 6 Villanova 57-36 on Sunday, a victory that's likely to put the defending national champion Bears in the top spot in the new poll. Wright has won two NCAA titles, both in Texas — in Houston in 2016 and San Antonio in 2018. Baylor: Akinjo, a senior transfer in his first season at Baylor, began his college career in the Big East at Georgetown before playing at Arizona last year.

Scott Drew uttered the far-fetched idea of Baylor being national champion when he was introduced as coach nearly 18 years ago.

The fresh-as-can-be Baylor Bears obliterated wobbly-legged Gonzaga’s march to perfection in an 86-70 runaway in the national title game.

Jared Butler scored 17 points to lead five Baylor players in double figures, and the Bears roared to a 78-59 victory over Houston in the Final Four.

3 Baylor, fresh off clinching its first Big 12 title on the road two days earlier, beat No. 17 Oklahoma State 81-70 on Thursday night to end the Cowboys' five-game winning streak. Freshman standout and Big 12 leading scorer Cade Cunningham had 24 points and Kalib Boone 10 for Oklahoma State (17-7, 10-7), whose winning streak was the longest active in the Big 12. That came right after Matthew-Alexander Moncrieffe had a dunk for Oklahoma State, prompting a timeout by Baylor coach Scott Drew. ... Oklahoma State was without guard Isaac Likekele (hand) for the fifth time in six games.

And after an uncharacteristic first half, Drew understood why his players might have been a little unnerved. “It was a frustrating night," Illinois coach Brad Underwood said. Baylor forward Jonathan Tchamwa Tchatchoua started the decisive stretch by making two free throws with 12:51 left. After Illinois made a 3-pointer, Baylor scored five more points and then took control with another run, this time 9-0. ... MaCio Teague added 11 points and Tchamwa Tchatchoua had nine points and nine rebounds.