Kansas basketball: Four Big 12 foes who could challenge the Jayhawks

Baylor Bears

The only Big 12 team that was able to beat Kansas last season, Baylor should be one of the best teams in the country once again next season. The Bears are returning a lot of key players including Mark Vital, Tristan Clark, Davion Mitchell, and others; however, they did lose both Freddie Gillespie and Devonte Bandoo.

For Baylor, the big question is whether or not Jared Butler and MaCio Teague are coming back after both declared for the NBA Draft while not closing the door on returning. Butler, in particular, was a consensus first-team All-Big 12 pick, so Baylor’s ceiling for 2020 is really dependent on whether or not he returns.

As of now, Baylor is ranked No. 3 in NBC’s way-too-early-top 25 but that assumes the return of both Butler and Teague. If one of them officially leaves the program, expect that ranking to drop significantly, especially if it’s Butler who leaves.

The Bears do have a solid recruiting class coming in though, headlined by four-star recruits Dain Dainja and LJ Cryer. While neither is expected to start at this point, they may become solid options off of the bench.

Once again, Baylor and Kansas basketball will probably be battling for control of the Big 12 along with maybe one or two other teams in the race.