Advance to the rear!

Given the fact Baylor University stands accused of running a football program populated by young men inclined toward sexual assault — two rape convictions with many more facing accusations — one would expect the school — church-affiliated, no less — would be eager to demonstrate some public self-awareness, some civilized restraint.

But its women’s basketball team, ranked No. 3 in the nation, Thursday defeated visiting Winthrop by the ungodly score of 140-32, thus becoming the latest entry into high school and college record books packed with ill-gotten gains and unsavory achievement under the direction of adults.

And, once again, we were challenged to believe what we were told, ignoring what we saw.

As the nightly FOX Sports Southeast studio show anchor carried word that Baylor coach Kim Mulkey “said they emptied the bench, tried to do everything they could do to keep it somewhat respectable,” video aired that violated such a claim.

We saw Baylor score a fast-break basket, force a fourth-quarter turnover with a half-court press and a Baylor player hit a 3-pointer to make it 132-29. That same player, apparently with Mulkey’s blessings, took nine 3-point shots, making four. And though Winthrop did not score in the fourth quarter, the play-by-play sheet shows Baylor running and gunning — shooting and mostly scoring every few seconds — throughout the game.

Mulkey, in fact, pleaded total innocence: “I tried to play tons of people, in and out of the lineup, tried to get people off the floor.”

Yeah, poor thing, what’s a coach to do to prevent such slaughter and humiliation of young women?

As if she doesn’t know:

You don’t press. You run down the clock by slowing it down on offense, no fast breaks after rebounds or steals — don’t even attempt any steals — and no 3-point shots. What she couldn’t prevent from courtside we could have prevented by telephone! Or are we too stupid to know that?

There was no good reason Baylor had to sacrifice both teams’ dignity.

But if the general public was inclined to believe Mulkey’s plea of failed benevolence, the initiated knew better. Mulkey, 15 years coaching Baylor, is known as a stomper. She apparently instructs her recruited student-athletes in the joy and artistry of kicking opponents when they’re way down — in the good name of now-let’s-shake-hands student-athletics, of course.

And Baylor doesn’t seem to mind a bit.

Baylor’s previous women’s game? A 90-24 squeaker against Texas State. Last season, over five successive games, Mulkey’s team won 102-41, 101-60, 99-43, 96-42, 108-64.

Wins the season before included 102-41, 101-60, 99-43, 96-42 and 108-64. In a 105-46 win over McNeese State, Mulkey allowed four starters to play at least 24 of 40 minutes; one played 30.

In consecutive games in 2013, her Baylor team beat Grambling, 110-55, then won 111-58 over Nicholls State.

In 2011, her women in two weeks beat Howard, 82-28, Chattanooga, 91-31, Yale, 109-59, and Texas Southern, 91-39.

The crowd for Thursday’s record-breaker game was announced as 6,400, enough of them approving of the needless slaughter they were witnessing to create applause. But most disturbing was an Associated Press report that the crowd was “boosted by a large contingent of kids from elementary schools.”

And what a lesson they learned.

Be careful if you’re paying to see NBA stars

Given that the NBA sells its stars, not its teams, two of its biggest stars — LeBron James and Kyrie Irving — were left home to rest Wednesday rather than travel with the Cavaliers for their only game this season in Memphis.

With a rare sellout in Memphis, this was a bait-and-switch of a very expensive kind. But so what? There’s always next time!

And next time came the next night as Thursday’s NBC/NFLN Rams-Sea-hawks was what it was bound to be on a December weeknight — another stinker between beat-up teams that best served as a fashion show for the NFL’s winter line of uniforms — just in time for Christmas.

Among the steady laments I receive come from NFL patrons desperate to dump their PSLs, even at a big loss, before they bleed any more dough, before they don’t have a pot to PSL in.

But how can this be? Surely, Roger Goodell would be happy to give even money for them. After all, when PSLs started here he declared them to be “good investments.”

Here’s one, now:

He bought two Jets PSLs for $60,000, plus $750 per tickets per game. Yikes. After too much bad football — often starting and ending at unconventional and inconvenient times — and more “free” chow-line food than he could ingest, “I called the Jets and said, ‘I’m done.’ ”

Wary of legal retaliation for the balance he owed, they settled on the patron being moved to a lesser section — $150 per ticket per game — applying the $20,000 he already had paid to his new PSL bill.

But this season? Forget it. He recently put those two PSLs up for sale through various outlets, the highest offer to date? $300.

So this NFL fan made the absolute worst investment he ever has made and likely ever will make, yet the Commissioner of the NFL publicly pitched it as “a good investment.”

Of course Gophers will play

Ten Minnesota football players have been suspended from Dec. 27’s Holiday Bowl on ESPN, as per the investigation of an alleged sexual assault in September. Minnesota is scheduled to play Washington State, the nation’s most arrested college football program with 31 between 2011-15.

Minnesota players, however and predictably, withdrew their boycott threat, perhaps with eyes refocused on the warmth of San Diego in late December and bowl committees’ swag bags — which typically contain video games, $300 gift cards, expensive headphones and watches.

So much good stuff to chose from — Islanders’ Jason Chimera’s pass between his legs leading to Andrew Ladd’s goal Thursday night vs. Chicago — yet NBC chooses to promote its NHL telecasts with the video promise of brutality.

CBSSN’s crawl Thursday reported the suspensions of UFC heavyweight and WWE star Brock Lesnar for failing a drug test, while the show that was airing — the World’s Strongest Man competition — was revealed by Sports Illustrated to be so loaded with juicers that few bother to deny it.

Make America Grate Again: Ray Lewis meets with Donald Trump? Never too early or late to work on a presidential pardon!

Friday, Mike Francesa, addressing the passing of Turner TV’s Craig Sager, admitted he didn’t know him well, but would watch him work NBA games “from my courtside seats.”