Baylor Bears Look Towards Conference Tournament After Tough Loss

After shooting very poorly against TCU on Sunday, Baylor looks to get some momentum in the conference tournaments to be ready for March Madness. Can the Lady Bears go on a run?

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Baylor had an abysmal performance against TCU this past Sunday. Scoring just 15 points in the first half, the team shot 34% as a team and 19% from behind the arc. And to be honest, TCU didn't really have a standout game either.

This game got off to a bad start on both sides, with over 17 missed shots in the first quarter alone and a halftime score of 26 to 15. Really just a bad game for Baylor, and they put themselves in too deep a hole that they couldn't dig themselves out of.

Who will Baylor run into... and how far will they go?

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Brackets have been released, Baylor sits at a 4 seed and will be waiting in the third round to play. UCF and Kansas will be the first game in Baylor's portion of the bracket, then the winner of that will face off with Colorado in game eight. Kansas should beat UCF. UCF is coming off one win in its last 11 games. Kansas has had many close games with ranked teams this year, so it should be an easy win for the Jayhawks. This leaves Baylor with facing either Kansas or Colorado.

Kansas has faced Colorado once this year, earlier in February, and lost by three in a nail-biter. Baylor has beaten both teams in matchups this year, so I'm confident the Bears win their first game in the tournament. After that game, Baylor will likely run into Iowa State or West Virginia. West Virginia is coming off winning eight of their last ten and is the second favorite to win.

Championship Prediction

The only team in TCU's portion of the bracket that has a chance is Texas Tech. The Red Raiders are TCU's last ranked loss and sit fourth in the conference. My prediction is that Baylor will beat West Virginia in a close game and will go to face TCU in the championship game.

Hopefully, they can wash out that last regular-season game and get a win that would have the team's confidence skyrocket, heading into March Madness. This team has had its bad performances against ranked teams, but when all things are clicking, a run could come out of nowhere for the Bears.

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With Baylor being in a fairly good spot and getting two days to rest, the Bears only need two wins to make it into a championship game. If they handle the first two rounds, Baylor will most likely be playing TCU in the championship. TCU has been on a roll this year, and I don't see a slowdown heading into the tournament. Coming off of back to back consecutive first-place finishes in the Big 12 and likely conference player of the year, Oliviah Miles.