What are the five reasons why Baylor basketball can win the National Championship?
The Baylor Bears are 15-0 and ranked 2nd in the country, all while receiving six first-place votes in the most recent AP Poll.
On Monday, Baylor will find themselves ranked No. 1 after Villanova lost earlier this week. Yet, it seems as though they’re flying under the radar. A team that has beaten four (then) ranked teams is somehow sliding by with what seems to be little to no recognition at all.
Don’t believe me?
Raise your hand if you really think Baylor is the second-best team in the country https://t.co/rnwIvw34WX
— Seth Davis (@SethDavisHoops) January 2, 2017
I mean it is kind of ridiculous. They’re taking care of business and beating teams that the media ranked at the beginning of the season.
Don’t get me wrong, people are talking about them, but not nearly in the same breath as Villanova, UCLA, Duke and Kentucky. The reasoning for this I do not quite know, nor do I understand.
Maybe it is because despite two Elite Eight appearances in the last seven years, the furthest a Baylor team has gone since the 2013-2014 season is the Sweet 16. Maybe it is because the Big 12 has been the league of Kansas and everybody else for the past 12 years. Regardless, the lack of publicity given to the Bears is unwarranted and needs to be fixed.
Baylor is a legitimate national title contender. They need to be recognized as a team that can be the last one standing at the end of the year Let’s give the Baylor Bears the recognition and respect that they deserve. Baylor could win it all this year, so here is a list of five reasons why.
5. Resume
This isn’t so much a reason why Baylor can win it all, but more so a fact. The Bears have arguably the best resume to date, with wins over four (then) ranked teams. It gets even more impressive than that.
https://twitter.com/BaylorMBB/status/817944313355243522
The resume matters in March. It matters not only for seeding, but playing a tough non-conference schedule really helps prepare a team for the NCAA Tournament. Baylor has the resume and has so far set themselves up for future success.
The only knock on Baylor’s resume is their lack of a true road win. They really didn’t play any true road games to start the year, as many of their match-ups came at home or on neutral floors. The Bears must prove that they can win in hostile environments if they want to make a deep tournament run in March.
4. Experience
In a time when one-and-done basketball is as popular as ever, Baylor seems to have broken this mold.
Baylor starts four juniors and a senior, with a bulk of their bench play also being upperclassmen.
This team has experienced success and all that college basketball can throw at a program. They’ve already proven that this year in a comeback win over Louisville and a close win over Iowa State. That very experience is what helped them pull out those victories.
When the stakes are high this team knows how to win and their experience will be a key component to their success and a deep tournament run.
3. Defense
Statistically speaking, Baylor is as dominant defensively as any team in the country. According to KenPom’s ranking, Baylor is 5th in adjusted defensive efficiency. Baylor also ranks 6th in opponent effective field goal percentage and ranks 4th in opponents points per game.
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The reasoning for Baylor’s defensive dominance is their zone. It can seemingly change itself from a 1–1–3, to a 2–3, to a 1–3–1 with what appears to be little effort. The zone seems fluid and shapes itself to squeeze the life out of opposing offenses.
The anchor of this defense is seven-foot junior Jo Lual-Acuil Jr., who averages 3.5 blocks per game. Baylor is a tall and long team that can dig in defensively.
2. Scott Drew
The Scott Drew can’t coach crowd is probably having fits after the start Baylor has had this year. Over the years, Drew has quietly turned Baylor into a great basketball program. Over his 14 years at Baylor, he has accumulated a 267-172 record, with six NCAA Tournament appearances and two Elite Eights.
In the history of Baylor basketball, the Bears have only made the NCAA Tournament 10 times. Of those 10 appearances, six were under Drew. Baylor was not an elite basketball program before his arrival, but Drew has groomed them into one over his tenure.
Drew is looking to have the program take that next step this year and so far it appears that they’re on the right on track to do so.
1. Johnathan Motley
Johnathan Motley has increased his production substantially from year to year while playing for the Bears. As a freshman he averaged 7.7 points and 4.2 rebounds per game. As a sophomore, he made the jump to averaging 11.1 points and 5.1 rebounds per game. Now, as a junior, Motley is averaging 15.8 points, 9.4 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game.
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He is long and is a match-up nightmare for teams. His combination of size and skill makes him a problem. He can blow by you and explode to the hoop, as well as knock down mid-range shots consistently. As long as he keeps playing this well and utilizing his skills, the Bears have a solid chance of playing deep into March.