Big 12 Basketball: Mid-season power rankings

Mar 13, 2015; Kansas City, MO, USA; A general view of the championship logo mid-court before the game between the Kansas Jayhawks and Baylor Bears during the semifinals round of the Big 12 Championship at Sprint Center. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports /

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Jan 27, 2016; Stillwater, OK, USA; Baylor Bears forward Johnathan Motley (5) drives to the basket as Oklahoma State Cowboys guard Leyton Hammonds (23) defends during the first half at Gallagher-Iba Arena. Mandatory Credit: Rob Ferguson-USA TODAY Sports /

5. Baylor Bears

17-4, 6-2 Big 12

In conference play, Johnathan Motley leads Baylor in both offensive and defensive rating among players who average over 12 minutes per game. It’s not particularly close, either.

Motley’s offensive rating of 129.7 is trailed most closely by Taurean Prince, who sits at 117.5. So this begs the same question that I always find myself asking: why doesn’t he play more?

For one, he fouls like crazy on defense. But the good news is, lately, he has been playing more. In the three games before Saturday’s game against Georgia in which he fouled out, Motley had played 37, 27, and 23 minutes, averaging almost 13 points per game.

Still, Scott Drew needs to figure out how to keep him on the floor more. A lot more. It wouldn’t be crazy for Scott Drew to bench Ishmail Wainright altogether in favor of a Lester Medford/Al Freeman/Taurean Prince/Motley/Rico Gathers starting lineup. This would allow Taurean Prince to move back to his much more natural position at the three where he mostly played when he came off the bench last year.

Also, with Motley and Gathers teamed up, Baylor would most likely have the best rebounding tandem in the conference. Both Motley and Gathers feast on the offensive glass, and with Prince, Medford, and Freeman all being good shooters, this would lead to tons of open threes for them off of offensive rebounds.

Next: Number Four

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