Tale of Two Halves: No. 5 Kansas beats No. 9 Baylor after second half turnaround
LAWRENCE (KSNT) - In college basketball's biggest game of the day, KU beat Baylor in a tale of two halves.
Kansas beat Baylor, 87-71.
Gradey Dick's layup 57 seconds into the game got the Allen Fieldhouse crowd roaring early. However, the Jayhawks' shooting didn't keep up with the pace.
KU and Baylor traded shots, keeping the score close until there was about 13 minutes left in the first half. After that, Baylor's LJ Cryer sank back-to-back 3-pointers, forcing Bill Self to call a timeout.
Baylor slowly added to its lead, leading by as many as 17 points. KU cut that to 13 at the half, trailing 45-32 at the break.
The Jayhawks looked more like the reigning national champions in the second half. They ignited the second half with a 10-0 run, cutting Baylor's lead to just three.
KU made just one free throw in the first half, but undid that curse in the second. Dajuan Harris' 3 kept the Jayhawks close. Then, he stole the ball from Langston Love and gave the ball to Dick. He added three more to finally give Kansas the lead back with 14:29 left.
KJ Adams added to the excitement with a dunk coming out of Baylor's timeout.
The Jayhawks' offense continued to take advantage of the Bears' 11 turnovers.
With its foot still on the gas, Kansas found its first double-digit lead of the game at 65-54 with ten minutes to play. The Jayhawks didn't let up, leading 80-63 with four minutes to go.
Kansas held on for the rest of the period, finishing with an 87-71 victory.
Wilson led the Jayhawks in scoring with 21 points and 13 rebounds. Harris Jr. added 14 points and 9 assists, Adams Jr. 17 points and Dick 16 points.
The win moves Kansas to 22-5, 10-4 in Big 12 play. The Jayhawks travel to No. 22 TCU on Monday.