Ralph Wolf (1927–1941) led Baylor to its first SWC Championship in 1932 after surviving and overcoming one of the first great tragedies in college athletics in his first season as coach.

On January 22, 1927, Coach Ralph Wolf's Baylor basketball team was traveling by bus to play the University of Texas.

As the bus passed through Round Rock, Texas, it approached railroad tracks on the south side of the business district on a drizzly, cloudy day.

The driver caught sight of the train at the last moment and tried to steer away, but the Sunshine Special crashed into the bus at nearly 60 mph tearing off the roof and right side.

The tragedy had reverberations over the entire state and nation and led to the construction of the first railway overpass in Texas where the event occurred at Round Rock.

The Immortal Ten story has been commemorated each year since 1927 at first in Chapel services then later at the Freshman Mass meeting during Homecoming Week.

[7] On the 90th anniversary of the tragedy, January 22, 2017, the City of Round Rock held a memorial event to remember those who were killed in the train-bus collision.

Patrick Dennehy, a player for the team, was murdered by former teammate Carlton Dotson; then-coach Dave Bliss was forced to resign amidst allegations that he had violated NCAA rules by making financial payments to four players and that he made improper statements to the media characterizing Dennehy as a drug dealer.

Additionally, the NCAA further punished the team by initiating a non-conference ban for the 2005–06 season and extending the probationary period during which the school would have limited recruiting privileges.

[10] The 2008–09 team again was ranked early in the season but stumbled to a 5–11 conference finish before heating up in the Big 12 Tournament defeating both Kansas and Texas en route to the championship game versus Missouri, and lost by a score of 73–60.

The 2009–10 squad was again ranked in both polls and pulled off the biggest road win in school history over the then #6 Texas Longhorns in Austin 80–77 on Jan. 30th.

In front of a very pro-Baylor crowd of over 47,000, the Bears were defeated by the Duke Blue Devils, 78–71, to end the magical run to the Elite Eight.

The highlight of the season was LaceDarius Dunn becoming the Big 12's all-time leading scorer, and a sweep of the series versus ranked Texas A&M.

The Bears were selected for the NCAA Tournament and made it all the way to the Elite Eight, which ended in a loss to eventual national champion Kentucky.

On January 9, Baylor would reach AP #1 for the first time in program history,[12] although they would fall to #10 West Virginia that same day.

Baylor's impressive start to the season ended on a sour note, losing 3 of their last 5 games before the Big 12 tournament.

The NCAA Tournament would be canceled amid the COVID-19 pandemic, however numerous bracketologist considered the Bears as a 1-seed and had the potential to reach the Final Four.

[15] In its early days, Marrs McLean Gym was Baylor’s basketball home, and doubled as the site of many physical education classes.

It is named for Charles R. Ferrell, a Baylor student and legacy who died in 1967, and whose family's estate was a major benefactor of the arena.

In June 2022, Baylor began construction on the Foster Pavilion to replace the Ferrell Center as the new permanent home for both the men's and women's basketball teams.

In series against conference opponents since the advent of the Big 12, Baylor leads TCU, Texas Tech, and West Virginia.