Frank Burlison

LAGUNA NIGUEL, Ca. – The Baylor basketball team faces what should be one of the sternest challenges so far to its unbeaten status Monday night.

The Bears, 12-0 and No. 2 in the BurlisonOnBasketball Top 25, play host to No. 7 Kansas in an 8 o’clock (CT) Big 12 clash in Waco.

I expanded the BurlisonOnBasketball weekly ratings from 16 to 25 teams this week, mostly because there is such a traffic jam of teams in the 10 and beyond range.

The Big Ten and Big 12, with six and five teams, respectively, in the Top 25, continue to flex their figurative muscles as the best – top to bottom – conferences in the country.

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LAGUNA NIGUEL, Ca. – The Gonzaga and Baylor teams – a combined 23-0 – remained far and away the 1-2 teams in the latest BurlisonOnBasketball College Top 16 team rankings.

Baylor’s Big 12 Conference game in Waco with No. 10 West Virginia – scheduled for Tuesday (Jan. 12) evening, was postponed for COVID-19 protocol reasons.

The Bears have another high-profile Big 12 game, also set for Waco, scheduled against No. 6 Kansas and set for Jan. 18.

The most notable game set for Tuesday is a Big Ten contest between unbeaten/No.

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LAGUNA NIGUEL, Ca. – The nation’s two top teams, Gonzaga and Baylor, combined for five of the 15 BurlisonOnBasketball All-Americans covering the 2020 portion of the 2020-21 season.

One of the three Gonzaga players chosen, senior Corey Kispert, is the choice as the “2020” Player of the Year after averaging 21.1 points per game – while knocking in .511 of his 58 attempts from behind the arc – during his team’s 9-0 start.

A strong case can be built that Kispert (pictured) is not only the best jump shooter but also the most efficient offensive player in college hoops, as his overall field-goal percentage of .611, free-throw rate of .880 and just six turnovers would support.

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LAGUNA NIGUEL, Ca. – To the surprise of no one who paid close attention – even before the start of the seasons – the Gonzaga Bulldogs were proved easily the elite team in college hoops in the 2020 portion of the 2020-21 season.

Coach Mark Few’s club rolled to victories over the No.’s 3 (Kansas), 7 (Iowa) and 10 (West Virginia) teams in the BurlisonOnBasketball “mid-season Top 16”, along while also cruising pass a University of Virginia squad that may be the best in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

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LAGUNA NIGUEL, Ca. – John R. Wooden Award selection committee voters had to submit their choices last week for the Top 25 male candidates at the “mid-season” portion of the 2020-21 college season.

My selections, based upon the players’ individual performances and their teams’ accomplishments, are listed below in alpha order.

Not surprisingly, I would imagine, three players from top-ranked Gonzaga – Corey Kispert, Jalen Suggs and Drew Timme – are included.

Later this week I’ll post my “Top 16 teams” and top three “All-American teams” for the 2020 portion of the season.

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