Stuck at 1-3 in the conference after losing three of their last four, #24 Baylor (13-4) is unlucky to be facing #8 Kansas (13-4, 4-0) tonight at 9:00 pm EST on ESPN in their bid to avoid dropping to 1-4.

Absurdly, both teams sport the same overall records and play in the same difficult conference, but are 14 spots away in the rankings. Kansas' recent string of impressive victories (@ #25 Oklahoma, #22 Kansas State, @ #16 Iowa State, and #11 Oklahoma State) justifies most of that gap, and their overall schedule, which has already featured eight teams currently ranked in the top 25 (Kansas' record in those games: 4-4) justifies the rest. Rarely are the polls so forgiving to this many losses. Yet, I can't really justify any team ranked 9 or worse to move ahead at this point. Starting with Wisconsin at #9, the following teams probably don't have the Jayhawks' resume. Could this be one of the toughest schedules ever played until this point?

From simply a player potential standpoint, tonight's game is fascinating. Kansas, of course, has nearly a full roster of NBA draft picks. Underratedly, Baylor has two projected second round picks in 6'9 senior forward Cory Jefferson (13.1 ppg and 8.1 rpg) and 7'1" sophomore center Isaiah Austin (10.4, 5.7 ppg, 2.8 bpg). Most intriguing is Austin, who's highly skilled for a man his size, but, as is the case for most skilled big men, he's just a little soft. Tonight's matchup against current consensus number one overall pick Joel Embiid (11.0 ppg, 7.6 rpg, 2.9 bpg) should be revealing for interested scouts.

Overall, Kansas is probably as good as they've been playing, but I think they have a chance tonight to revert slightly back to early season form against a talented and desperate Baylor team. With 10.5 Las Vegas points to work with, I think the Bears cover.

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Regular season: 1-3

Picking Schedule:

Butler @ Creighton: L (picked Butler, +10.5)

UConn @ Memphis: L (picked Memphis, -7.5)

Depaul @ Villanova: W (picked Villanova, -17.5)

Pittsburg @ Syracuse: L (picked Syracuse, -5.5)