Field Level Media
Jan 11, 2020
Sophomore guard Jared Butler scored 22 points and junior guard MaCio Teague added 16 Saturday as No. 4 Baylor claimed its 12th straight win, downing No. 3 Kansas 67-55 at Lawrence, Kan.
The Bears (13-1, 3-0 Big 12) won for the first time in 18 trips to Kansas, snapping a 28-game homecourt win streak for the Jayhawks (12-3, 2-1) that ranked second nationally behind Gonzaga.
"We knew we were going to win up here at some point and we're glad it was today," Baylor coach Scott Drew said afterward.
The win was Baylor's fifth against a ranked opponent this season and ended a string of nine straight home wins for Kansas against top-five opponents dating to Roy Williams' tenure as coach.
After closing the first half with 10 unanswered points, the Bears weathered a shaky start to the second half before sealing the win by canning four straight shots for a 60-44 lead at the last media timeout. Butler scored the first of those hoops after Baylor maintained a possession with three offensive rebounds.
Senior forward Freddie Gillespie added 13 points for the Bears.
Backup guard Isaiah Moss scored 15 points to lead Kansas, which shot 39.2 percent.
Sophomore point guard Devon Dotson, the Big 12 scoring leader, struggled with a hip ailment and missed a 10-minute stretch of the second half before netting nine points, half his average.
Senior center Udoka Azubuike did not connect until 14:30 remained. He grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds and recorded a career-high seven blocks.
Baylor created the largest deficit of the season for Kansas, a 37-24 halftime spread, by making its last seven shots of the first half.
The Bears closed with a 13-2 run, including the last 10 points of the half behind 13 points from Teague and 12 from Butler. They combined to go 10 of 16 while the rest of the Bears managed 12 first-half points.
The closing flurry came after Baylor trailed 20-15 following a 3-pointer by Dotson at the 7:55 mark.
The Jayhawks then missed seven of their last nine shots while committing 10 first-half turnovers. They finished with 14 while Baylor had just five.
--Field Level Media