Baylor now ranks 20th in adjusted defensive efficiency. Over a full season, that mark would be the best in program history.
The Bears seemed poised to drop back on defense. With Jo Lual-Acuil, Manu Lecomte and Nuni Omot gone—all solid to great defenders—the Bears had a lot of new pieces to learn their man-to-man and zone tendencies.
Turnovers have boosted Baylor’s defense. The Bears are 33rd in turnovers. Last season they were 253rd. The 2014 Bears were 77th in turnovers, but they’ve been outside the top 100 in that stat every other season.
The only obvious place for regression is 3-point defense.