Welcome back to the Starting 5. The Starting 5 is written multiple times per week by Adam Spencer to keep you up-to-date on all the news and events in the world of college hoops. You can follow Adam on Twitter at @AdamSpencer4.

1. The Opening Tip

The Baylor Bears are the new No. 1 team in the country! Gonzaga didn’t lose over the weekend, but the 20-1 Bulldogs don’t have the same major-conference résumé the 16-1 Bears have.

It almost ended poorly for the Bears at Oklahoma State on Saturday, though, as they trailed the Cowboys by 9 at halftime before climbing back into the game. Devonte Bandoo, a senior who is in his 2nd year at Baylor after starting his career at a junior college, scored 16 points off the bench (and going 4-for-6 from long range) to keep the Bears from losing:

https://twitter.com/BaylorMBB/status/1218685425281392642

Bandoo then hit a pair of clutch free throws in the closing seconds of Monday’s game against Oklahoma to help the Bears avoid an upset. They held on for a narrow 61-57 victory.

The other team to keep an eye on in the Big 12 is Kansas. The Bears won their first matchup with the Jayhawks at Allen Fieldhouse, but the rematch will take place in Waco on Feb. 22. That could end up deciding the Big 12 regular season title.

This is only the 2nd time in program history the Bears have been No. 1 in the AP Poll. The last time was in January of 2017. They then immediately lost at West Virginia.

Their next game is at Florida. Can the Bears avoid another upset? How long can they remain at No. 1?

Speaking of Florida, let’s head into the SEC portion of the column:

2. Home-court Advantage

LSU is the final remaining unbeaten team in SEC play. Not many people would have seen that coming entering the year. However, Will Wade’s squad keeps winning close games. After beating Tennessee by 14 in their SEC opener, the Tigers have won their other 4 conference games by a combined 11 points.

In Saturday’s 80-76 win at Ole Miss, Javonte Smart led the way for the Tigers. He scored 20 points, grabbed 6 rebounds and dished out 3 assists. His footwork is steadily improving, too. Look at this Euro step:

Smart also got it done on defense. Yes, Ole Miss’ Breein Tyree scored 36 points, but the Tigers got some big stops when they needed them:

The Tigers are home against Florida on Tuesday night, but we’ll talk more about that game in a bit.

Now, let’s take a look at some other SEC storylines:

  • Let’s just say Arkansas fans were thrilled when Kentucky coach John Calipari was ejected from Saturday’s game. Just listen to the crowd erupt here:

  • However, Coach Cal knew what he was doing. That lit a fire under the Wildcats and they stormed back to break that 44-44 tie and win 73-66. Cal admitted he thought he’d already been ejected and that’s why he kept going after the officials:

 

  • Auburn’s Bruce Pearl might want to find a way to light a fire under his team. The Tigers lost both of their games last week — by 19 at Alabama and by 22 at Florida. Their 47 points against the Gators were their fewest since scoring 45 at Tennessee on Feb. 9, 2016. Now, they have to try to bounce back against a South Carolina team that just took down Kentucky last week.
  • It seems Alabama has bought into Nate Oats’ system just in time to make a run at the NCAA Tournament. This past week, the Tide blew out Auburn and Mizzou, knocking down a combined 19 3s. That’s how Oats wants his teams to play. We’ll see if that success carries over into games at Vanderbilt and vs. Kansas State this week.

Now, let’s see what’s going on around the rest of the country.

3. Road Game

Duke is a solid 15-3 this season and No. 8 in the latest AP Poll, but the Blue Devils are on a 2-game ACC losing streak, dropping games at Clemson and at home against Louisville last week.

Even though Louisville star Jordan Nwora only scored 6 points on 3-of-12 shooting, the Cardinals managed to win convincingly, getting 19 points, 7 assists, 4 rebounds, 3 steals and 2 blocks off the bench from freshman David Johnson.

Johnson got to the basket at will against the Blue Devils, scoring some easy points in the paint:

https://twitter.com/LiveFeedLville/status/1218676607633821708

https://twitter.com/accnetwork/status/1218703869397565441

If Duke holds Nwora to 6 points and the Cardinals still win at Cameron Indoor, that’s not a good sign for Coach K’s group. The ACC is a mess this year, and the Cardinals and Florida State look to be the class of the conference.

