After the ultimate buzzer had sounded late Saturday and Baylor had taken its first lack of the season — unsurprisingly inside Allen Fieldhouse, the place, traditionally, nearly all guests lose to Kansas, particularly on Senior Night time — Bears coach Scott Drew hopped on Zoom and summarized issues completely.

“We had three weeks the place we received worse, they usually had three weeks the place they received higher,” Drew mentioned. “Even Superman has kryptonite. And I assume COVID protocols are ours.”

It actually appears that approach.

The ultimate rating was 71-58, the ultimate minutes by no means doubtful. The Jayhawks managed issues the complete second half, by no means relinquishing the lead they held on the break. For the second straight outing, Baylor appeared nothing just like the workforce that began 17-0 earlier than a 21-day pause for COVID-19 points inside the program disrupted its season after a victory at Texas in early February.

Whether or not it is fatigue or rust or one thing else totally, I will let others debate. Undeniably, although, it is one thing — and it is one thing that, amongst different issues, has turned the perfect 3-point capturing workforce within the nation into a nasty 3-point capturing workforce. Earlier than the season was paused, Baylor was capturing a national-best 43.9% from 3. In two video games since getting back from the 21-day layoff, the Bears are capturing simply 27.5% from past the arc, which implies one offensive factor Baylor was nice at is immediately a legal responsibility (a minimum of briefly).

Drew mentioned after final Tuesday’s too-close-for-comfort win over Iowa State that almost all coaches he is spoken with who’ve already gone via what he is now going via instructed him it takes two or three video games to get proper once more after such a protracted layoff. So, maybe this was to be anticipated. Both approach, the dream of a nationwide championship recreation between two undefeated groups is now formally over — blown up without end on the ultimate weekend of February. Baylor has left Gonzaga because the nation’s solely undefeated outfit and apparent No. 1 within the CBS Sports activities Prime 25 And 1 every day faculty basketball rankings. And now the query in Waco is straightforward: Can the Bears, immediately with a double-digit blemish on their document, turn out to be a terrific workforce once more?

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Sunday’s Prime 25 And 1 rankings

In: Clemson
Out: Tennessee