Busting Brackets
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Big 12 Basketball: Kansas still No.1, Oklahoma’s back and Baylor’s resume

By Chris Kern

LAWRENCE, KANSAS - FEBRUARY 09: Dedric Lawson #1 of the Kansas Jayhawks celebrates a shot against the Oklahoma State Cowboys in the second half at Allen Fieldhouse on February 09, 2019 in Lawrence, Kansas. (Photo by Ed Zurga/Getty Images)
LAWRENCE, KANSAS - FEBRUARY 09: Dedric Lawson #1 of the Kansas Jayhawks celebrates a shot against the Oklahoma State Cowboys in the second half at Allen Fieldhouse on February 09, 2019 in Lawrence, Kansas. (Photo by Ed Zurga/Getty Images) /
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Baylor Bears
TULSA, OK – MARCH 19: Head coach Scott Drew of the Baylor Bears instructs his team against the USC Trojans during the second round of the 2017 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at BOK Center on March 19, 2017 in Tulsa, Oklahoma. (Photo by J Pat Carter/Getty Images) /

Baylor Has Work Left To Do

The Baylor Bears got blown out Saturday at Texas Tech and the injuries continue to pile up. They already lost Tristan Clark for the season and now they’ve been without Makai Mason and King McClure for multiple games.

They aren’t anywhere near the same team without those two out there. They have some quality players around those guys but they are nowhere near as competitive without them on the floor. It does seem as if they will be out long but they do need to make sure they’re back soon so they can pick up wins for their NCAA Tournament resume.

At the moment they are likely in the field but they still have a long ways to go before they should relax. In the latest Busting Brackets bracketology, they were in as a 9 seed. It is very possible that they’ve dropped to a 10 seed after Saturday’s loss.

Baylor has now lost three of their past four games and the schedule doesn’t get any easier. After playing in Lubbock on Saturday they still have to go on the road to play the other teams ahead of them in the standings.

If they can win even one of those games that may be enough to secure a tournament berth. They do have home games against West Virginia and Oklahoma State so they should have a couple of easy wins.

In the Big 12, we know nothing comes easy so they will need to bring it. It will be interesting to see who is available for them on Tuesday night when they head to Ames to take on the Iowa State Cyclones.

This team needs Mason healthy to have a chance of doing anything in the postseason. He has had a huge impact after transferring over from Yale for his graduate season. He is averaging 15.6 points and 3.3 points per game.

His best game of the season was a 40 point performance in a home win over TCU. He went 14-20 from the field, including 9-12 from three-point range. He played in a recent home win over Oklahoma but he scored just six points on 2-13 shooting.

Baylor’s success the rest of the season largely relates to his impact on the court. Scott Drew is one of the best coaches in college basketball so we should trust him to do what it takes to get the Bears to NCAA Tournament but if Mason is out for the next couple of games it will be a challenge for this team to pick up wins.

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