By Dylan Fink | Sports Writer
LAWRENCE, Kan. — The deafening roars of a sold-out crowd at historic Allen Fieldhouse engulfed and conquered Baylor men’s basketball Friday night as Kansas clinched an 80-62 victory.
The Jayhawks swarmed the Bears early in the first half, jumping to a 19-4 lead in the first five minutes of play. Kansas’ hot start was fueled by freshman guard and potential 2026 NBA Draft No. 1 pick Darryn Peterson, who totaled 18 points in the first five minutes.
“Darryn really set the tone early,” head coach Scott Drew said. “I thought Tounde [Yessoufou] did a good job guarding him, but his run early definitely hurt us.”
Peterson was not the only freshman who came to compete.
Despite the Bears’ early defensive breakdowns and poor shot selection, freshman guard Tounde Yessoufou willed the team back into the game.
Yessoufou tallied 15 points in nine minutes of play, which lit a spark under the green and gold that managed to prolong an imminent blowout disguised as a shot-for-shot battle.
“Obviously, [Peterson’s] a great player, but I think personally I did an okay job guarding him,” Yessoufou said. “I could have done better some possessions … but then again, that the lesson that I need to learn.”
Redshirt sophomore guard Cameron Carr accompanied Yessoufou as the Bears’ sole game plan in the opening 20 minutes. The guard duo combined for 31 of Baylor’s 37 first-half points.
Drew’s squad led briefly 37-36 with two minutes left in the first half. The silence of Phog Allen lasted for less than 20 seconds as the Jayhawks responded with a 6-0 run, heading to halftime to the sounds of 128 decibels booming through the walls of college basketball’s Mecca.
“Coach Self always does a great job here,” Drew said. “I mean, you’re not going to win any games anywhere when you’re outscored 42-18 in the paint.”
Whatever first-half hopes the Bears held at a potential road win were quickly flushed, as the Jayhawks leapt to a 17-point lead up, 57-40, with 15 minutes left.
“We came in to dominate,” Peterson said. “That was the game plan.”
Staring down the barrel of another blowout conference loss, Drew moved his team into a 3-2 zone defensive set to stop the alive-and-well Kansas offense.
These efforts were futile.
With eight minutes left, the Bears stared down a 20-point deficit as the Jayhawks led 71-51. After demonstrating capable fight in the first 20 minutes, Baylor seemingly lost their previous effort across the board, minus a few flashes of hustle from Carr and Yessoufou.
“The coaches always say to be willing to be together and willing to trust one another,” Yessoufou said. “We just need to start being the toughest team.”
Kansas sophomore center Flory Bidunga picked up for head coach Bill Self’s squad right where Peterson left off with an onslaught of ferocious finishes that repeatedly broke apart the Bears’ weakening paint defense as the clock ticked down.
The one-two punch of Peterson and Bidunga proved too much for the Bears to pick up any scent of a comeback. The loss drops Baylor to 1-20 on James Naismith court, maintaining the 2020 matchup between the two programs as Baylor’s lone win.
“Winning conference games is on our mind right now,” Drew said. “We have got to get better, and we have to learn to finish and win close games.”
The Bears’ next matchup will be against No. 15 Texas Tech at 8 p.m. Tuesday at Foster Pavilion.
