Kansas Returns Home, Mauls Baylor 83-59
If you haven’t heard since last Saturday, Kansas has not lost back-to-back games in Allen Fieldhouse since 1989. That streak is going to continue a bit longer. After getting beat down by Kentucky last week, the Jayhawks ran No. 8 Baylor out of the historic gym, winning 83-59.
Baylor scored the first basket of the game and then it was all Kansas. Ochai Agbaji’s and-one got KU on the board and then defensive stops, offensive rebounds, and transition layups made it 12-2 in the blink of an eye. The game escalated on the back of Kansas offensive rebounds and transition baskets with the nail on the hammer being great execution on out-of-bounds plays.
Braun had multiple steals and layups – before throwing down an alley-oop slam from Agbaji that brought the house down – Joseph Yesufu hit a three to continue his confident streak, David McCormack grabbed board after board, and soon it was 21-7. At one point in the first half, Kansas had 15 second-chance points while Baylor had 15 total points and KU went into halftime up 39-21.
The second half was a chippier version of the same story. McCormack began the half with an offensive rebound and drew a foul. Scott Drew received a technical after being unhappy with a charge call, and it was 52-31 at the first media timeout. Despite Baylor moving to a full-court press, the Jayhawks never let their collective feet off the gas and soon the lead was 30.
Yes, Baylor shot it terribly, but the defensive intensity from Kansas was a big reason why. And on the offensive end, by the time Jalen Wilson went into wizard mode, there was nothing Baylor could do.
Braun and Agbaji led the way for the Jayhawks. Braun recorded an 18-point, 10-rebound double-double, while Agbaji had a nearly identical 18 points, nine rebounds. Meanwhile, Jalen Wilson had 15 and 9, McCormack had nine and eight boards, Dajuan Harris had seven assists, and Mitch Lightfoot and Jalen Coleman-Lands each had eight points off the bench.
Even the walk-ons got in on the action as Chris Teahan drew a charge that got the crowd excited at the end. The Jayhawks’ lead extended to 34 before Baylor decided to play hard for the first time all game in the last 60 seconds as KU looked to just run out the clock.
The win not only moves Kansas to 19-3 and 8-1 in the conference (now two losses better than second-place Baylor) but the Jayhawks now have eight quad-one victories, the most of any team in the country.
Kansas will look to continue its winning streak on Monday when the Jayhawks travel to Austin to take on Texas.
