Despite leading by 11 with eight minutes remaining, Baylor fell to Washington 67-64. The Bears led almost all of the game, but they were crushed 20-5 to end the game.

1) Frontcourt woes:

Baylor’s starting frontcourt went 7-of-25 from two. Tristan Clark is coming back from injury. Freddie Gillespie tried to score against two future lottery picks. That’s not easy, but they can’t have another game like that against a competent team.

2) Embrace the three:

Washington ran a modified version of the 2-3 zone they used to beat Kansas a few years back. That zone can force some 2-point attempts in the middle. But Baylor should have passed out of some of those deep chances. The Bears are a really good 3-point shooting team. Against Washington’s frontcourt—and with Clark coming back from injury—the Bears aren’t as good down low.

3) This one will hurt:

Baylor can easily come back from this loss. The 2020 Bears have immense talent. They’ve embraced man-to-man defense, and Jared Butler is outstanding. But when the team wants to win the Big 12 and compete for a national championship, they can’t get crushed in the paint. And they can’t lose the final eight minutes by 15 points. This isn’t football, so Baylor has a chance to show they’re the team I think they can be.