Ranking Baylor's greatest threats in the Big 12
In an effort to extend SicEm365’s coverage, welcome to the first basketball edition of Threat Level: Big 12. If you’re looking for power rankings of the Big 12, you’ve come to the wrong place. Instead, this is a look at which teams pose the most threat to Baylor. There may be some overlap with the rankings of teams, but you’ll notice the Bears missing (though sometimes, they pose the most threat to themselves on the court).
Based on a combination of playing teams on the road or at home and each team’s personnel, this is the state of the Big 12 through Baylor’s perspective.
It’s remarkable to see how things went south for the Sooners in one year. Without Buddy Hield on the court, Lon Kruger’s crew has looked sluggish without a consistent perimeter presence shooting. This year the Sooners have only hit 34 percent of three-pointers. Last season they were at over 40 percent.
Baylor held the Sooners to just 50 points on their court. It should be a cake walk when they come to the Ferrell in February. But beware of Jordan Woodard taking control of the game. He ranks third in the Big 12 with a plus/minus of 11.4.
Baylor escaped Manhattan with a nine-point win last week. It was another day of lazy possessions from Baylor, turning the ball over 16 times. Some of that should be attributed to playing in Kansas, giving comfort that the next meeting in Waco should be different, but Baylor still needs to be on its toes.
The entire conference should be on lookout for stud freshman Xavier Sneed. He does a bit of everything averaging just under 10 points, four rebounds, and one steal per game while shooting 0.387 behind the arc. Baylor learned as much last Saturday.
One of my early favorite dark horse contenders this season, the burnt orange has fallen completely flat and probably should be further down this list. But all it takes is one solid outing from their guards to put on a fight as they did against West Virginia at home. Texas took the Mountaineers to town even without its leading scorer Tevin Mack serving an indefinite suspension.
While one game doesn’t constitute a trend, the two-point loss to West Virginia showed a bit of a heartbeat especially while in Austin. With Baylor yet to play UT, the Bears should be weary of getting beat by Kerwin Roach Jr. and Andrew Jones’ hot hands. It’s only a matter of time before Shaka Smart turns the ship around.
This is one of the most seasoned teams in the nation. The Red Raiders comprise entirely of juniors and seniors. That’s all the more impressive considering one of their most talented players, center Norense Odiase, has a lingering injury and may need take a medical redshirt.
Tech is a team that can beat Baylor inside, causing havoc in the lanes with forwards Zach Smith and Aaron Ross. This is a methodical team in Lubbock that shouldn’t be taken lightly. It wouldn’t be a surprise to see Baylor and Tech split their series.
Don’t let the Pokes’ last place standing in the conference fool you. Anyone that watched Baylor’s 61-57 win the first week of January would tell you that much. Brad Underwood came to Stillwater and made some changes the team has obviously taken to, especially among the guards.
Jawun Evans and Phil Forte have not slowed down one bit coming off injuries last season. Along with fellow guard Jeffrey Carroll, the trio averages nearly 50 points game thanks to their ability beyond the arc. Forte and Carroll were almost un-guardable in Waco. The meeting in Stillwater has to learn from that.
A surprise to most basketball fans this season, TCU has been that needed just one small tweak to get going in the right direction. That change looks to be bringing in head coach Jamie Dixon who helped bring together a solid freshman class led by guard Jaylen Fisher.
The Horned Frogs can’t brag on having one overly dominant player and instead focus on balance across the board, only really struggling to shoot the long ball but are exceptional at containing it.
Like Oklahoma State, ISU already came to town and gave the Bears a scare. The Cyclones are another veteran-heavy team with their top five scorers all in their senior seasons and are led by none other than Monte Morris, one the best floor directors in the nation.
They’re one of the best three-point shooting teams out there and managed to go 10-of-22 in Waco. Baylor has a good track record in Ames, but that can’t be relied on entirely this season. Keep an eye on how Kansas handles its visit to Iowa on Monday.
29 turnovers. Was that because of a rowdy crowd in Morgantown or was it Bob Huggins’ Press Virginia doing its thing. Either way, Baylor has to be concerned for its rematch at the tail end of the regular season. Take care of the ball, it’s as simple as that.
Press Virginia leads the nation with 12.6 steals per game and that has hardly slowed down in conference play. The backcourt rotation is the real deal, especially Jevon Carter who averages 11.2 points, 4.7 assists, and 3.1 steals per game
Who else but Kansas? In reality, this choice almost came down to West Virginia considering the 21-point loss Baylor suffered there, but Kansas remains undefeated in the Big 12 and that until that changes, Bill Self’s Jayhawks will be hard to move out of the top spot, especially since Baylor doesn’t meet them until February.