Now, for some other stories from around the country:

  • Texas is trending in the wrong direction, and the pressure is heating up on coach Shaka Smart. Monday’s 97-58 loss at West Virginia was Texas’ worst loss since joining the Big 12 and its biggest loss of Smart’s 5-year tenure. Yikes:

 

  • As far as teams trending in the opposite direction go, how about Rutgers? The Scarlet Knights are ranked for the first time in 40 years after a big win on Sunday over Minnesota. The Knights are now 5-2 in Big Ten play and 14-4 overall. Their reward? A trip to Iowa. Ouch. More on that game later.
  • At the opposite end of the Big Ten standings are the Ohio State Buckeyes. Ohio State is 2-5 in league play, putting the Buckeyes in 13th place out of 14 teams. Since beating Kentucky (how did that happen?), Ohio State has lost 5 of its past 6 games. The Buckeyes play Minnesota and Northwestern this week. They really, really need to win those matchups to salvage this season.
  • The Big East is loaded this year. Currently, 3 teams are ranked, and all 10 Big East teams have at least 11 wins on the season. Butler is one of those ranked teams, currently at No. 13 after back-to-back losses vs. Seton Hall and at DePaul. A huge matchup at Villanova on Tuesday looms large for this team that many (not me) had as a potential No. 1 seed in recent weeks.

Speaking of that Butler-Villanova game, let’s move on and take a look at the top games coming up over the next few days.

4. Outlet Pass

What are the best games over the next few days? Let’s take a look at 5 must-see matchups:

  1. No. 13 Butler at No. 9 Villanova (Tuesday at 7 p.m. ET on CBSSN) — Seton Hall is on top of the Big East standings, but Villanova and Butler both need this win to keep pace with the Pirates. It should be an intense game.
  2. Florida at LSU (Tuesday at 7 p.m. ET on SEC Network) — The Tigers are the final remaining unbeaten team in SEC play. Hosting the Gators, who are tied for 2nd with a 4-1 SEC record, won’t be easy.
  3. No. 24 Rutgers at No. 19 Iowa (Wednesday at 9 p.m. ET on Big Ten Network) — The Scarlet Knights are ranked for the first time since 1979. Their first test as a ranked team? A trip to Iowa to take on the dangerous Hawkeyes.
  4. No. 11 Michigan State at Indiana (Thursday at 8:30 p.m. ET on FS1) — The Spartans are 6-1 in Big Ten play, with their only loss coming at Purdue last Sunday. Can they avoid another road loss in Indiana against a tough Hoosiers squad?
  5. South Carolina at No. 16 Auburn (Wednesday at 7 p.m. ET on ESPNU) — The Tigers lost both games last week. Meanwhile, South Carolina took down Kentucky and Texas A&M. Anything could happen in this matchup.

These games are all important leading up to a big weekend. The weekend will include the Big 12/SEC Challenge, and several of those matchups will probably be highlighted in Friday’s column.

5. Buzzer Beaters

Speaking of the upcoming Big 12/SEC Challenge, let’s start today’s buzzer beaters with a question about those matchups:

Which Big 12/SEC Challenge game are you most excited for?

To me, it’s hands down No. 1 Baylor at Florida. Yes, LSU at Texas will be intense and No. 15 Kentucky at No. 18 Texas Tech should be a battle, but Baylor-Florida will be fascinating.

That’s a tough road test for the No. 1 team, and the Gators have been playing well lately. We’ll see if the Bears can handle the pressure.

Who is going to be the No. 1 overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft?

It’s hard to go against Georgia’s Anthony Edwards right now. He continues to show that he can do everything you need him to do on a basketball court. The only problem is that he needs to do it more consistently.

James Wiseman, LaMelo Ball and others will also be in the discussion, but I think it’s Edwards’ spot to lose right now.

Enjoy the Starting 5? Have a question? Want to yell at me about something? Follow me on Twitter @AdamSpencer4 or email me at ASpencer@SaturdayDownSouth.com.