It’s certainly been an eventful one season at Baylor University for Makai Mason.
The Greenfield native has made his presence felt on the Waco, Texas, campus after transferring for a final season of eligibility following a successful stint at Yale.
Mason was honored for his play this season as the 2018-19 Phillips 66 All-Big 12 Conference Men’s Basketball awards were announced following the conclusion of Big 12 regular season action over the weekend. The 6-foot-1, 185-pound senior point guard was tabbed as an All-Big 12 Second Team selection, the only Baylor player selected to one of the three all-league teams.
Mason, the first graduate transfer in Baylor program history, ranks seventh in the Big 12 in scoring (14.6), 11th in assists (3.2), fourth in free throw percentage (.827), sixth in 3-pointers made (2.0), 12th in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.3) and 14th in minutes (31.8). He set a Baylor record for points in a Big 12 game with 40 against TCU on Feb. 2, and his 40 points are six more than any other Big 12 player has scored in a game this season.
In addition, Mason was one of five players on the Big 12 All-Newcomer Team. Four of the five players were transfers, including Iowa State’s Marial Shayok (Virginia transfer) and Dedric Lawson (Memphis).
For the season, Mason’s accolades also include Big 12 co-Newcomer of the Week (Jan. 28), Big 12 Player of the Week (Feb. 4), NCAA.com National Player of the Week (Feb. 4) and Google Cloud Academic All-District 7.
Mason, who played in 25 games this season despite missing time with injuries, averaged 15.1 points per game during conference action (15 games). That total was good enough for sixth in the Big 12.
Texas Tech sophomore guard Jarrett Culver was named the Big 12 Player of the Year after finishing third in scoring (18.3) and fifth in assists (3.6). The Red Raiders tied for the regular-season championship along with Kansas State, as both teams wound up 14-4 in Big 12 action this winter. Texas Tech’s Chris Beard won Coach of the Year honors, while Barry Brown Jr. of Kansas State was the Defensive Player of the Year.
Baylor finished its regular season 19-12 overall, 10-8 in the Big 12. That was good enough for a solo fourth place finish in the final standings, and the Bears will be the No. 4 seed in this week’s Big 12 Tournament at the Sprint Center in Kansas City, Mo. Kansas State (24-7, 14-4) is the top-seeded team in the field, with Texas Tech (26-5, 14-4) seeded second and Kansas (23-8, 12-6) penciled in at No. 3.
The Bears, which lost their final three games of the regular season including a 78-70 road loss to Kansas in the finale on Saturday, open their Big 12 tourney on Thursday at 12:30 p.m. with a quarterfinal round matchup against No. 5 Iowa State (20-11, 9-9). That contest will be broadcast on ESPN2. Baylor won both regular-season meetings against the Cyclones, 73-70 at home and 73-69 on the road. Iowa State has been in a freefall over the past few weeks, losing five of its last six games entering the Big 12 Tournament.
The big question mark surrounding Baylor’s postseason aspirations comes in the form of Mason’s health. He did not play against Kansas on Saturday, and his status for the Big 12 Tournament is questionable, according to head coach Scott Drew. Mason has been dealing with a bruised toe for the past month, which has forced him to miss several games during the team’s stretch run.
Mason’s availability will certainly have an impact on Baylor’s fortunes moving forward. According to the latest version of Bracketology from ESPN’s Joe Lunardi, the Bears sit as a No. 8 seed in the upcoming NCAA Tournament. That would mean the team is likely safely in the field, regardless of Thursday’s outcome. A win in the quarterfinal round would send them through to the semifinals on Friday at 7 p.m. and a potential matchup with Kansas State. The Big 12 title game is set for Saturday at 6 p.m.
CBS will release the NCAA Tournament brackets at 6 p.m. on Sunday, where Mason and Baylor will find out their Big Dance fate. There is a regional in New England this winter, as the XL Center in Hartford is one of eight potential destinations where the Bears could land.