Baylor Bears
Record: 24-9, 11-7 Big 12
Head coach: Scott Drew (12th season)
Season summary: Like every other team out of the Big 12, Baylor’s resume has a lot of good wins and a bunch of losses, almost all of which were against solid opponents. You can take your pick as to which loss is the worst for the Bears, an eight-point neutral court loss to Illinois or a 2-point loss at Kansas State, but neither of those losses are true bad losses. Baylor also boasts two wins apiece against Iowa State and West Virginia but split the season series with Oklahoma and went 0-3 against the Jayhawks. Again, like every other team in the Big 12 it’s been a bumpy ride. But the Bears excel in the frontcourt and will be dangerous to any team without enough big men to stop them. Four of Baylor’s top five scorers are forwards and two of them—Royce O’Neale and Taurean Prince—can spread the floor by knocking down triples. At times, Scott Drew’s team has struggled to score, particularly against teams with athletic forwards, but it is solid enough defensively (37th in PPG allowed) and on the glass (13th in rebounds) to overcome some offensive woes.
How they make a run: Baylor gets enough guard play to push the Bears over the hump offensively, taking some pressure off the big men up front.
How they falter: Baylor gets stuck facing a team with a plethora of athletic forwards (oh look, is that Arizona in their bracket?)
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