Four-star recruit Langston Love has torn his ACL just two weeks before No. 8 Baylor starts their regular season on November 12. Love will be out for the remainder of the season.

Baylor is the defending NCAA men’s basketball champion after going face to face with fellow No. 1 seed Gonzaga and in the end, defeating them 86-70. During that 2021 March Madness run, Love was playing high school basketball and had already made quite the name for himself. He signed with Baylor in July of 2020 after his Junior year.

The freshman shooting guard, who was playing in a preseason scrimmage against Texas A&M, tore his ACL while driving to the hoop. He had 13 points up until that point. On Monday, Baylor announced that Love will redshirt this season because he must undergo surgery that will take some time to rehabilitate. The 19-year-old is expected to make a full recovery.

Coach Scott Drew commented on the event and what it will mean for Love’s future. “Langston has been a great addition to our program, and we were really excited about his potential to contribute on the court this season,” he said. “While we’re disappointed he won’t have that opportunity, he’s a terrific teammate who will do whatever he can to help us from the sidelines this year. Langston has a great support system, and we know he’ll work hard and come back stronger than ever.”

In high school, Love averaged 19.5 points in 52 games before transferring to Montverde Academy after his sophomore season. He now stands 6-foot-5 and weighs 210 pounds.

On Monday night, Baylor captured its first men’s basketball national title as they beat Gonzaga  86-70 at Lucus Oil Stadium.

Before the contest, the Gonzaga Bulldogs were favored to win the national title and complete the first perfect season since 1976. However, things went differently as Baylor reigned victorious. Throughout the game, the Baylor Bears dominated and never fell behind Gonzaga. There weren’t questionable calls, and it wasn’t a buzzer-beater. Simply put, Baylor played incredibly well, they were the better team, and their win was one of the most impressive runs in recent NCAA history.

On Monday, Jared Butler, McCio Teague, Adam Flager and Davion Mitchell combined to finish with 69 points. Butler, who scored 22 points and drained four 3-pointers, won the Final Four Most Outstanding Player award. The Bulldogs shot 51% from the field but couldn’t overcome its 14 turnovers or Baylor’s 16 offensive rebounds and 16 second-chance points. Not only that, but the Bears also made 44% of their threes and won every individual matchup.

Though the Baylor Bears were not expected to win, they had their historic moment with confetti, the camera, the fans, and the city. Last year, Baylor won 23 games in a row and was likely to enter as the top seed in the NCAA tournament if it had not been canceled. Since that cancelation, Baylor brought back the key players that contributed to that run and went for it all this season.

While the Bears started strong winning their first 18 games of the season, they were overshadowed by Gonzaga which seemed capable of completing a perfect season. Additionally, Baylor’s return from the three-week pause attributed to COVID-19 health and safety protocols did not seem promising. However, their losses after returning helped the team refocus for their playoff run.

Baylor ended the 2020-21 season as the best team in America, and as champions and have a great underdog story that will be told for years to come.

For the second year in a row the fifth ranked Georgia Bulldogs found themselves in the Sugar Bowl and this time they were on the winning end as they topped the Baylor Bears 26-14.

One of the biggest performances belonged to freshman wide receiver George Pickens who was named the game’s most valuable player. He finished with 12 catches for 175 yards including a 27-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Jake Fromm, which gave the Bulldogs a 10-0 lead early in the second quarter.

Later in the quarter Georgia kicker Rodrigo Blankenship made a field goal and Fromm connected with Matt Landers for a 16-yard touchdown pass to give the Bulldogs a 19-0 lead heading into halftime.

Baylor was finally able to get on the board in the third quarter when quarterback Charlie Brewer lofted up a pass to Denzel Mims for a 12-yard touchdown pass. Mims was able to catch the ball above his head while holding off a Georgia defender to make it 19-7.

Zamir White responded for the Bulldogs with a 13-yard touchdown run, and Brewer countered that with a 1-yard touchdown run of his own to keep things close at 26-14. However, that would be the last time the Bears saw the endzone as Georgia’s defense was able to hold strong in the fourth quarter.

Later in the game things got worse for Baylor. Brewer sustained an injury in the fourth after a late hit following a 9-yard scramble. It appeared to be a head/neck injury as Bulldogs’ defensive lineman Travon Walker hit him high as he was running towards the sideline.

He was evaluated by trainers and taken to the locker room, but did not return to the game. “They told me as I came in here that they were checking his neck, you know, C-spine,” Baylor coach Matt Rhule Told ESPN. “They said he cleared the C-spine just now. But that’s what they were concerned about was his neck. He didn’t exhibit any head symptoms, but I’m sure they’ll continue to monitor him, though, after this and throughout the night just to make sure.”

Brewer has had three concussions throughout his career and two this season. He was seen yelling at the medical staff on the sidelines pleading with them to get back into the game.

