Baylor Basketball: 3 reasons Bears will be better than Kansas in 2020-21

2. The loss of Udoka Azubuike

Last season, Azubuike was the biggest difference-maker for the Jayhawks, and there was not a close second. The impact of him on the floor vs. off at times, made the Jayhawks look like a different team. A perfect example of that was the two matchups with Baylor.

The 7-footer from Nigeria had just six points in the first matchup and didn’t score a point until the 2nd half. He made his presence felt with 11 rebounds, but only taking six shots is a clear issue.

Bill Self did a great job of making sure to emphasize Azubuike in the rematch with 11/13 shooting and 23 points, to pull off the nail-biting win.

With Azubuike gone, the Jayhawks don’t have a shot-blocking forward, nor an offensive presence down low that is near to the caliber of Azubuike. They bring in Junior Transfer Tyon Grant-Foster and fellow Junior, David McCormick.

The loss of Freddie Gillespie doesn’t help the Bears, but there is still returning production that can score on the Jayhawks. Naismith Defensive Player of the Year Finalist, Forward Mark Vital returns for the Bears, alongside two-year starter Tristan Clark.

Coming off the bench is two former Top 100 recruits in F Dain Dainja and C Zach Loveday. Although the Bears don’t quite have the gaudy stats down low, it’s an area that is not a weakness.

It is expected for F Matthew Mayer to take a big step after showing flashes of his game, with 19 points against Kansas State and 13 against West Virginia.

Baylor’s frontcourt has talent but doesn’t quite have the experience as their backcourt. Kansas’s lack of production also shows that this is an area Baylor can win at, especially with being the more talented area than the Jayhawks.