Baylor Basketball Late February Reflections

- I wish I could say that coach Scott Drew should have the Big 12 coach of the year award wrapped up, but it looks like it’s gonna be a 3-man battle down the stretch. Although CSD has done a tremendous job navigating his way through multiple injuries, it will be hard to look past Bruce Weber or Chris Beard if they can lead their respective schools to a Big 12 regular season title.

- Has anybody else noticed Mark Vital winning the opening tip in almost every game? It speaks to his athleticism. He plays with a lot of pride and energy every time he takes the court.

- Devonte Bandoo may be the most underrated player on the team. He’s hit big shot after big shot in several conference games. When Iowa State took the lead last week, he calmly responded by knocking down a wing 3-pointer. He’s also responsible for getting the Bears going after their sluggish start on Saturday. The coaching staff seems to have a lot of confidence in him as well, opting to go with him for technical foul shots and multiple inbound plays.

- I’m not surprised by the uptick in play by Mario Kegler. He just needed to find his confidence and roll on the team. Early in the year he was extremely timid with the ball, but that has changed over the last month of the season. And although he’s good for at least one charge a game, I’ll gladly take that if it means he will continue to be aggressive.

- With four more regular season games on the schedule, this is shaping up to be an exciting last couple of weeks for the conference. Kansas looks to have the easiest path going forward, but they still have a game to make up on Kansas State and Texas Tech