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College Basketball Rankings: Undefeated Baylor Sitting Right Outside Of The Top 5

A lack of a signature non-conference win is the only thing keeping the Bears from being recognized as one of the nation's elite teams.

After surviving a 86-83 road thriller against BYU, the 9-0 Baylor Bears are firmly entrenched at No. 7 in the coaches poll and No. 6 in the AP poll.

Led by two future lottery picks in 6'11 sophomore Perry Jones III and 6'9 freshman Quincy Miller, the Bears are one of the most talented teams in the country.

But an easy non-conference schedule without a single nationally-ranked opponent has kept them off national TV and prevented them from jumping two-loss UNC and a slew of one-loss teams (Kentucky, Ohio State, Duke) ahead of them in the polls.

That should change in the next few weeks, as Baylor plays on the ESPN family of networks against NCAA Tournament teams St. Mary's, West Virginia and Mississippi State before beginning Big 12 play.

The Bears are the highest of three Big 12 teams in the latest polls, finishing ahead of Missouri (No. 9/No. 8) and Kansas (No. 12/No. 11).

For the latest news, notes and analysis on Baylor basketball, check out Our Daily Bears.

Photographs by jamesbrandon, jdtornow, phlezk, flygraphix, mcdlttx, tomasland, and literalbarrage used in background montage under Creative Commons. Thank you.