On Saturday afternoon in Waco, Texas, two Big 12 teams clashed in an exciting back-and-forth contest.
Scott Drew and the Baylor Bears welcomed Bill Self and the Kansas Jayhawks to Foster Pavilion for the tenth game of the Big 12 regular season. Kansas jumped out to a massive lead in a game that looked like it was over before halftime. At one point, the Jayhawks led Baylor by 21 points, but that would not be enough as the Bears fought to a win without three of their best players.
With that, here are the top three takeaways from Baylor’s 81-70 win over the Jayhawks.
Another Injury
The Baylor Bears entered Saturday’s matchup vs. Kansas already shorthanded, and they lost another key contributor during the clash with the Jayhawks.
The backcourt duo of Langston Love and Jeremy Roach were listed as game-time decisions ahead of tip-off, and after participating in pre-game warm-ups, both could not suit up for Baylor. The short-handed group was outclassed early against Kansas but rallied back quickly. Unfortunately, they lost their star freshman, VJ Edgecombe, in the process.
Edgecombe left the game with a lower-body injury in the second half and was ruled out. His health will be a significant focus point going forward for a Baylor squad already dealing with multiple injuries.
Hunter Needs Help
Anytime a statistic is shown that highlights a historic collapse, it’s probably time to hit the panic button. Kansas led Baylor by 21 points and wound up losing by nine. They allowed Baylor to finish the game on a massive run, which resulted in the largest blown lead in the history of Kansas Basketball.
The lone Jayhawk that showed up for Bill Self’s group was senior center Hunter Dickinson. The All-American posted 20 points on 8-15 shooting, which led his team by eight. Only three Jayhawks reached double figures, including Dickinson, Dajuan Harris, and Rylan Griffen, who finished with 12 and 11, respectively.
South Dakota State transfer Zeke Mayo had scored double figures in his last five games, however, against Baylor, Mayo was kept in check. He went 3-9 from the floor and 2-7 from three to score just eight points, seven less than his season average of 15.4
From a 97.4% chance of winning, according to advanced analytics, to a nine-point loss, Bill Self’s got some issues on his hands moving forward.
Related: Is Kansas Basketball Losing Its Mystique?
A Star Is Born
Don’t call it a comeback. On second thought, do call it a comeback as the Bears rallied back to beat Kansas in dramatic fashion.
The team made two incredible runs against Kansas, one to take the lead after being down 21 points and the second to take control of the game with just four minutes remaining. They closed out the game on a 26-7 run to seal the deal.
The run was sparked by freshman guard Rob Wright III, who went nuclear in the second half to earn a victory. The Delaware native posted 24 points, six assists, and two rebounds, which became a new career-high in scoring. He’s now reached the 20-point mark in back-to-back games after scoring 22 against BYU on Tuesday.
If he can continue his production alongside some key playmakers returning from injury, watch out for this Baylor team come March.
