NCAA Basketball: Buy or sell 2020-21 national championship contenders?

Baylor Bears – Buy

Scott Drew is going to end up in the coaching hall of fame, and he is one of the game’s best coaches even though he doesn’t get a lot of credit for it.  Baylor was one of the worst programs in the country when Drew took it over.

In the 18 seasons that Drew has been the head man at Baylor, the Bears have been ranked in the top 25 a total of 13 of those seasons and 12 of the last 13 they have ended the year ranked. Drew has had Baylor ranked for a total of 254 games and they are one of the only teams in the country to be ranked number 1 three times since 2017. In the previous 97 seasons, Baylor was ranked twice for two games total.

It speaks to how good of a coach he is that he has Baylor in a position to win a National Championship for the second season in a row.  The Bears this year are 12-0 and rank near the top in both offense and total defense.  Baylor is averaging about 88 points per game which is good for sixth in the country and they only allow 61 points per game which is good enough for 17th in the country.

So much like Gonzaga, they are also leaving no doubt against any of their opponents.  This season it appears to be Gonzaga, Baylor, and then the field.  The Bears have just as good of a chance to win the National Championship as Gonzaga.

The gap between Gonzaga and Baylor is small as both teams have a dynamic roster with pieces that make them better than their competition most nights.  Big 12 Player of the Year runs through Waco with guard Jared Butler.  He is one of the best guards if not the best guard in the country and in his most recent effort he scored 30 points to go along with 8 assists.

The other guards Davion Mitchell and Macio Teague are also great shooters and pick up the scoring when Butler doesn’t.  Those three guards are what makes Baylor dangerous.  All three of them can drive, pass, rebound and shoot and they are a matchup nightmare.

Perhaps the most important player in the nation to his team success is senior forward Mark Vital.  Vital is a defensive powerhouse and is a huge part of the lockdown defense that Baylor plays in the frontcourt.  Without Vital on the floor, Baylor must change the way they play, and they would not be nearly as good.

The other starter Flo Thamba is also in the game for his defensive prowess and shot-blocking ability and backup big man Jonathan Tchamwa Tchatchoua is an efficient offensive player and good rebounder.  Baylor has talent at all levels.

Baylor is not nearly as efficient as Gonzaga is shooting the ball, but they still shoot over 50% from the field.  The Bears are one of the best shooting teams in the country as they hit over 42% of their attempts from deep which is good enough for fourth in the country.

Everyone is now hoping for a Baylor and Gonzaga matchup especially since the first one was canceled due to the Covid-19 pandemic.  Baylor is the best team in the Big 12 and arguably the best team in the country.  They have a team that can win their first title in men’s basketball this season.