NCAA Basketball: Preseason top 25 power rankings for 2022-23 season

The Bears are a team that has the potential to be No. 1 at some point this season if certain things work out. One of them is five-star freshman Keyonte George. The scoring guard looked elite in the offseason exhibition tour for Baylor but did so without the other key perimeter players on the roster. So how George meshes with them is a question but Coach Scott Drew has made it work with talented backcourts before so it shouldn’t be a concern.

It’ll certainly be a concern for opposing defenses, as returning leading scorer Adam Flagler is back after producing 13.8 ppg. Also back is LJ Cryer, who was scoring nearly 20 ppg at the start of last season before he was affected by injuries. Former top-30 prospect Langston Love missed all of last season with an injury and is now back, while Dale Bonner and incoming transfer Dantwan Grimes add depth off the bench.

The Bears also got two forward transfers to replace Matthew Mayer in Jalen Bridges and Caleb Lohner. Bridges come from West Virginia and is an athletic combo forward that fits with Baylor on defense and can be a legit weapon on offense. Former BYU forward Lohner is an outstanding rebounder and adds frontcourt depth off the bench.

Baylor won’t have Jonathan Tchamwa Tchatchoua to start the season after suffering an injury but he and returning starting center Flo Thamba is just fine as a 1-2 punch at the five-spot. There’s plenty of offense and defense for this team to contend nationally and get some attention back off of rival Kansas.