“Charlie is just a competitor,” Rhule said. “He’s a winner. He’s tough. … It’s scary when they’re holding his head and all that, and he’s laying there to stabilize his neck, and he’s sitting there yelling to them to let go of him and let him go back in the game. He’s just that kind of guy. He’s a great player whose best football is ahead of him. We have to become better on offense quickly, and protecting him where he can stay upright is a major thing.”

Georgia was able to end the season on a positive note following a 37-10 SEC Championship loss to top-ranked LSU. Following a rocky season, Fromm finished the game 20-30 with 250 yards and two touchdowns.  According to ESPN’S Mel Kiper, the junior is listed as the fifth ranked quarterback heading into the 2020 NFL draft.

With NFL teams parting ways with their coaches, many have turned to speculation about potential replacements for these struggling franchises.

Baylor coach Matt Rhule has been the subject of NFL coaching jobs for a while now. Last year he interviewed for the head coaching job for the New York Jets, but returned to Baylor for a third season.

Now the Giants and the Panthers seek his expertise. And although he has not turned them down, he has said that he plans on returning to Baylor.

“One thing people don’t realize is coaches, we pick up our families,” Rhule said. “We rip them out of their homes. We rip them out of the places that they are. Sometimes you do that until you get to a point where you find happy. You shouldn’t mess with happy.”

“There’s a lot to accomplish at Baylor,” he added. “And most importantly, it’s just each and every year, I want to put together a championship-caliber team. And I think we have a chance to be even better next year than we are this year… More than money, it’s about the situation for my family.”

He has been straight with his players about his willingness to listen to NFL offers, but is fully invested in the team as they head to their final game of the season.

No. 8 Baylor (11-2) will face No. 5 Georgia (11-2) in the Sugar Bowl with the Bulldogs being a slight favorite.

“It’s certainly a distraction since our guys are answering that instead of talking about the game, which I hate”, Rhule said. “But I was talking to James Lynch yesterday, and like he said, ‘it’s part of my job.’ We want our players to play well, and when they do things like they’ve done…people are gonna take notice.”

A federal judge ruled Tuesday that a lawsuit against Baylor University involving 10 women— including one who alleged she was sexually assaulted by a football player— may proceed in court.

Judge Lets Baylor Sexual Assault Lawsuit Proceed in Court

Thus, attorneys can now begin requesting Baylor’s records and conducting interviews.

There is a two-year statute of limitations for heightened risk liability claims against Baylor that ends in the spring of 2018. U.S. District Judge Robert Pittman has been assigned to all six lawsuits involving the school, and the University has filed motions to dismiss in all except the two most recently filed.

This is the first case on which Pittman has ruled on Baylor’s request to have one of the Title IX lawsuits thrown out.

In his 27-page order filed Tuesday, Pittman wrote that each woman “has plausibly alleged that Baylor was deliberately indifferent to her report(s) of sexual assault, depriving her of educational opportunities to which she was entitled.”

Houston lawyer Chad Dunn, one of the women’s attorneys, said in an email Tuesday that Pittman’s ruling will affect more than just this lawsuit.

“The ruling is [a] great leap forward for each of our 10 clients, and all Baylor victims,” he wrote. “Full discovery now starts, and real transparency can come to Baylor.”

In the five Title IX cases that involve women reporting rape incidents, the two primary arguments are similar. They also allege that following their assaults, Baylor failed to properly investigate their specific complaints and provide them with necessary services. The women also stated that even before their alleged assaults, the university had a continuing system of discouraging or ignoring sexual assault reports and a policy of discrimination that placed them at greater risk of assault.

The lawsuit was initially filed June 15, 2016 and includes 10 women, listed as Jane Does 1 through 10, whose reports of sexual assault range from 2004 to 2016. All incidents except one allegedly occurred in housing owned or operated by Baylor.

Each woman has said that she reported her assault to someone at Baylor, such as the counseling center, Baylor police, university medical personnel or another campus office, and was met with “indifference and inadequate response.” They say they were denied their rights under Title IX, the federal gender equity law that requires universities to investigate and address complaints of sexual violence.

Jane Doe No. 1 claims she was raped by a football player— who is not named in the lawsuit— in a dorm room on April 26, 2014, and that she first reported it to a campus physician who she alleges misinformed her of her rights. The woman said she also reported her assault to the Baylor advocacy center, although they did not take action either. Jane Doe 1 claimed her subsequent anxiety and depression caused her grades to fall and the loss of her scholarship.

The other plaintiffs’ stories vary in the details, although several others also point out weak or inexistent responses from Baylor upon their assault report, which left them emotionally, academically, and financially damaged. Four of the women claimed the fact that they had been drinking at the time of the assault had hurt their cases.

