NCAA Basketball: Big Ten record bids, Baylor as #1, and more weekly takeaways
By Brian Rauf
2) Baylor deserves to be nation’s #1 team
Alright, back to Baylor. Not only did they pick up the biggest win over the week, the Bears also now own the clear-cut best resume in the sport.
They have true road wins over a pair of ranked teams in Kansas and Texas Tech, a neutral court win over Villanova, and home wins over Arizona, Butler and Texas. Every one of those teams but the Longhorns are ranked, making them the first team in the sport’s history to start a season 5-0 against ranked opponents.
This is long past being a potential fluke thing for the Bears – they’re legitimately great. They have the nation’s fifth-most efficient defense thanks to their length, athleticism, and toughness, particularly on the perimeter.
That’s where Baylor has perhaps the best trio of guards in the country in Davion Mitchell, Jared Butler, and MaCio Teague. All three can score at a high clip, light it up from three-point range, create open shots for others, and defend at a high rate. With Freddie Gillespie controlling the paint (9.5 rpg, 2.3 bpg) and utility man Mark Vital doing a little bit of everything, their starting lineup has given opponents fits all season long.
Gonzaga may still be the top-ranked team in the country when the AP Poll is released on Monday, but Baylor has proven themselves time and time again this season. They deserve to be there.