Now that the NCAA season is finally just a day away, here’s a preview with everything you need to know regarding Baylor Basketball in 2020-21.
November 25th, that’s the day Baylor Basketball fans and college hoops junkies alike have had circled on the calendar for quite some time now. While the season will still tip-off on this mid-November day, the Bears will no longer be headlining the day on ESPN in prime-time. Sad, but at least we still have college hoops happening!
Baylor #2 in the AP Poll was set to take on #18 Arizona State in the 2K Empire Classic. Usually, it’s held in Madison Square Garden but it was going to be one of the many games at what most are calling “bubbleville.” The game has been canceled because Baylor Head Coach, Scott Drew tested positive for Covid-19.
This cancellation also includes the likely Baylor vs Villanova game that would have been played in the 2K Classic (baring no upsets) but according to sources from The Stadium and The Athletic ASU and Villanova no longer wanted to play Baylor after Drew’s positive test despite the rest of the program testing negative multiple times over the next few days.
The Bears’ next game is currently scheduled for Seton Hall on Nov. 29th but expect that to change. Like anything this season, we must all be flexible.
Along with the last-minute schedule changes the Bears also got very big news in the last week regarding one of their most veteran players. Tristan Clark announced via his Twitter account @TristanClark25 that he would be retiring from the game of basketball.
It sounds like Tristan is truly at peace with this decision and we have to applaud him for that. This must have been an extremely difficult decision to make. Last year he obviously did not look like the dominant player he was in his sophomore season when he led the country in FG% before his knee injury. For his personal growth, I obviously wish him nothing but the best and believe he will accomplish whatever he puts his mind to.
From a basketball standpoint, personally, I believe he was a major factor that put Baylor leaps above Gonzaga as the No. 1 team in the country. But that was only if he could return to super-star type form, and clearly, his body is not capable of that anymore.
So the coin flip to which many have between the two top teams in the country is again the case. Baylor still returns more pieces than the Bulldogs so personally, I would still give Baylor a slight edge, although it is razor-thin.
All of this news makes up for a pretty dramatic buildup to the start of the season. Hopefully, we’ll see the team lace up and hit the hardwood soon, but for now, let’s get into the starting lineup.