Baylor put a historical winning streak on the line in late February versus Kansas last season and saw it fall apart versus their primary Huge 12 bane. Quick forward a season and the No. 2 Bears are experiencing deja vu after their unbeaten run concerned an end Saturday night in a 71-58 loss to the No. 17 Jayhawks at Phog Allen Fieldhouse that leaves Gonzaga as college basketball’s last unbeaten group.
The Bears (18-1, 10-1 Huge 12) left to slow starts in both halves and never ever recuperated in the 2nd half versus a Kansas group that controlled the boards and the paint. Jayhawks center David McCormack played an enormous function because formula, scoring 20 points in a redemptive effort following a bad trip in the very first conference won by Baylor last month.
Kansas (18-8, 12-6 Huge 12) has actually now won 6 of its last 7 video games with just a nonconference video game versus UTEP on Thursday left on its schedule prior to postseason play starts. The Jayhawks went into the night as a predicted No. 5 seed in the NCAA Competition, according to CBS Sports Bracketology Specialist Jerry Palm, however the triumph is a plume in the cap for a program that sustained some battles this season.
The Bears will stay a predicted No. 1 seed however will slip to the No. 3 general area with Michigan taking control of the No. 2 general area in Palm’s predicted bracket. The Wolverines enhanced to 18-1 general and 13-1 in the Big 10 with a win over Indiana on Saturday as they have actually have won 5 directly considering that returning from a 23-day break in between video games previously this month.
Baylor still seems looking for its rhythm after returning from a 21-day break with a narrow triumph over a bad Iowa State group on Tuesday. The Bears’ battles because video game ended up being a precise projection of the concerns they dealt with Saturday. Similar to last season, when Baylor brought a 23-game winning streak into it 2nd video game with Kansas, the Jayhawks prevented a sweep and ruined Baylor’s stretch of supremacy.
Still slow
Baylor fell back 13-6 to start the video game and after that enabled Kansas to start the 2nd half on a 10-3 run. In the very first half, the Bears fought back to take a 30-26 lead at one point. They whittled their deficit to 45-42 at the 12:41 mark of the 2nd half on a 4-point play from MaCio Teague however never ever got any more detailed. Unlike on Tuesday, when Baylor fell back 32-15 versus Iowa State, the Bears might not will their method to a success. That was doubtlessly a reflection of the competitors level, and it raises concerns about how the Bears may fare in their last 3 video games.
Still ahead for Baylor is video games versus West Virginia, Oklahoma State and Texas Tech, all of whom are well-positioned to make NCAA Competition quotes. There isn’t a simple video game because stretch that Baylor can utilize to get things right prior to the postseason starts.
McCormack’s vengeance
When Baylor and Kansas satisfied for the very first time this season on Jan. 18, McCormack was available in balancing 20.3 points per video game over his previous 3 trips in what made up an offending outburst for the mercurial junior. However when it concerned square off with the Bears, McCormack’s hot streak ended as he scored simply 6 points in a 77-69 Baylor triumph.
He came for redemption in the very first half of the rematch, acquiring 14 points on 5-of-5 shooting in the opening frame to assist put the Jayhawks ahead 33-30 halftime. Though he took down simply 3 rebounds, McCormack assisted Kansas control the video game physically. Kansas outrebounded Baylor 48-28 and outscored the Bears 42-32 in the paint.
Butler’s disappearance
When Jared Butler struck a layup for his very first points of the video game with 10:14 left, it cut Baylor’s deficit to 52-47 and seemed like the kind of container that might get the Bears’ prominent scorer going. Butler eventually stayed a non-factor, however, as he completed with a season-low 5 points. The 6-foot-3 guard went into balancing 20 points over Baylor’s last 6 video games, going back to his 30-point outburst in the January win over Kansas. With the Bears getting simply 5 overall points from their bench Saturday, there merely wasn’t adequate firepower to get rid of the scoring space that Butler left.
