NCAA Basketball: Houston, Arizona, Auburn rise in latest top 25 power rankings

18. Baylor (14-4)

For much of this season, things have looked great in Baylor, though things aren’t quite perfect in Waco. They did win their first nine games, but a 24-point loss to a struggling Michigan State squad started posing some questions. Entering this week, the Bears had started 3-0 against their conference foes but the going was about to get significantly tougher.

Scott Drew and company traveled to Kansas State on Tuesday and left town with a tough 68-64 loss in overtime. Langston Love led with 15 points off the bench, but the Wildcats outshot and outplayed the Bears in another close contest. Another road challenge this weekend brought more disappointment, as Baylor fell 75-73 at Texas. JaKobe Walter had a nice game with 22 points and 7 rebounds while Jalen Bridges added 17 in the team’s second straight defeat.

These kinds of weeks will happen to everyone in the Big 12. Baylor lost two tough road games that they absolutely could’ve won. They’ll learn from those experiences and it’s still clear that they can hang with anyone in this tight league. They will look for more consistency next week, getting a weekend home game against TCU as a chance to bounce back again.