By Foster Nicholas | Sports Writer
As No. 15 Baylor men’s basketball put together a 13-2 run in the second half, head coach Scott Drew witnessed his bevy of newcomers stand up in the moment. With time draining off the clock, the Foster Pavilion bellowed the echo of the fourth-straight home win over an in-conference powerhouse as the Bears downed No. 7 Kansas 82-74 on Saturday afternoon.
With the win, Baylor snagged sole possession of third place in the Big 12.
“We have four new starters this year, and you love to see as the year goes on the confidence grow,” Drew said. “They encourage one another, and because of that confidence and chemistry, they’re starting to reach new heights.
“You shoot 56% against Kansas, you’re really doing something well, because Coach [Bill] Self’s teams are really good.”
THIS. IS. MARCH!
No. 15 @BaylorMBB takes down No. 7 #Kansas, 82-74 to pull into sole possession of third place in the @Big12Conference standings with two games remaining in the regular season! #Baylor #SicEm pic.twitter.com/0ouwoyWPbm
— Parker Rehm (@parker_rehm) March 2, 2024
All four new Baylor (21-8, 10-6 Big 12) starters finished in double-figure scoring, with senior guard RayJ Dennis leading the way with his third double-double, tallying 19 points on 7-for-8 shooting with 10 assists. Junior guard Jayden Nunn also went 7-of-8 from the floor and finished with 18 points and a couple of steals. The pair combined to go a perfect 9 of 9 in the second half to spark the Bears’ run.
“As far as the second half, I think we found something as far as like playing fast and playing in transition,” Dennis said. “So that was kind of a focus. Like, if we get stops, let’s run, because we’re tough getting downhill.”
Freshman center Yves Missi put up 17 points on 7-of-12 shooting from the floor, and freshman guard Ja’Kobe Walter totaled 11 points and led the team with eight rebounds. While redshirt sophomore guard Langston Love missed his sixth game in seven games, the Jayhawks (21-8, 9-7 Big 12) returned star graduate guard Kevin McCullar Jr., who added 20 points for Kansas.
Baylor set the tone out of the gate when Missi slammed down a dunk over a Kansas defender, but it was just the start of a half of traded baskets.
“He shocked me,” Nunn said of Missi’s outing. “Every day, he does something new to shock me. He’s just showing how comfortable he’s getting playing the game.”
Baylor used the momentum to cling to a 35-34 lead heading into the half, but the Bears found separation in the final 20 minutes. Baylor sparked its 13-2 run with a pair of fastbreak layups from Nunn and a statement Missi block sandwiched between the sequence.
“I think the key was to get a couple of stops,” Drew said of the run. “Once we got a couple of stops, we were able to push it in transition. Fifteen fast-break points to seven was huge for us.
“Especially the first time we played, we had 21 turnovers, let them get way too much in transition. Today, only 11 turnovers, much more about what Baylor basketball is about and how we operate.”
While the Jayhawks did their best to keep it tight down the stretch, the basket trading ensued, and the lone double-digit run of the game proved to be enough to push the Bears to an 82-74 victory.
“In March, the whole world is watching college basketball,” Nunn said. “So just how serious to take it, but just take it one game at a time, and just play as hard as you can so that when you look back, you’re not like, ‘I should have done this. I should have did that.’ Just go out there and do it and compete.”
The Bears will play their final home contest against Texas (18-10, 7-8 Big 12) at 8 p.m. on Monday at the Foster Pavilion. The Big Monday showdown on ESPN will be Baylor’s Senior Night game.