At least one of them reported that when she informed judicial affairs of her sexual assault, the judicial affairs staff member instead questioned her about her alcohol consumption and she “left the judicial affairs office with only a lecture on drinking.”

In Baylor’s motion to dismiss, the university argued that the women’s allegations were “an amalgam of incidents that involved completely different contexts, offenders, and victims,” and “evidence of a general problem of sexual violence is not sufficient.”

In response, Pittman wrote in his order issued Tuesday that the women weren’t saying Baylor knew about allegations against their specific assailants before they were assaulted, “but what they have alleged — a widespread pattern of discriminatory responses to female students’ reports of sexual assault — is arguably more egregious.”

He continued, “Indeed, even those Supreme Court justices who expressed skepticism regarding holding institutions liable for sexual assaults on individual students under Title IX have suggested that ‘a clear pattern of discriminatory enforcement of school rules could raise an inference that the school itself is discriminating.'”

The women had also filed claims under Texas state law for negligence and breach of contract, although Pittman dismissed those claims, stating they were not supported by the facts of the case.

ORLANDO, FL – DECEMBER 29: Johnny Jefferson #5 of the Baylor Bears scores a touchdown during the first half of the Russell Athletic Bowl game against the North Carolina Tar Heels at Orlando Citrus Bowl on December 29, 2015 in Orlando, Florida. (Photo by Rob Foldy/Getty Images)

Newly unveiled emails and text messages allegedly sent by former Baylor Bears football coach Art Briles reveal how inadequately he and his assistants handled their players’ misbehaviors with guns, drugs and even an incident where a player exposed himself to a woman at a spa.

The Former Baylor Coach And His Assistants Tried To Keep Player Disciplinary Cases Under Wraps

The documents filed in a Dallas County court came in response to a libel lawsuit that former football director of operations Colin Shillinglaw had filed Tuesday against the school and multiple members of his senior leadership.

In an email to ESPN, Shillinglaw’s lawyer, Gaines West, called Thursday’s filing “very unorthodox.”

The regents who responded with the court documents claimed in them that Shillinglaw’s suit is just a “smokescreen” to mask the truth about the football program under Briles. They published the shocking text messages to prove their point.

— On April 8, 2011, after a freshman defensive tackle was cited for illegal consumption of alcohol, Coach Briles sent a text message to an assistant coach: “Hopefully he’s under radar enough they won’t recognize name – did he get ticket from Baylor police or Waco? … Just trying to keep him away from our judicial affairs folks….”

— On February 11, 2013, an assistant coach notified Coach Briles of a claim by a female student-athlete that a football player brandished a gun at her. Coach Briles responded: “what a fool – she reporting to authorities.” The assistant coach texted back: “She’s acting traumatized … Trying to talk her calm now… Doesn’t seem to want to report though.” Coach Briles texted: “U gonna talk to [the player].” The assistant coach concluded: “Yes sir, just did. Caught him on the way to class… Squeezed him pretty good.” The matter was never reported to Judicial Affairs.

— On September 13, 2013, Shillinglaw sent a text to Coach Briles about a player who got a massage and “supposedly exposed himself and asked for favors. She [masseuse] has a lawyer but wants us to handle with discipline and counseling.” Coach Briles’ first response was “What kind of discipline… She a stripper?” When Shillinglaw said the player made the request at a salon and spa while getting a massage, Coach Briles wrote, “Not quite as bad.”

— On September 20, 2013, after a player was arrested for assault and threatening to kill a non-athlete, a football operations staff official tried to talk the victim out of pressing criminal charges. Meanwhile, Coach Briles texted Athletics Director Ian McCaw: “Just talked to [the player] – he said Waco PD was there – said they were going to keep it quiet – Wasn’t a set up deal… I’ll get shill (Shillinglaw) to ck on Sibley (local attorney Jonathan Sibley).” Athletics Director Ian McCaw replied: “That would be great if they kept it quiet!”

— On May 14, 2014, after Coach Briles learned from an assistant coach that a player had been caught selling drugs, he texted: “I’m hoping it will take care of itself – if not we can discuss best way to move on it.” The offense was never reported to Judicial Affairs and Coach Briles arranged for the player to transfer to another school. The assistant coach texted: “Him just hanging around Waco scares me. [Another school] will take him. Knows baggage.”

The list of scandals and rule violations goes on.

On Wednesday, Briles dropped his defamation suit against three regents and Baylor Vice President Reagan Ramsower, less than a week after another woman filed a Title IX lawsuit against the school, in which her attorneys allege there were 52 sexual assaults committed by “not less” than 31 players from 2011 to 2014.

When reached, the NCAA had no comment, and neither did Briles’ attorney, Ernest Cannon.