Based on a combination of playing teams on the road or at home and each team’s personnel, this is the state of the Big 12 through Baylor’s perspective.
9. Oklahoma (7-9 overall, 1-4 Big 12)
It’s remarkable to see how things went south for the Sooners in one year. Without Buddy Hield on the court, Lon Kruger’s crew has looked sluggish without a consistent perimeter presence shooting. This year the Sooners have only hit 34 percent of three-pointers. Last season they were at over 40 percent.
Baylor held the Sooners to just 50 points on their court. It should be a cake walk when they come to the Ferrell in February. But beware of Jordan Woodard taking control of the game. He ranks third in the Big 12 with a plus/minus of 11.4.
8. Kansas State (13-3, 2-3)
Baylor escaped Manhattan with a nine-point win last week. It was another day of lazy possessions from Baylor, turning the ball over 16 times. Some of that should be attributed to playing in Kansas, giving comfort that the next meeting in Waco should be different, but Baylor still needs to be on its toes.
The entire conference should be on lookout for stud freshman Xavier Sneed. He does a bit of everything averaging just under 10 points, four rebounds, and one steal per game while shooting 0.387 behind the arc. Baylor learned as much last Saturday.
7. Texas (7-10, 1-4)
One of my early favorite dark horse contenders this season, the burnt orange has fallen completely flat and probably should be further down this list. But all it takes is one solid outing from their guards to put on a fight as they did against West Virginia at home. Texas took the Mountaineers to town even without its leading scorer Tevin Mack serving an indefinite suspension.
While one game doesn’t constitute a trend, the two-point loss to West Virginia showed a bit of a heartbeat especially while in Austin. With Baylor yet to play UT, the Bears should be weary of getting beat by Kerwin Roach Jr. and Andrew Jones’ hot hands. It’s only a matter of time before Shaka Smart turns the ship around.
6. Texas Tech (13-4, 2-3)
This is one of the most seasoned teams in the nation. The Red Raiders comprise entirely of juniors and seniors. That’s all the more impressive considering one of their most talented players, center Norense Odiase, has a lingering injury and may need take a medical redshirt.
Tech is a team that can beat Baylor inside, causing havoc in the lanes with forwards Zach Smith and Aaron Ross. This is a methodical team in Lubbock that shouldn’t be taken lightly. It wouldn’t be a surprise to see Baylor and Tech split their series.
5. Oklahoma State (10-7, 0-5)
Don’t let the Pokes’ last place standing in the conference fool you. Anyone that watched Baylor’s 61-57 win the first week of January would tell you that much. Brad Underwood came to Stillwater and made some changes the team has obviously taken to, especially among the guards.
Jawun Evans and Phil Forte have not slowed down one bit coming off injuries last season. Along with fellow guard Jeffrey Carroll, the trio averages nearly 50 points game thanks to their ability beyond the arc. Forte and Carroll were almost un-guardable in Waco. The meeting in Stillwater has to learn from that.
4. TCU (14-3, 3-2)
A surprise to most basketball fans this season, TCU has been that needed just one small tweak to get going in the right direction. That change looks to be bringing in head coach Jamie Dixon who helped bring together a solid freshman class led by guard Jaylen Fisher.
The Horned Frogs can’t brag on having one overly dominant player and instead focus on balance across the board, only really struggling to shoot the long ball but are exceptional at containing it.
3. Iowa State (11-5, 3-2)
Like Oklahoma State, ISU already came to town and gave the Bears a scare. The Cyclones are another veteran-heavy team with their top five scorers all in their senior seasons and are led by none other than Monte Morris, one the best floor directors in the nation.
They’re one of the best three-point shooting teams out there and managed to go 10-of-22 in Waco. Baylor has a good track record in Ames, but that can’t be relied on entirely this season. Keep an eye on how Kansas handles its visit to Iowa on Monday.
2. West Virginia (15-2, 4-1)
29 turnovers. Was that because of a rowdy crowd in Morgantown or was it Bob Huggins’ Press Virginia doing its thing. Either way, Baylor has to be concerned for its rematch at the tail end of the regular season. Take care of the ball, it’s as simple as that.
Press Virginia leads the nation with 12.6 steals per game and that has hardly slowed down in conference play. The backcourt rotation is the real deal, especially Jevon Carter who averages 11.2 points, 4.7 assists, and 3.1 steals per game
1. Kansas (16-1, 5-0)
Who else but Kansas? In reality, this choice almost came down to West Virginia considering the 21-point loss Baylor suffered there, but Kansas remains undefeated in the Big 12 and that until that changes, Bill Self’s Jayhawks will be hard to move out of the top spot, especially since Baylor doesn’t meet them until February.
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