Frank Burlison

LAGUNA NIGUEL, Ca. – The 16-0 Baylor Bears, cruising along at No. 2 in the BurlisonOnBasketball Top 25, take on would should be their most formidable challenge of the season Tuesday evening in Austin during a Big 12 Conference contest with No. 6 Texas.

The Longhorns lost to Oklahoma (80-79) in the only game they played last week. They were scheduled to play Kentucky in Lexington on Saturday during the Big 12-SEC Challenge but the game was called off due to COVID-19 issues within the Wildcats’ program.

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LAGUNA NIGUEL, Ca. – The Alabama Crimson Tide, with an eight-game winning streak that has powered its rise to No. 7 in the latest BurlisonOnBasketball college Top 25, gets what should be a sturdy couple of challenges this week.

Coach Nate Oats’ club, which continued to look like the best team in the SEC with wins over LSU and Mississippi State last week, is at home in Tuscaloosa Tuesday evening for a conference game with Kentucky.

The Wildcats (5-9) have struggled much of the season – including during a 20-point loss to the Crimson Tide in Lexington on Jan.

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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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