Kansas Basketball vs Baylor: Get to Know the Bears

The Kansas Jayhawks (12-5, 2-2) are set to host the Baylor Bears (11-5, 1-3) inside Allen Fieldhouse at 7 p.m. CT Friday night for KU’s third Big 12 home game of the season.

KU is coming off an impressive home win versus No. 2 Iowa State on Tuesday. The Jayhawks beat the previously undefeated Cyclones 84-63 behind a balanced attack from KU’s starting five.

Meanwhile, the Bears come to Lawrence after thumping Oklahoma State on their home floor earlier this week 94-79. It was Baylor’s first conference win of the season thus far.

Here are some things to know about the Bears heading into Friday night’s matchup.

History

Kansas owns a 37-11 all-time record versus Baylor dating back to their first matchup on Dec. 3, 1951. In fact, KU won 30 of the first 35 games between the two schools from 1951 to 2018. Since then, it’s been more even with Kansas holding just a 7-6 record over their last 13 meetings and losing the last two.

Only once has Baylor ever won at Allen Fieldhouse. That came on Jan. 11, 2020, when the Bears stunned the No. 3 Jayhawks 67-55.

Friday’s matchup will be the 22nd meeting between the two teams in Lawrence with the Jayhawks owning a 20-1 home record all time versus the Bears.

Record

Baylor enters Friday’s contest with an 11-5 record overall and a 1-3 record in Big 12 play. The Bears are currently ranked 11th in the Big 12 with three conference losses: at TCU (69-63), at home versus No. 2 Iowa State (70-60), and home against No. 7 Houston (77-55).

Prior to Big 12 play, the Bears didn’t face any ranked opponents. Their most impressive non-conference wins came against San Diego State, Creighton, and St John’s.

Key players

The Bears are led in scoring by Tennessee transfer Cameron Carr. The redshirt sophomore guard is averaging 20.3 points per game while shooting 54.3% from the field and nearly 42% from 3-point range.

Talented freshman guard Tounde Yessoufou is second on the team in scoring with an average of 17.9 points per game. The Bears leading rebounders are senior guards Dan Skillings Jr. and Michael Rataj who both average over six rebounds per game.

In total, the Bears have six players averaging in double digit scoring. The team averages 88.7 points per game this season –which is 20th in the nation – but only 67.8 points per game so far in Big 12 play.

Coaching

Baylor head coach Scott Drew is now in his 23rd season as head coach of the Bears (2003-present). He owns a 477–264 (.644) record as head coach at Baylor and has led the Bears to 13 NCAA Tournament appearances – one of which resulted in a national championship in 2021.

Drew is easily the most successful head coach in Baylor history, but his success against Kansas has been limited as he owns just an 11-29 record versus the Jayhawks during his time in Waco.