Baylor Basketball Gets Humbled in Blowout Loss Against Kansas

Baylor basketball was flying high after a big win on Wednesday night against the Oklahoma State Cowboys.

Their next challenge was a little different. This time, they were back on the road facing the Kansas Jayhawks.

Kansas was also riding high, after scoring a huge upset win over the Iowa State Cyclones on Tuesday night.

Baylor was listed as a team that needs to turn its season around, and they were going to have their hands full with freshman sensation, and likely top draft choice Darryn Peterson.

Unlike Tuesday night’s fast start, Baylor fell behind early in Friday night’s game against the Jayhawks, forcing Scott Drew to call a timeout within the first 90 seconds of the game.

Kansas scored the game’s first nine points before Yessoufou’s tough jumper finally got Baylor on the board almost three minutes into the game.

The avalanche would continue from there. Kansas scored 19 points in the first six minutes of action. Darryn Peterson had 13 points in the early going, flexing his muscles in front of a raucous crowd. The Bears would trail by as many as 15 in the first half.

Baylor would find its way back in the game thanks to a scoring duo that was excellent through most of the first half, and went into the locker room trailing by just six at the half. They needed to find a way to slow down Peterson, who scored 20 first half points to lead all scorers.

The second half was a similar start to the first half. Baylor could not put the ball in the basket, and had no answers for Kansas’ superstar, Darryn Peterson.

Ultimately, the Jayhawks would see their lead swell, and led by double digits for most of the second half.

After a big win on Tuesday night, Friday night’s loss was demoralizing, and never truly close in the second half.

Here are our takeaways from Baylor’s tough setback.

1.) Freshmen Showdown

Kansas G Darryn Peterson — Evert Nelson/The Capital-Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

With the way these two freshmen were playing coming into Friday night, the game itself was almost secondary to what these two might do against each other.

Darryn Peterson is one of the best players in the country, and on the short list of guys who might be a top draft choice when the NBA draft rolls around in the summer.

Tounde Yessoufou was coming off a big game where he tormented Oklahoma State earlier in the week. This was a different challenge.
Peterson had the upper hand early scoring 13 of the first 19 points for the Jayhawks, but Yessoufou was not content to simply take a backseat to his counterpart.

As Baylor roared back in the first half to take a 37-36 lead with 2:57 to play in the half, Yessoufou had 15 points to get his team back in the game. At halftime, Peterson had 20 points while Yessoufou proved to be a worthy adversary with 15 points of his own.

Baylor’s freshman was good, Kansas’ freshman was great.

This night belonged to Peterson, scoring 26 points on 11-13 shooting. He was brilliant in every sense of the word, while Yessoufou struggled in the second half.

2.) Dynamic Duo

Baylor G Cameron Carr — Evert Nelson/The Capital-Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Prior to the start of the game, the Fox broadcast pointed out both freshmen playing in Friday night’s game, but also was sure to note Tennessee transfer Cameron Carr as a key player for Baylor’s efforts.

With Baylor struggling early, they needed to find some scoring help to get off the mat that the Jayhawks seemingly had them pinned to in the early portion of the first half.

Yessoufou was brilliant, but would have been unable to get his team back in the game without the scoring brilliance of Carr.

Carr and Yessoufou combined for 31 of Baylor’s 37 points in the first half.

The second half was a different story as both players were pretty quiet. Carr made a couple of nice plays including a baseline drive that resulted in a dunk for the first points of the second half.

The two would combine for 42 points. The rest of the team struggled, including zero points from the Baylor bench, while the game was ever in question.

3.) Points in the paint

Kansas C Flory Bidunga — Evert Nelson/The Capital-Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Kansas’ first offensive possession resulted in a dunk, which looked like it was a harbinger of things to come for most of the night.

Kansas had 22 points in the paint in the first half. Dribble penetration and physicality in Kansas’ front court were big factors for the Jayhawks to build their lead in the first half.

Their first possession in the second half was an uncontested layup by Darryn Peterson. Their third possession resulted in a dunk.

The Bears simply struggled to keep the Jayhawks out of the paint. That was one of the reasons the Bears brought James Nnaji back to college, but he has yet to establish himself as a true presence in protecting the rim.

On Friday, specifically, Baylor’s interior defense was a complete no-show.

Kansas finished with 42 points in the paint. That should be priority number one for Scott Drew when the team gets back to practice.

4.) Big Win/Tough Loss

Tuesday night’s win was supposed to be the game that jump-started Baylor’s basketball team into the standard that we’ve come accustomed to seeing over the last five years.

Instead, they were humbled, and mightily on the road by a Jayhawks team that looked like they were in a different weight class for most of the game.

Baylor will not get another chance to take the court until Tuesday, when they’ll face Texas Tech.

1.) Freshmen Showdown

2.) Dynamic Duo

3.) Points in the paint

4.) Big Win/Tough Loss

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