WACO, TX – OCTOBER 24: Baylor Bears head coach Art Briles applauds his team as the Bears take on the Iowa State Cyclones in the second half at McLane Stadium on October 24, 2015 in Waco, Texas. (Photo by Ron Jenkins/Getty Images)

With 6.8 seconds remaining and his team down by just two points, Lester Medford took the inbounds pass and sprinted towards the basket.  Approaching the paint, Medford attempted a behind the back dribble to get to the basket, but the floor slipped out from under him, the ball slipped from his hands to Brandon Sherrod, and the game slipped through the favored Bears’ grasp.

Yale Earns First NCAA Tourney Win By Upsetting Baylor 79-75

Medford laid face first on the court for a moment after turning the ball over, despite the 2.2 seconds remaining, he knew he had lost Baylor the game.  With no timeouts remaining, Baylor would have to go the full length of the court to even attempt a decent shot, regardless of whether Sherrod made or missed the foul shots.

Making the tournament for the first time in 54 years, the Ivy League champs were led by Makai Mason, who made all 11 of his free throw attempts on his way to a game high 31 points while shooing 9-18 from the field.

“I kind of just felt in the zone, I guess,” Mason said. “I guess I thought if I missed it, I’m sure our coach would have screamed at me. … Luckily, I was able to knock it down.”

Yale who ranks in the top 10 in both offensive and defensive rebounding percentage and held a 36-32 rebound advantage.

When asked about how the Bulldogs could have accumulated more rebounds the Bears, Taurean Prince provided an interesting answer to say the least.

Prince led Baylor with 28 points and hit one of his four three pointers with 16 seconds left to cut the Bears’ deficit to 76-75 after trailing by as many as 13 with a little over 7 minutes remaining.

The 12th seeded Bulldogs also got solid contributions from Justin Sears who added 18 points and got 10 points from Sherrod.

“We just got outrebounded, and they played harder than us the whole 40 minutes,” Prince said.

Things weren’t all sunshine and rainbows for the 5th seeded Bears. Prince and reserve Rico Gathers got into a brief shoving match in the second half.

Yale captain Jack Montague, who was expelled from school was at the game in the stands supporting his former teammates. Montague expulsion was a result of a sexual abuse case, he didn’t say anything regarding the case.

Following their milestone victory, Yale will face the fourth seeded Duke Blue Devils on Saturday at 2:40 in Providence.

Baylor sees it’s season end in the first round of the NCAA Tournament for the second straight year. The Bears lost last season as a 3 seed when 14th seed Georgia State completed the upset with a three pointer with 2.8 seconds remaining.

As for Prince, his career is finished and he will begin to prepare for the upcoming NBA Draft. Bleacher Report currently has the 6’7”, 201 pounds senior going 13th to the Utah Jazz in their latest mock draft.

Baylor entered the Russell Athletic Bowl on Tuesday without two quarterbacks, a top wide receiver and a running back with over 1,000 yards this season. It turns out they didn’t need them as Johnny Jefferson led the Bears to a 49-38 win over UNC.

They earned the win with a dominant ground game that accumulated over 600 yards and bullied the Tar Heels defense up and down the field

“It just says we’re tough. Baylor’s whole identity is `physicality travels.’ That’s all we preach. That’s all we teach,” said Jefferson, whose rushing performance set a Russell Athletic Bowl record. “So being physical today, we won the game.”

Johnson himself accounted for 299 of those yards, which came on 23 carries; he found the end zone three times. His fellow running backs, Devin Chafin and Terence Williams, also combined for 258 more yards and three additional touchdowns.

“We felt good about it. Our players were prepared,” Baylor offensive coordinator Kendal Briles said. “From a whole, the adversity we went through this year, the guys stuck together as only a team could do.”

The win caps off a difficult season for the Bears. Despite being decimated by injury, they were able to secure the program’s first bowl victory since 2012.

“It means a lot. The seniors have done a great job keeping the whole team together,” linebacker Aiavion Edwards said. “We’ve been through a lot, and sending those guys out on the right note and just getting a win is big for us and big for the program.”

Photo: Johnny Jefferson #5 of the Baylor Bears scores a touchdown during the first half of the Russell Athletic Bowl game against the North Carolina Tar Heels at Orlando Citrus Bowl on December 29, 2015 in Orlando, Florida. (Photo by Rob Foldy/Getty Images)

In what is probably the next evolution of the photobomb, Shawn Oakman’s ‘kissbomb’ is sudden, hilarious and thoroughly entertaining. Best of all, Spencer Drango’s reaction of bewilderment makes this clip infinitely funnier.

Both athletes are currently preparing for the Cotton Bowl — which is tomorrow at 12:30 pm — where they will play the defensively sound Michigan State Spartans. As for their future careers, both have agreed to come back for their senior season: despite Oakman’s possibility of being a high first round pick.