Baylor Comes To SLC With Plenty Of Jazz Connections

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – The field of teams coming to Utah for the first and second round of the NCAA Tournament has been set.

The most obvious local connection from the colleges coming to play at Vivint Smart Home Arena is definitely the fact that Utah Jazz legend John Stockton attended Gonzaga, which will coming to Utah as a No. 1 seed in the tournament.

That said, it’s possible that the Baylor Bears, who will be playing 8-seeded Syracuse as a 9-seed, will have the most support of any team in Salt Lake City.

We have a tip time! Bears will begin #MarchMadness at approx. 8:57 pm CT Thursday as the final first-round game in Salt Lake City. Televised on @truTV.#SicSyracuse 🐻 | #1TGF 🏀 pic.twitter.com/JQana5Kdyl

— Baylor Basketball (@BaylorMBB) March 18, 2019

The Bears will definitely be backed by Jazz general manager Dennis Lindsey. Not only is Lindsey himself a Baylor alum, but his son Jake is currently on the Bears’ roster. While Jake won’t be playing in the tournament due to having season-ending hip surgery in April 2018, his parents, especially his mother, Becky, is thrilled to have him home.

My baby is coming home!! @BaylorMBB #SelectionSunday

— Becky Lindsey (@Bec6916) March 17, 2019

The connections don’t stop with the Lindsey family. Jazz forward Royce O’Neale and center Ekpe Udoh are both former Bears. O’Neale played with the Bears from 2013-15 while Udoh donned the green and gold from 2009-10.

Yeahhhhhh 👏🏾👏🏾 @BaylorMBB lets go https://t.co/bg29X8qmnw

— Royce O'Neale (@BucketsONeale00) March 18, 2019

This time around, the Bears will come into Salt Lake City with a 19-13 record and a 10-8 record in Big 12 Conference play. The Bears were eliminated from the first round of the Big 12 Conference tournament by the event champion, Iowa State.

The Bears will face Syracuse at Vivint Smart Home Arena on Thursday at 7:57 p.m. The game will be broadcast on tru TV.