The air inside Allen Fieldhouse is always heavy, but for Scott Drew and his squad on Friday night, it felt like concrete. If you’ve been following the latest Baylor men's basketball news, you know the "No-Middle" defense usually acts like a vice. Not lately.
Watching the Bears drop an 80-62 decision to an unranked Kansas team was jarring. It’s the first time since 1966 that these two giants met while both were outside the AP Top 25. Honestly, the score doesn't even tell the whole story of how physical it got in Lawrence.
The Reality of the Big 12 Grind
Winning in this league is a nightmare. Everyone knows it. But for a program that has spent the last decade as a perennial title contender, the current 1-4 conference record is basically a code-red situation.
The Jayhawks' freshman duo of Darryn Peterson and Flory Bidunga basically treated the paint like their own personal playground. They combined for 49 points. They shot 22-of-27. You just can’t win when you let guys shoot over 80% at the rim.
Baylor actually had a moment. Late in the first half, Cameron Carr and Tounde Yessoufou went on a tear, clawing back from a 15-point deficit to actually take a 37-36 lead. It was brief. It was fleeting. Kansas closed the half on a 7-0 run and never looked back, leaving Baylor to wonder where the interior help went.
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Where the Bears Stand Right Now
- Overall Record: 11-6
- Big 12 Record: 1-4
- Recent Momentum: Lost 4 of the last 5
- Next Up: vs. No. 15 Texas Tech (Jan 20)
Is the Transfer Portal Strategy Backfiring?
Scott Drew leaned heavily into the portal this offseason. He had to. With so much turnover, bringing in vets like Obi Agbim from Wyoming and Michael Rataj from Oregon State seemed like a masterstroke in October.
Now? People are starting to whisper.
Agbim and Rataj are talented, no doubt about it. But the "No-Middle" defense requires a level of telepathic communication that usually takes years, not months, to develop. When you see Houston hang 77 on you at home or Kansas drop 80, it's clear the rotations are just a half-step slow.
Freshman Tounde Yessoufou has been the lone bright spot. He’s physical. He’s fearless. He put up 20 points against the Jayhawks and has been the most consistent "new" face on the roster. If Baylor is going to save this season, it’s going to be because Yessoufou and Cameron Carr (who had 24 in Lawrence) decide to carry the scoring load every single night.
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The Problem in the Paint
Let's talk about the 42-18 discrepancy. That was the points-in-the-paint margin on Friday. Juslin Bodo Bodo and the rest of the frontcourt are struggling to stay out of foul trouble, and it's forcing Drew to play smaller than he’d probably like.
When you don't have a rim protector who scares people, the Big 12 will eat you alive. Basically, every team in this conference has a 6'10" bruiser who wants to dunk on your head. Right now, Baylor's interior defense is more like a revolving door than a wall.
Turning the Ship Around
Tuesday is the "Immortal Ten" game at Foster Pavilion against Texas Tech. It's a huge emotional night for the university, but it's even bigger for the standings.
If they lose that one, they’re 1-5. In the old Big 12, you could maybe recover from that. In the 2026 version of the Big 12? You're looking at a Wednesday game in the conference tournament and a prayer for an NIT bid.
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Baylor men's basketball news hasn't been this dire in a long time, but Scott Drew has been here before. He's built this program from nothing. He knows how to fix a broken locker room.
The problem is that the margin for error has evaporated. They have to find a way to win ugly. No more 73% shooting nights like they had against Oklahoma State—that was a fluke. They need to figure out how to win when the shots aren't falling, which means defending for 40 minutes without fouling.
Actionable Steps for the Bears
The path to March is narrow, but it's still there. If they can split the next four games against Texas Tech, TCU, Cincinnati, and West Virginia, they stay alive. To do that, the coaching staff needs to tighten the rotation.
Relying on the "hot hand" hasn't worked. It's time to settle on a defensive identity and stick to it, even if it means benching guys who aren't moving their feet. Fans should watch the first five minutes of the Texas Tech game closely. If the Red Raiders get three easy layups early, it's going to be a long night in Waco.
The focus has to shift from "can we win the Big 12?" to "can we just make the field of 68?" It’s a humbling reality for a team that started the season with top-20 aspirations, but it’s the only reality that matters right now.