Baylor can't find its legs in Lawrence, drops first game of season
LAWRENCE, Kan. — The No. 2 Baylor men’s basketball team (18-1, 10-1) will have to wait a game longer to clinch the Big 12 title after falling to Kansas (18-8, 12-6) in Lawrence, 71-58.
The luck and clutch factor just ran out in Lawrence. Baylor was exposed where they are weakest. The Bears aren’t great at the free throw stripe and there’s no dominant big man on the roster. The team has holes, and Kansas exposed those all night.
It was also proven that Baylor will struggle mightily against formidable opponents when Jared Butler doesn’t put up numbers. He was due to finally have a bad game against the Red and Blue, and it happened. Moreover, David McCormack stormed to 20 points down low on 8-10 to expose the Bears’ lack of dominant presence down low.
Breaking down the opening 20, Kansas did not back down from the No. 2 team in the country. The Jayhawks ran out to a 13-6 lead and looked polished. That said, the No. 2 team in the country did not back down from Kansas in Allen Fieldhouse. Baylor went on a quick tear to take a 16-13 lead.
Things were balanced from there on out. Trading blows, the Jayhawks went on a 7-0 run to end the half up 33-30. The separation was visible in just two categories: rebounds and free throw attempts. Kansas outrebounded Baylor 23-13 — which isn’t ideal — and went to the foul line 10 times compared to Baylor’s three — which wasn’t entirely in the Bear’s control.
Kansas started the second half in control. With a 10-3 run to start the second half and gain a 43-33 lead, the Jayhawks were absolutely clicking. While Baylor would pull within four, it never felt like the Bears were in a place to take over the game. There was an aura of Kansas being able to run the table late.
It did just that.
While Baylor only turned the ball over three times compared to Kansas 14 and shot 17 more shots, the Bears were outrebounded 48-28, shot 38% from the line and were outscored 12-5 in bench points. There’s no way to win a basketball game with a line like that.
This all taken into account, keep your head high. Better now than in March, right? These Bears are not done.