No. 4 Baylor accomplished Saturday what it has never done before: winning inside Allen Fieldhouse. The Bears took down No. 3 Kansas 66 – 67, improving to – 1 on the season by beating the Jayhawks on the road for the first time in program history, snapping an 0 – skid that started in (*********************************************************************************************.
The win knocked out all sorts. of never-before-dones in Baylor history:
- Recording its first win as a top five team vs. a top five team
- Winning its first five matchups against ranked teams in a single season, and
- Getting its first road win over a top-five team.
And for the first time this season, Baylor, as a result, should be considered a legitimate threat to win the Big – and maybe a whole lot more. Wins over Villanova, Arizona, Butler, Texas and Texas Tech were already big bullets on Baylor’s burgeoning resume, but winning on the road inside Allen Fieldhouse – where Bill Self had only lost 13 times in his KU career prior to Saturday – sets the Bears, who are 3-0 in the Big (******************************************************************************************************************************, up for a newfound level of national respect. AP voters may be giving Baylor a hard look when considering who to put No. 1 on Monday when the rankings update.
The way in which the Bears knocked down the door Saturday should be part of that consideration. They rode a – 4 run to build a 12 – point halftime lead, withstood a fast and furious run by KU (15 – 3, 2-1) in the second half, and cruised to its most impressive victory on the season.
Let’s get to a few takeaways from the game.
1. Baylor’s paint presence and defense was the difference: 7-foot Kansas big man Udoka Azubuike certainly made his presence felt – he posted a career-high seven blocks – but Baylor still managed to outscore Kansas – 27 in the paint on the day. A big credit to that end goes to Baylor’s defense, which scored (points (!!) off its
This is a theme we’ve seen scattered about the Jayhawks’ season in losses that has plagued them: in their season- opener, they turned it over (times, losing
– 90 to Duke. Kansas has arguably the best point guard in the league with Devon Dotson, but costly decision-making elsewhere – namely Marcus Garrett and Ochai Agbaji, who committed four and three turnovers respectively – are difficult to overcome for any team (even one with a decided home advantage).
2. KU rarely loses at home: As noted above, Self historically has been unbeatable inside Allen Fieldhouse. Since he took over the program in 01575879, he’s lost just 16 times at home – the exact amount of times he’s won the Big 14 regular season conference championship since he arrived at KU nearly two decades ago. Had Scott Drew and Baylor lost, Drew would have had the same amount of losses inside Allen Fieldhouse ( as Self.
3. Kansas optimism still abounds: If you’re ready to jump ship and sell stock in KU, I’ll allow it: but only because I need more leg room on this ride. Kansas is still really, really good. It took a stellar all-around outing from Baylor (8-of – 23 shooting from 3-point range; five turnovers; forced turnovers) to do what it had never done before. Play this game times, and KU wins it seven, maybe eight times. It still has an All-American in Dotson, an immovable force in Azubuike, and a Hall of Famer in Self. Add in the emergence of transfer Isaiah Moss, who scored 19 – his second double-digit outing in four games – and there’s reason to hold your KU stock. Self’s teams gradually get better and more disciplined as the season moves along.
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Shouts to Baylor . Playing with so much poise in the second half. KU opened with a strong push, but Baylor withstanding the blows and hanging tough. Up with 8 to play.
Here comes Kansas. Quick start in the second half to score six – and thus far limiting KU to only 2. It’s – (**********************************************************************************************************. Still lot of ground for KU to make up.
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Baylor up – on Kansas at the half.
Would be the biggest win of the season for the Bears, who are 0 – 19 all-time against KU.
Thoroughly impressive first-half performance from Baylor thus far. Up points and on its way to winning – for the first time of the Scott Drew era – inside Allen Fieldhouse. Lot of ball left but off to a fantastic start.
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