Breaking Down Baylor Basketball's Schedule

Baylor Basketball released its schedule. Here it is:

1. Monday, Nov. 7 – Mississippi Valley State (Waco, Texas), 11 a.m., ESPN+
2. Friday, Nov. 11 – Norfolk State (Waco, Texas), 7 p.m., ESPN+
3. Monday, Nov. 14 – Northern Colorado (Waco, Texas), 7 p.m., ESPN+
4. Friday, Nov. 18 – vs. Virginia (Las Vegas, Nev.), 6 p.m., ESPN2
5. Sunday, Nov. 20 – vs. Illinois or UCLA (Las Vegas, Nev.), 2 p.m. or 4 p.m., ESPN
6. Wednesday, Nov. 23 – McNeese State (Waco, Texas), 3 p.m., ESPN+
7. Tuesday, Nov. 29 – at Marquette (Milwaukee, Wis.), 7:30 p.m., FS1
8. Friday, Dec. 2 – vs. Gonzaga (Sioux Falls, S.D.), 7 p.m., TBD
9. Tuesday, Dec. 6 – Tarleton (Waco, Texas), 7 p.m., ESPN+
10. Sunday, Dec. 18 – vs. Washington State (Dallas, Texas), 9 p.m., ESPN2
11. Tuesday, Dec. 20 – Northwestern State (Waco, Texas), 7 p.m., ESPN+
12. Wednesday, Dec. 28 – Nicholls (Waco, Texas), 7 p.m., ESPN+

13. Saturday, Dec. 31 – at Iowa State (Ames, Iowa), TBD, ESPN2/ESPNU/ESPN+
14. Wednesday, Jan. 4 – TCU (Waco, Texas), 8 p.m., ESPN2/ESPNU
15. Saturday, Jan. 7 – Kansas State (Waco, Texas), 5 p.m., ESPN+
16. Wednesday, Jan. 11 – at West Virginia (Morgantown, WV), 6 p.m., ESPN+
17. Saturday, Jan. 14 – Oklahoma State (Waco, Texas), 5 p.m., ESPN/ESPN2
18. Tuesday, Jan. 17 – at Texas Tech (Lubbock, Texas), 8 p.m., ESPNU
19. Saturday, Jan. 21 – at Oklahoma (Norman, Okla.), 3 p.m., ESPN/ESPN2
20. Monday, Jan. 23 – Kansas (Waco, Texas), 8 p.m., ESPN
21. Saturday, Jan. 28 – Arkansas (Waco, Texas), TBD, ESPN/ESPN2/ESPNU
22. Monday, Jan. 30 – at Texas (Austin, Texas), 8 p.m., ESPN/ESPN2
23. Saturday, Feb. 4 – Texas Tech (Waco, Texas), 12 p.m., CBS
24. Wednesday, Feb. 8 – Oklahoma (Waco, Texas), 8 p.m., ESPN2/ESPNU
25. Saturday, Feb. 11 – at TCU (Fort Worth, Texas), 3 p.m., ESPN2
26. Monday, Feb. 13 – West Virginia (Waco, Texas), 8 p.m., ESPN/ESPN2
27. Saturday, Feb. 18 – at Kansas (Lawrence, Kan.), 3 p.m., ESPN
28. Tuesday, Feb. 21 – at Kansas State (Manhattan, Kan.), 6 p.m., ESPN/ESPN2/ESPNU
29. Saturday, Feb. 25 – Texas (Waco, Texas), 1 p.m., ESPN/ESPN2
30. Monday, Feb. 27 – at Oklahoma State (Stillwater, Okla.), 8 p.m., ESPN/ESPN2
31. Saturday, Mar. 4 – Iowa State (Waco, Texas), 11 a.m./1 p.m., ESPN/ESPN2

March 8-11 – Big 12 Championship (Kansas City, Mo.), TBD, ESPN/ESPN2/ESPNU

In non-conference, three things stand out. 

First, we’ll get Baylor and Gonzaga. Bart Torvik’s analytics site has the two as the best teams in the country. With Drew Timme back, it will be an early challenge for Baylor’s guards to see if they can either front him again or if Baylor’s bigs can provide resistance in a traditional defense. 

Second, Baylor could face Illinois. After four years, including a national championship, how weird will it be to see Matt Mayer? I’d prefer to see UCLA because I’d feel weird seeing Matt play against Baylor. 

Finally, I’ve previously covered how I’d like to see Baylor swap out a few of these sub-300 KenPom teams to add a few more games against the likes of UNT or lower-level American teams. We’ve had that argument before, and Baylor plays a lot of very good teams, but I’d prefer to see fewer bad teams on the schedule. 

Conference play is tough to predict. I feel confident that Baylor and Kansas will be top 15 teams. I think Texas, TCU and Texas Tech are for sure NCAA Tournament teams. Then I can see arguments for a wide range of outcomes for a host of Big 12 schools. 

The Big Monday game against Kansas will be huge. The Bears have a real shot to start conference play undefeated, and the Bears have won the last two meetings in Waco. 

I’m thrilled Baylor gets Arkansas in the Big 12-SEC Challenge. Arkansas or Kentucky will be the best team in that conference, so a real test in the middle of conference play. 

If Baylor’s tied heading into the final four games, I like the Bears to win the league. The final four games are much easier than that brutal four-game slog with Kansas-Arkansas-at Texas-Texas Tech. That’s the stretch Baylor needs to survive. 

I’m excited for basketball to arrive. Baylor once again has a team capable of winning a national title.