Baylor Roundtable: Discussing the Bears Post-Mortem

Baylor's basketball season is finally over, and it's the most disappointing year the team has had in almost a decade. Where did everything go wrong? What do they need to fix? Our experts take a look at answering those questions.

Mar 7, 2026; Waco, Texas, USA; Baylor Bears guard Cameron Carr (43) reacts after scoring a three-point basket against the Utah Utes during the second half at Paul and Alejandra Foster Pavilion. Mandatory Credit: Chris Jones-Imagn Images | Chris Jones-Imagn Images

Baylor’s basketball season essentially ended on Tuesday afternoon, and now we’re all left to wonder how they got to this point.

They were one of the worst teams in the Big 12 this season, and were eliminated in the first round of the conference tournament.

Any chance at making a Cinderella run to the dance, died before it could even begin.

With that in mind, three of our experts went to answer some of the big questions that are surrounding the program as the offseason begins in earnest.

Is there a Scott Drew issue?

Bennett Parker

It is easy to blow off this question; we all know that Scott Drew has done wonders for the Baylor basketball program.

But this didn't have the feel of a normal Scott Drew team, and I can't fully put my finger on it. Scott Drew is far from being a problem and isn't going anywhere, but it's worth noting Baylor's defense was off this season.

Chris Jones-Imagn Images

This squad did not lack athleticism, yet the defense was often medicine for struggling offenses and players. 

Trent Knoop

The only answer here is no. Scott Drew is one of the most accomplished coaches in college basketball and he has turned Baylor into a perennial NCAA Tournament team. This will be the first season Baylor misses the big dance since the  2017-18 season. 

Unfortunately, every team has a disappointing season and Drew’s roster construction wasn’t great this season, but Baylor certainly doesn’t have a Scott Drew problem. Plus, Baylor lost every player from last year’s roster — let’s give Drew a year of grace. 

Jacob Westendorf

I’m not suggesting that Scott Drew needs to be fired or anything of that sort, but as the landscape of the sport continues to change, it becomes more fair to wonder if the modern game has passed by some of the older coaches in the sport.

Some coaches, like Bill Self, have continued to adapt and have success. Others have struggled and even gone into retirement.

Drew is not set to retire or anything of that sort. He’s a legend in Waco. He’ll be that way forever. There is, however, a trend that is emerging. Baylor has not made it out of the first weekend of the tournament since winning the national championship, and now missed the tournament this season.

Drew has to work on player retention while also continuing to get players out of the portal and in high school recruiting. It’s a lot to task, but that’s the landscape of college sports these days, and if Drew is unable to keep up, these questions are going to get louder if the trend of the last four seasons continues.

Who is one guy Baylor needed more out of?

Bennett Parker

I hate to beat the dead horse, but it has to be Michael Rataj. While you can point the finger at everyone night to night, Rataj averaged fewer than 5 points a game in the back half of the season.

This wasn't due to a lack of playtime; he got almost 20 minutes a game over the stretch. The team was just often worse when he was on the floor. He is the highest paid on the squad and left Baylor hanging.

Trent Knoop

I think you could make an argument that Baylor needed more clutch time out of both Cameron Carr and Tounde Yessoufou this season, but both played a ton of minutes and kept the Bears in games. 

Mike Watters-Imagn Images

We have to remember that Baylor’s big-time transfer addition was supposed to be Michael Rataj out of Oregon State. He was a really, really good player a year ago, but it didn’t transition to Big 12 play. Rataj was a liability for Drew’s team this year and after paying him some money to come play in Waco, Baylor needed a lot more than it got in return. 

Jacob Westendorf

This is probably an insane answer on the surface, but I think the answer is Cameron Carr. Carr was a good player for the Bears, there is no denying that. He’ll likely be a good secondary scorer in the NBA as things stand right now.

The Bears were hoping for great when they had Carr transfer in the middle of last season. Carr was too often passive as leads would disappear, or deficits would grow. Part of being a star is taking on the burden of having the buck stop with you when the going gets tough. I think there were too many times this season that Carr was happy to defer to secondary players beneath him on the food chain.

What’s one game that you want back from this season?

Bennett Parker

I wish we could replay that game in Ames. Baylor caught Iowa State on a bad day and couldn't capitalize.  Agbim, Yessoufou, and Carr were all shooting well while the Cyclones couldn't get it going from deep. But Baylor allowed 14 offensive rebounds and 38 points in the paint. The Bears led in the second half before falling behind by as much as 15. Winning this game would have set the tone for the huge upcoming battles against BYU and Louisville.

Trent Knoop

Baylor had a lot of close losses this season, but if I had to point to one game in particular, I might have some recency bias. 

Chris Jones-Imagn Images

Feb. 2 against Arizona. Baylor would end up losing that game by seven, but the Bears were the better team for 35 minutes. Baylor was already on the outside looking in, but a win there would have given the Bears some major confidence down the stretch. 

Baylor had chances to beat Houston a few games later, and if the Bears had beaten the ‘Cats — who knows how that game turns out. 

Jacob Westendorf

This game was not particularly close, but I think the answer is the game at Kansas. The team had just strung together two wins on the road, and had a chance to score a big win over a top tier opponent. If they were able to knock off the Jayhawks in that raucous environment, that could have done wonders for the rest of their season.  

#Baylor's disappointing season comes to a close after bouncing out of the first round in the Big 12 Tournament on Tuesday.

Now we wait to see if the Bears accept an NIT bid. https://t.co/G8p4yqmUkC

— Baylor Bears On SI (@BaylorBearsOnSI) March 10, 2026