Baylor
The Bears got the season off to a fast start, with nice wins over Auburn and Florida across a 9-0 start before trouble began. Tough losses to Michigan State and Duke were understandable, but the Bears entered this week after three straight heartbreaking losses, including a triple overtime thriller against TCU last weekend. Fortunately, they put that losing streak in the rearview mirror this week.
The Bears got just their second road win of the season back on Wednesday, surviving UCF with a 77-69 win. The weekend was an even bigger opportunity and Baylor came through again, beating Iowa State in a 70-68 clash that came down to the wire. Back on track, the Bears now sit 5-3 in Big 12 play and picked up a pair of Quad 1 wins in the process.
Baylor’s NET is back up to 15 and they’re now 6-3 against Quad 1 opponents on the year. None of their five losses have come below Quad 2 and they’ve made the most of this season, even after that triad of close losses in recent weeks. Obviously, there’s no rest in this Big 12 and the Bears have a plethora of challenges ahead, but are certainly looking strongly like a Top 4 seed in the Big Dance yet again.