Texas vs. Baylor Game Thread

Baylor Bears at Texas Longhorns

Monday, March 4th | 8:00 pm CT

Television: ESPN

The Texas Longhorns aren't the only team in the state having a disappointing season. The Baylor Bears came into the season with high hopes; hopes built on combining a talented backcourt of upperclassmen Pierre Jackson and Brady Heslip with highly regarded freshman center Isaiah Austin. Those hopes were not realized; eight conference losses make the 17 win Bears highly unlikely to make the NCAA tournament.

What has gone wrong for Baylor? The Bears' offense hasn't produced, which is something of a surprise. For all of the crap Scott Drew takes in the blogosphere, his teams have generally put up points. But this year during Big 12 play, the Bears have only scored 1.03 points per possession, which makes them the sixth most efficient offense in the conference.

Lead guard Pierre Jackson is every bit as good as he was a season ago, and while Heslip's numbers are down somewhat, they are still very good. But Baylor just doesn't have the offensive firepower of a year ago along the front line; while Cory Jefferson has been outstanding, he alone cannot make up for the contributions lost from Perry Jones and the best pair of guys named Quincy in college basketball. Isaiah Austin's odd offensive game doesn't add very much. (I like my 7-1 centers to shoot more free throws than threes. Of course this criticism will now result in him absolutely murdering Texas tonight.)

Pomeroy predicts this game will be a close one. I think he is right.