Second Half Explosion Leads Jayhawks Past Bears, 87-71
It was the worst of halves, it was the best of halves. The Kansas Jayhawks (22-5, 10-4 Big 12) flipped the script after an abysmal first half to storm past the Baylor Bears (20-7, 9-5 Big 12) and stay tied with the Texas Longhorns at the top of the Big 12 Conference standings.
With multiple members of the 2022 National Championship team returning for the game, Allen Fieldhouse was hyped up and ready for a big battle. They got it at the start, as the teams traded early leads for the first seven minutes. But hot shooting from beyond the arc quickly turned the game in Baylor's favor. The Bears were 16-31 from the field, including 9-14 from beyond the arc, which allowed them to build a 13-point halftime lead.
The halftime message from head coach Bill Self was about energy, and it was clear early that the Jayhawks listened. Dajuan Harris, who didn't score at all in the first half, opened up the scoring for the Jayhawks. The defensive pressure held Baylor without a field goal for the first 4:32 of the half, and each stop was an opportunity to push the pace and score again. Before you knew it, the Jayhawks had used a 34-9 run to turn that 13-point halftime deficit into a 12 point lead.
And it didn't get any better for the visitors from there. Kansas counterpunched every time Baylor tried to start a run, ultimately stretching the lead to 17 before the under-4 timeout. And with Baylor unable to hit from beyond the arc in the second half, there just wasn't enough time to seriously challenge again.
Jalen Wilson had his league-leading ninth double-double by recording 21 points and 13 rebounds, with 12 points and 8 rebounds coming in the second half. Dajuan Harris just missed his own double double, with all 14 points coming in the second half while he was stuck on 9 assists. Gradey Dick was only 2-9 from three, but he scored 16 points for the game. KJ Adams rounded out the double-digit scorers for Kansas with 17 and Kevin McCullar added 9.
The Jayhawks only had 10 bench points, five each from Bobby Pettiford and Ernest Udeh, but the lack of depth didn't ultimately hurt the Jayhawks.
The Jayhawks have a quick turnaround, as they travel down to Fort Worth on Monday to take on the TCU Horned Frogs. Tipoff is scheduled for 8pm.
