Baylor (27-7), whose only losses this season are to four Big 12 teams also in the NCAA field, will open Thursday against Summit League champion South Dakota State (27-7) in Albuquerque, N.M.
It is the seventh NCAA appearance overall for the Bears, and their third in the past five seasons under coach Scott Drew.
They set a school record with 28 wins and made it to the South Region final in 2010 before losing to eventual national champion Duke. But they slipped to 18-13 last season and didn't make it to any postseason tournament.
Baylor began this season by winning all 13 of its non-conference games, and had a school-record 17-game winning streak before losing at Kansas on Jan. 16.
Sophomore Perry Jones III leads the team averaging 14.0 points and 7.7 rebounds a game. But he is among four players scoring in double figures, while another averages 9.6 points a game.
Senior post players Quincy Acy (11.8 points, 7.2 rebounds) and Anthony Jones (5.1, 3.0) were both part of the 2010 NCAA tournament team, along with junior guard A.J. Walton and backup senior post Fred Ellis.
Baylor lost three times this season to Big 12 tournament champion Missouri, including Friday in the conference semifinals. There were two losses to Big 12 regular-season champ Kansas, though the Bears beat the Jayhawks in the league tournament at Kansas City.
Missouri and Kansas are both No. 2 seeds in the NCAA tournament, the Tigers in the West and the Jayhawks in the Midwest.
The Bears also lost to Kansas State and Iowa State, the only other Big 12 team in the South Region.
South Dakota State is led by junior guard Nate Wolters, who is averaging 21.3 points, 5.2 rebounds and 6.0 assists per game.
The Jackrabbits, who have an eight-game winning streak, got the automatic NCAA bid with a 52-50 win over Western Illinois in the Summit League championship game last week. They are in their fourth year of eligibility since becoming a full Division I member.
Baylor could face Duke again in this year's NCAA tournament, if both teams win their first two games.
The Baylor-South Dakota State winner plays the UNLV-Colorado winner on Sunday. Duke, the No. 2 seed, opens Friday against Lehigh. The Blue Devils were the No. 1 seed two years ago when they were in the same bracket with Baylor.
