The calendar finally flips to February as the season’s reality grows more real for both the Baylor Bears and TCU Horned Frogs.
TV Schedule: Saturday, February 1, 2020 at 4:00 PM ET, ESPN2
Location: Ferrell Center, Waco, Texas
It’s finally February, and just as everyone anticipated at the beginning of the season, the No. 1 team in the country is the Baylor Bears.
Scott Drew’s unheralded squad has taken the season by storm, reeling off 17 straight victories entering Saturday’s matinee against the TCU Horned Frogs. They are the only power conference team with one loss or less at this point of the season, joining Gonzaga (one loss) and San Diego State (no losses) as the teams with the best records in the nation.
Baylor’s play remains underappreciated nationally, but the Bears are setting themselves on a course to be the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament come Selection Sunday. Their lone loss was a three-point neutral site defeat at the hands of Washington and they beat Villanova, Arizona and Butler in their non-conference schedule, as well as securing wins at Texas Tech and Kansas in Big 12 play. They avoided a loss in January for the first time since 1948.
Devonte Bandoo is a player who isn’t highlighted enough. He only averages 8.2 points per game, but he’s a marksman from three, hitting 45 percent of his attempts this season. The senior has made at least half of his attempts in each of the past four games, carving out a vital role as a perimeter scorer for the Bears; TCU will need to key in on him on Saturday.
The Horned Frogs will have all the pressure on them in the contest, with Saturday’s game serving as a make-or-break opportunity. In our latest Bubble Watch, the case for TCU wasn’t even worth making, as they seemingly have too much work to do to make the NCAA Tournament field. Beating the No. 1 team in the country could change that, though.
TCU is a respectable 4-3 in Big 12 play, with a win over Texas Tech in hand. But they were ripped on the road by Oklahoma and West Virginia and just lost to a flailing Texas team in Fort Worth, a loss TCU couldn’t really afford.
The Horned Frogs will need the bench to step up to have any shot at this upset. In the loss to Texas, the bench played a combined 56 minutes, but only mustered seven points, all from guard
. That’s not going to cut it against Baylor.
Opportunities to improve their resume still exist for TCU. They still have two cracks each against both Baylor and Kansas, as well as a road game at Texas Tech and a home game against West Virginia. Turning around the season in Waco will be tough, though; since joining the Big 12, TCU has won at Baylor just once, an overtime victory in 2018. Last season, the Bears hit 15 three-pointers en route to a 26-point rout of the Horned Frogs.
It’s likely a similar fate will come courtesy the Baylor Bears on Saturday.
Prediction: Baylor 80, TCU 64