NCAA Basketball: Baylor Bears vs Texas Longhorns- Possible Lineups and Predictions

Published 02/02/2021, 11:30 AM EST

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USA Today via Reuters

NCAA Basketball is all set to have an absolutely massive clash between two elite teams. The #2 Baylor Bears will be facing off against the #6 Texas Longhorns in arguably the biggest NCAA matchup of this year so far. This Big 12 clash has been long-anticipated, but will it deliver to meet the expectations?

The Baylor Bears are undefeated this season and have a perfect 16-0 record. No team has challenged them in any significant way yet. They have hammered the likes of Kansas, Texas Tech, both Oklahoma powerhouses, Illinois, and many others. They are narrowly separated from the Gonzaga Bulldogs atop the AP Poll.

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The Longhorns have lost a few games this season, but still have a formidable record of 11-3. However, they are coming off a razor-thin loss to the Oklahoma Sooners, a team Baylor has beaten before.

A win here could send Baylor to the top of the AP Poll for the first time this season. But will the Longhorns be the first ones to beat the Bears this season?

NCAA Basketball: The Bears finally fall?

If there is any team that matches up well with Baylor, it is Texas. Both teams rely on a trio of guards running the floor. The Longhorns can combat the guard trident that the Bears send, but also their forward line, with Greg Brown being a particularly interesting matchup against Baylor.

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USA Today via Reuters

If the three-happy Baylor can be forced into bad shots and miss the mark a little, the Longhorns have a wide-open opportunity to steal a win here. Texas is one of the best rebounding teams in the country, and taking away Baylor’s second-chance point-scoring ability may be a crucial difference-maker.

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The Bears will line up with Jared Butler, Davion Mitchell, MaCio Teague, Flo Thamba, and Mark Vital. The Longhorns will take the floor with Matt Coleman III, Andrew Jones, Royce Hamm Jr., Kai Jones, and Greg Brown.

For our prediction, we will stick with Baylor to make their streak 17-0. However, the Longhorns will easily the biggest season test the Bears have to prove they have championship mentality.

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Written by:

Ishaan Bhattacharya

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Ishaan Bhattacharya is an NBA, NCAA Basketball, and Combat Sports writer at EssentiallySports. Currently, Ishaan is pursuing a Post Graduate Degree in Journalism from Xavier's Institute of Communication. Previously, Ishaan has written for The Indian Express, The Quint, Sportskeeda, and WrestleClub.
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