By Matt Nevarez | Reporter
For more than a decade, Baylor men’s basketball has comfortably lived within the NCAA Tournament bubble. Selection Sunday has rarely been a stressful day for the Bears, as they’ve made 10 of the past 11 NCAA Tournaments, putting Scott Drew and company among the nation’s elite teams.
But this season seems to have a different feel to it. The Bears haven’t lost their mojo, but the Big 12 looks more competitive than ever before.
The Big 12 is packed with NBA-level talent and star-studded line-ups this year. Each game this year is a huge resume builder, and these losses can also add up quickly. In each of the past few seasons, the Bears have had their fair share of rough stretches in the season, but none have made them worry too much come Selection Sunday. This year just has a different feel. Nearly every conference matchup is against tournament-level teams and there is almost no margin for error.
The Bears opened 1-7 against Big 12 opponents, their worst start to conference play since 2006. While the Bears have shown many signs of competitiveness, that competitiveness may not always transfer to wins in the Big 12. The Bears are near the lower spots in the conference standings. It’s a dangerous place to be, especially in the Big 12, and one they’re unfamiliar with.
Another issue for the Bears is that there is no clear No. 1 option this season. In the past, the Bears have had stars such as VJ Edgecombe and Keyonte George who can take over the game when needed. This season, that role hasn’t really been filled.
Guards Cameron Carr and Tounde Yessoufou have both shown flashes of being the potential No.1 option for the Bears. Carr, a redshirt sophomore, has the ability to score in bunches and take those big shots, while the freshman Yessoufou brings toughness and energy that change a game. But neither of these guys have separated one from the other. When the Bears are in a tough spot and are in need of a bucket, it’s not so clear who should get the ball.
This plays a big part in conference play especially. Many of the teams in the Big 12 have players they can always go to in crunch time, such as BYU (AJ Dybantsa) and Arizona (Koa Peat). The Bears often rely on sharing the ball — which can win games, but in a conference like this, that can make it harder to score on defenses.
While this may seem as if the Bears are hitting a rough patch in the Scott Drew era, this is just a testament to the standard of the Big 12 in this day and age. There are no easy games and almost no room for mistakes.
If the Bears’ NCAA Tournament streak comes to an end, it may feel strange. But this is just a reality check more than a failure of season. The Big 12 isn’t slowing down anytime soon and neither is the pressure for every team. The Bears are slowly but surely figuring that out, and that Selection Sunday may be more stressful than ever before.
