By Kevin Lonnquist
Publisher
Beating Kansas is no longer a court-storming event. It's just the way Scott Drew's program is doing business these days.
On Monday night at the Ferrell Center, the Bears used tenacious work on the offensive glass - 18 offensive rebounds for 16 second chance points - that offset 37 percent shooting and won their fifth straight. Baylor beat Kansas in consecutive meetings for the first time in the 44 meetings between the two teams.
The Bears' 3-game losing streak to start Big 12 play seems years ago. Meanwhile, Kansas (16-4, 5-3) has lost three straight for just the fourth time in Bill Self's tenure in Lawrence, KS.
With the exception of a blip where Kansas took a 46-45 lead early in the second half, the Bears led this throughout. The Bears also forced 15 Kansas turnovers - nine steals - and created 19 points off of them.
Baylor's backcourt between LJ Cryer, Adam Flagler and Langston Love combined for 50 points. But the way they did it came in waves. Cryer scored 19 of his 22 in the first half. Flagler spread his 17 evenly between both halves. Love scored all 11 of his in the second half.
The Bears built a 13-point lead early thanks to Cryer starting fast. Baylor started 4-7 from long distance. Kansas closed to 41-34 at the break.
Then, the Jayhawks used a burst to climb into it. Gradey Dick had a key 3-point play during the run. However, the Bears were able to regain command. They went on a 12-3 run to stretch it back out to 57-49 and never really looked back. But it was a struggle to get to the finish line as the Bears went 1-10 from the field to finish the game and no field goals in the final 2:55.
Baylor remains at home for the Big 12/SEC Challenge on Saturday with a 3:00 p.m. meeting with Arkansas. The Razorbacks and Bears last met in the 2021 Elite 8 in Indianapolis during the national championship run.
POSTGAME NOTES
Publisher
Beating Kansas is no longer a court-storming event. It's just the way Scott Drew's program is doing business these days.
On Monday night at the Ferrell Center, the Bears used tenacious work on the offensive glass - 18 offensive rebounds for 16 second chance points - that offset 37 percent shooting and won their fifth straight. Baylor beat Kansas in consecutive meetings for the first time in the 44 meetings between the two teams.
The Bears' 3-game losing streak to start Big 12 play seems years ago. Meanwhile, Kansas (16-4, 5-3) has lost three straight for just the fourth time in Bill Self's tenure in Lawrence, KS.
With the exception of a blip where Kansas took a 46-45 lead early in the second half, the Bears led this throughout. The Bears also forced 15 Kansas turnovers - nine steals - and created 19 points off of them.
Baylor's backcourt between LJ Cryer, Adam Flagler and Langston Love combined for 50 points. But the way they did it came in waves. Cryer scored 19 of his 22 in the first half. Flagler spread his 17 evenly between both halves. Love scored all 11 of his in the second half.
The Bears built a 13-point lead early thanks to Cryer starting fast. Baylor started 4-7 from long distance. Kansas closed to 41-34 at the break.
Then, the Jayhawks used a burst to climb into it. Gradey Dick had a key 3-point play during the run. However, the Bears were able to regain command. They went on a 12-3 run to stretch it back out to 57-49 and never really looked back. But it was a struggle to get to the finish line as the Bears went 1-10 from the field to finish the game and no field goals in the final 2:55.
Baylor remains at home for the Big 12/SEC Challenge on Saturday with a 3:00 p.m. meeting with Arkansas. The Razorbacks and Bears last met in the 2021 Elite 8 in Indianapolis during the national championship run.
POSTGAME NOTES
- Baylor has won five consecutive games.
- Kansas leads the all-time series 36-19, including a 14-6 mark in Waco.
- Baylor is 12-1 vs. top-10 ranked teams in the last three years and are 10-4 in home games against top-10 foes over the last 10 seasons.
- The Bears are 25-8 vs. AP top-25 teams over the last four years.
- Baylor is 78-7 when leading at halftime and 95-10 when taking a second-half lead.
- The Bears are 108-10 when leading at halftime over the last six seasons.
- Baylor is 49-5 in home games over the last four seasons.
- Baylor’s 47-10 Big 12 record over the last four seasons is the best of any power five team
- Baylor head coach Scott Drew is 432-240 all-time in his 21st season as a head coach and is 412-227 in his 20th year at Baylor. Drew is 170-158 in the Big 12 and is 8-27 vs. Kansas.
- The starting lineup of Adam Flagler, Keyonte George, LJ Cryer, Jalen Bridges and Flo Thamba was used for a seventh-straight game, that combo is 11-4 this season.
- LJ Cryer finished with a team-leading 22 points on 8-of-16 shooting with three assists and two boards in 37 minutes. Cryer has scored in double figures in 12 of his 17 games on the year and in 27 in his career, with the Bears owning a 23-4 mark in those games.
- Cryer had five 3-pointers in the first half, the first player with five triples in the first half since Adam Flagler had five at Oregon in 2021-22.
- It was Cryer’s first 20+ point game since going for 28 vs. No. 8 UCLA in 2022-23.
- Flagler had 17 points, two rebounds and two assists in 35 minutes. He reached double figures for the 39th time in his last 42 games.
- Langston Love finished with 11 points and a rebound. He reached double figures for the eighth time on the year.
- Jalen Bridges added 11 points and nine boards. Bridges scored in double figures for the 11th time on the year, with Baylor owning a 10-1 record in those outings.
- Thamba played in his 137th career game, the fourth most in program history.
Last edited:
