8. Baylor Bears
The reigning national champions lost three All-American caliber guards this offseason, a versatile forward and heart and soul of the team in Mark Vital, as well as losing their top incoming freshman to a season-ending injury in Langston Love. And yet, none of that matters.
The Bears somehow were undervalued in the preseason at No. 8, because they have already climbed up to No. 1 in the latest AP poll, coming off a dominant 57-36 blowout of Villanova. They have a Battle 4 Atlantis Tournament title to celebrate and are one of seven remaining unbeaten teams.
FLO SAID NO 🚫@Flo_T3 #SicEm | #CultureofJOY 🏀 pic.twitter.com/IqKmYkEyY7
— Baylor Men’s Basketball (@BaylorMBB) December 13, 2021
The only thing surprising about Baylor to this point is who leads them in scoring. Sophomore guard LJ Cryer could barely get on the court last season but now is their best offensive player, averaging 14.6 ppg. Arizona transfer guard James Akinjo has taken care of the passing, going for 6.0 apg along with 10.6 ppg. Freshman Kendall Brown is second on the team with 12.3 ppg as well.
With a versatile and athletic frontcourt that features Matthew Mayer, Jeremy Sochan, and Jonathan Tchamwa Tchatchoua, Baylor just doesn’t have any real weaknesses on its roster. The question now isn’t whether or not they’re capable of going back-to-back to win it all, but whether or not they should be viewed as the favorite to do so.