Baylor
Nebraska
No. 21 WBB Squares off with Nebraska in NCAA First Round
3/19/2026 8:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Old Big 12 foes tipoff at 1 p.m. CT from Cameron Indoor Stadium on ESPN and the Baylor Sports Media Network
 |
21/21 BAYLOR BEARS (24-8, 13-5 Big 12) Location: Waco, Texas Conference/Affiliation: Big 12 Head Coach: Nicki Collen (Marquette, 1998) Roster | Stats | Game Notes (PDF) |
21/21 BAYLOR (24-8, 13-5 Big 12) vs NEBRASKA (19-12, 7-11 Big Ten) March 20, 2026 • 1 p.m. CT Durham, N.C. • Cameron Indoor Stadium (9,314) LIVE STATS: Stat Broadcast WATCH: ESPN Talent: Jenn Hildreth (PxP), Kelly Gramlich (Analyst) LISTEN: Baylor Sports Media Network via FOX Sports Radio 93.9FM in Central Texas and worldwide at centexsportsfan.com. Talent: Derek Smith (PxP), Lori Fogleman (Analyst) |
 |
NEBRASKA HUSKERS (19-12, 7-11 Big Ten) Location: Lincoln, Neb. Conference/Affiliation: Big 12 Head Coach: Amy Williams (Nebraska, 1998) Roster | Stats | Game Notes (PDF) |
Game notes:
• Baylor opens the 2026 NCAA Tournament on Friday at 1 p.m. CT against Nebraska in the first round. The game airs on ESPN and the Baylor Sports Media Network.
• The Bears meet the Huskers for the 17th time in program history, with all 16 previous matchups coming during Nebraska's 15 seasons in the Big 12. The only neutral-site meeting was in the 2000 Big 12 Tournament at Kansas City's Municipal Auditorium, where Nebraska won 82-61.
• Durham, N.C., was the site of Baylor's first NCAA Tournament game in program history in 2001. The Bears were selected as an eight seed and faced ninth‑seeded Arkansas in a 68-59 first‑round loss. That game remains BU's first and only contest to tip off from Cameron Indoor.
• Baylor sits at No. 21 in the AP Top 25, marking the team's 25th straight appearance in the poll and its 366th in the last 20 seasons, the second most nationally in that span behind UConn.
• Through the end of the regular season, Baylor led the Big 12 in blocks per game (6.3) and three‑point percentage defense (25.5). The Bears also ranked in the top three in the conference in field goal percentage defense (35.7), defensive rebounds per game (28.4) and rebounds per game (40.39).
• Baylor holds a 58-20 (.744) record in the NCAA Tournament all time, with the program's first win coming in its second appearance in 2002 against Bucknell.
• BU made its first NCAA Tournament appearance in 2001 and has missed the field only once since (2003). The Bears enter this year with 22 consecutive appearances, the third-longest active streak in the nation.
• The Bears are 22-1 in the first round and 11-1 on the road in the first round, with the lone loss coming in the 2001 season to Arkansas. Baylor also holds the nation's second-longest active streak of tournaments with at least one win in 21 straight, trailing only UConn's 31.
• BU has never been selected as a No. 6 seed.
• Darianna Littlepage‑Buggs and Taliah Scott have been selected as finalists for WBCA Coaches' All-America honors.
• 48 players were named finalists after being voted on by coaches within their respective regions and NCAA divisions. A committee of WBCA member head coaches will select 10 to the All-America team.
• Players not chosen to the team will be recognized as honorable mention selections.
• Littlepage‑Buggs earned WBCA honorable mention honors last season, while Scott is seeking her first All-America recognition.
• Baylor placed four players on the All-Big 12 teams for the 2025–26 season, highlighted by Taliah Scott on the All-Big 12 First Team.
• Scott earned All-Big 12 First Team honors after averaging 20.2 points per game and emerging as one of the nation's most efficient scorers, becoming the 22nd Division I player since 2000 to reach 1,000 career points in 48 games.
• Darianna Littlepage-Buggs landed on the Second Team and All-Defensive Team, finishing her fourth straight season with All-Big 12 recognition and averaging a double-double with 10.7 points and 10.1 rebounds.
• Bella Fontleroy earned All-Defensive Team and honorable mention honors, anchoring Baylor's defense and adding four 20-point games while surpassing 1,000 career points and climbing to No. 4 on the program's career 3-pointers list.
• Jana Van Gytenbeek picked up honorable mention honors after starting all 31 games and directing Baylor's offense, highlighted by a triple-double against Alabama State and a season that placed her seventh on Baylor's single-season assists list.
• Baylor fell to Colorado in the Big 12 Tournament quarterfinals, 62-53.
• The Bears were led by Taliah Scott's 14 points, nine of which came in the second half.
• Colorado held BU to 0‑for‑11 shooting from beyond the arc in the first half while hitting 5‑of‑10 from deep to take a 12‑point lead into halftime.
• Ella Brow scored a season‑high five points in a season‑high 19 minutes at point guard, going 2‑for‑2 from the field. Her three-pointer marked her first field goal as a Baylor Bear.
• Darianna Littlepage‑Buggs and Kyla Abraham also reached double figures with 10 points each. Littlepage‑Buggs recorded her 13th double-double of the season, while Abraham tied her career-high point total for the third time.
• Colorado led for all but the first two minutes and built a 17‑point advantage midway through the second quarter. Baylor cut the deficit to single digits in the fourth, holding the Buffaloes to eight points on 3‑for‑11 shooting in the final frame.
