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Baylor Basketball: Why Bears get so many shots blocked in 2019-20 season

LAWRENCE, KANSAS - JANUARY 11: Mark Vital #11 and Davion Mitchell #45 of the Baylor Bears congratulate MaCio Teague #31 after a basket during the game against the Kansas Jayhawks at Allen Fieldhouse on January 11, 2020 in Lawrence, Kansas. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)
LAWRENCE, KANSAS - JANUARY 11: Mark Vital #11 and Davion Mitchell #45 of the Baylor Bears congratulate MaCio Teague #31 after a basket during the game against the Kansas Jayhawks at Allen Fieldhouse on January 11, 2020 in Lawrence, Kansas. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)
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Baylor Basketball
WACO, TEXAS – FEBRUARY 22: The Baylor Bears (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)

Baylor Basketball is among the best in all of college basketball. What is the team’s biggest statistical weakness?

Ranked 4th in the latest AP Poll, Baylor Basketball is well-positioned to earn a 1-seed if the team doesn’t struggle down the stretch. With the 16th-best offense and 4th-best defense per KenPom, Scott Drew’s squad is a balanced team without many weaknesses.

(Credit to KenPom and hoop-math for statistics and Big 12 Conference for GIFS) 

Baylor does have one big “flaw,” however, at least statistically: offensive block percentage. Only three teams in the nation (Navy, Nebraska, Saint Joseph’s) have had a greater percentage of their shots blocked than the Bears.

Offensive Block Percentage:

Baylor  –  13.0%  –  350th

Navy  –  13.2%  –  351st

Nebraska  –  13.2%  –  352nd

Saint Joseph’s  –  13.6%  –  353rd

When the bracket comes, it’s worth monitoring whether Baylor could face a team that blocks a ton of shots. It’s just one factor, but what is the one Bears performance that people have struggled to understand all season? It’s the season-opening loss to a Washington team that has since plummeted.

Well, the Huskies have the #1 defensive block percentage in the nation (16.8%), so perhaps this is the explanation. Some notable defensive block percentage teams include Florida State, Virginia, Houston and Seton Hall.