Our Daily Bears · Mar 17, 2021
Why I think Baylor Will Return to Playing Elite Defense in the NCAA Tournament
Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports Jerome Tang signed onto Zoom in Las Vegas and wasn’t thrilled. As acting head coach while Scott Drew sat isolated in Waco with COVID-19, Tang said, “I’m not worried about our offense.” He went on to mention, “I don’t think Coach Drew or Coach Jakus (the primary offensive coaches) have had to stop practice once to yell at the offense.” With the offense thriving, Tang feared the defense wouldn’t measure up.
The Bears ended up building one of the country’s best defenses. In late January, Baylor ranked No. 1 in adjusted defensive efficiency. Before a 21 day COVID pause, Baylor ranked No. 8 in adjusted defensive efficiency on Bart-Torvik’s website.