In a massive Big 12 hootenanny, Scott Drew's Baylor Bears were looking to make a statement inside of the hallowed halls of the Naismith Center, wanting to knock off the 13-time Big 12 regular season winning Kansas Jayhawks in their quest for their 14th. Bill Self has put his motley crew in another enviable position in the always competitive conference where the target is always on their backs, and the balanced Baylor squad was ready to end the reign.
Although Baylor got off to an epic start to the game, Perry Ellis and Kelly Oubre Jr. led the Jayhawks back with a massive 2nd half run to prevail at home, 74-64.
The Bears had an auspicious start, as their balanced shooting attack was nailing jumpers all over the place. Kenny Chery and Lester Medford opened up the game with consecutive threes, and Baylor consistently utilized big men Rico Gathers and Taurean Prince often down low for layups and short jumpers. However, the Jayhawks were not going to go down quietly with their raucous home crowd behind them. Kelly Oubre Jr. and Wayne Selden Jr. used the moneyball from beyond the arc to swing the momentum, and a pair of Perry Ellis dunks put Kansas with a 33-27 deficit at the half.
The Waco natives started taking some ill-advised shots after the break, and Kansas capitalized. The tone was set with a thunderous Wayne Selden Jr. dunk to open up the 2nd half, as he scored the first 7 points for KU. A 10-0 run led by the impressive Kansas bench with Landen Lucas, Devonte' Graham, and Brannen Greene put the home team up 55-49 with 8:05 left. Baylor got to the charity stripe a few more times to keep the game close, but their zone defense was failing against KU's Ellis and Oubre Jr. Kansas was able to hold on for the 10 point victory, further solidifying their Big 12 conference lead.
The Baylor defense, for the most part, kept Kansas from scoring down low. Jamari Traylor and Cliff Alexander both had poor offensive games. However, missing some wide open jump shots is what doomed the Bears to falling well behind Kansas in the race for the conference title. Taurean Prince was 1-7 from deep, while Royce O'Neal was 1-8 total shooting. The team also got into foul trouble late, which hampered their ability to compete. After their 2nd loss in one week, Baylor has officially fell out of contention for the Big 12 regular season title, and will have have to wait until the Big 12 tournament before their compete for some accolades. They will try to bounce back from this loss with a trip to Lubbock on Tuesday against the lowly Texas Tech Red Raiders.
Kansas now has solidified themselves as likely winner of the Big 12 regular season title once again. The balance and depth on this team continues to amaze squads across the midwest, and they will be a force to contend with come March, and maybe all the way to April. Kelly Oubre Jr. really was the catalyst today with his multiple outside shots. If the freshman phenom can keep up this pace, Kansas could go all the way. They will play West Virginia for the first time this season on Monday.