Jan 6, 2018; Waco, TX, USA; The Baylor Bears Mascot entertains the crowd during a break against the Texas Longhorns at Ferrell Center.

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The Baylor Bears, halfway through the basketball season, reside in last place of the Big XII conference standings. The team is really an enigma; nobody expected this. Then again, nobody expected the absurd rise to a No 1. National ranking last year either.

Halfway through the conference games on the schedule and coach Scott Drew is staring down a 2-7 conference record and only 12-10 overall. Wins need to be gathered quickly in order to boost the resume to have any chance at all to put on their dancing shoes.

Baylor has fought hard in nearly every game, however, their only real quality win on the season is against Creighton on a neutral floor. In league play, the Bears have gotten pounded by Texas Tech, and came out slow against Iowa State and Kansas State. In the middle of all of those games, the Bears also got clobbered in Gainesville by the Florida Gators. That is when it seems like the season was declared dead.

And as quickly as it seemed that all hope was lost; Manu Lecomte went toe to toe with who very well may be the best point guard in the nation in Oklahoma’s Trae Young. Lecomte had 29 points on 45.5 percent shooting (including 7-15 from three-point land) and had five assists.

Lecomte has been the scapegoat the entire season for many Baylor fans; and he needs to make more shots if this Baylor team wants to pull a rabbit out of their hat and go dancing a la the 2014 team who began conference play 2-8. Still, Lecomte needs help—last Tuesday in Norman he got plenty of help. Nuni Omot went a perfect 6-6 from downtown and King McClure hit what should have been the biggest shot of the game with a minute remaining.

Everything Baylor does is about even against their Big XII competition. They are averaging 71.2 points per game while allowing 74.2 points per game. The Bears are shooting a better percentage at the line (74.5 vs. 73 percent) and are about even from shooting in the field (allowing 43.6 percent compared to their own 42.2 percent). And they outwork their opponents on the glass.

What it all comes down to is making shots consistently. The Bears are only shooting 32.7 percent from three and are allowing their opponents to shoot at a 38.8 percent clip. In conference play, Lecomte is shooting 32.4 percent from three and 36.5 percent from the field, which is about seven and five percent lower than his season average respectively. If you take out the 14 threes Manu made against Oklahoma and Oklahoma State, then he has only made 11 total threes in seven conference games.

Lecomte needs to make shots, and he also needs help from his fellow guards to make shots and his forwards to make shots after he passes them the ball in scoring position. His assist numbers are down from a season ago, largely because he has lost an NBA power forward (Motley) and guards to transfers (Al Freeman leads N.C. State in scoring this year).

Still, this team has talent. Not as much as last year, but enough for fans to be complex and irritable about the 12-10 record. Baylor has beat Texas and Oklahoma State, who have toppled bigger and better conference teams.

One other reason there is hope is because the Bears have lost three games by three points and another by two points. Three of those games were against West Virginia, Kansas and Oklahoma—all who have spent time in the top 10. What becomes frustrating is watching a Shakespearian tragedy unfold in the final four minutes or less of a game that Scott Drew should have in hand. The Bears have found countless and astonishing ways to lose. Even a blind squirrel finds a nut now and again; but the Bears are both blind and deaf to have lost all of these games (six Big XII losses by 10 points or less).

The hope for Baylor is to go on a similar run like they did in 2014. They have an easier path in front of them for the rest of the way: at Oklahoma State and Texas whom they have already beaten; home against Iowa State, Kansas, Texas Tech, West Virginia and Oklahoma; at TCU not at full strength and at Kansas State.

To go dancing, Baylor will most likely have to win some combination of seven of their next nine games and put on a decent showing in Kansas City in the Big XII tournament. It starts with shooting the three better and defending the three better—by everyone; even if Manu will have to lead the way.

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