The Kansas Jayhawks knocked off the Baylor Bears in a top five clash at Allen Fieldhouse.
The Kansas Jayhawks held off the Baylor Bears, 73-68, in a riveting back-and-forth affair at Allen Fieldhouse on Wednesday night. Freshman Josh Jackson paced the Jayhawks with 23 points and 10 rebounds while Frank Mason added 19 points, six assists and four boards. Both Manu Lecomte and Johnathan Motley scored 16 points for the Bears while Terry Maston added 14 from the bench.
The win allowed Kansas to hold serve in the Big 12 as it chases a 13th straight Big 12 regular season championship. For Baylor, the return meeting in Waco on February 18 becomes even more important.
To help wrap up the game, here’s a look at three things we learned from the Jayhawks’ victory
1. Josh Jackson is becoming Kansas’ best player
Frank Mason may be the Jayhawks’ National Player of the Year candidate and their most likely All-American, but freshman Josh Jackson is quickly becoming the team’s best player as he fulfills the potential that will likely make him a top three pick in June’s NBA Draft.
Over Kansas’ toughest stretch of the season — its last three games at West Virginia, at Kentucky and against Baylor on Wednesday night — Jackson averaged 21.7 points, eight rebounds and 2.7 assists while shooting 57.1 percent from the floor and canning eight of his 13 3-point attempts.
Against Baylor, Jackson’s playmaking from the throw line was crucial as he was able to help rotate the ball to open teammates and attack off the bounce. Add in the fact that when locked in Jackson is one of the best perimeter defenders in college basketball and it’s easy to see how he can snatch the title from Mason.
The good news is that Jackson spending more time with the ball in his hands can help his teammates, too. Mason, his backcourt mate Devonte’ Graham and wing Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk are all knock down 3-point shooters who stand to benefit from Jackson getting the defense on the move.
For Kansas to be its best, it needed Josh Jackson to be his. That looks to be coming.
2. Kansas figured out its defense in the second half
Baylor carried a six point lead into halftime as it dominated the Jayhawks on the interior. The Bears attempted 28 of their 35 (80.0 percent) first half field goal attempts inside the 3-point arc as frontcourt players Johnathan Motley, Jo Lual-Acuil and Terry Maston combined to score 25 points on 11-for-23 shooting and grabbed seven offensive rebounds.
The second half, though, was a different story as Kansas concentrated on getting the ball out of Motley’s hands by switching Jackson onto him in man-to-man and doubling him on the catch. The Jayhawks also used their 2-3 zone late in the contest to help limit paint touches for Baylor. The Bears attempted just 17 of their 32 (53.1 percent) second half shots from inside the arc as Motley took only one shot and scored a meager 2 points in the final 20 minutes.
Much will be said about the free throw disparity given that it’s a home game at Allen Fieldhouse, but Kansas took 23 of its 27 free throw attempts in the second half when it aggressively worked to attack Baylor’s defense in transition. The Bears, on the other hand, seemed to settle for taking jump shots rather than working to force the issue.
3. Baylor is still a very real Final Four threat
Baylor’s last five losses in Allen Fieldhouse have come by an average of 16.6 points, so from a historical perspective, tonight was a big improvement for Scott Drew’s team.
Baylor’s defense will be its calling card this season. The team is capable of playing man-to-man, but excels in Drew’s amorphous 1-1-3/1-3-1 zone because of its length and athleticism. The Bears size bothered Kansas all night as the Jayhawks shot just 13-of-33 (39.4 percent) inside the arc.
On offense, there are few teams in the country who have a defender that can match up with Motley. His offensive versatility was on full display in the first half as he worked his way to 14 points by showing off his post game, his face up offense and even hit a 3-pointer. Point guard Manu Lecomte is also a capable go-to scoring option who can fill it up from deep and attack in the pick-and-roll.
The Bears entered the season unranked, but have quickly proven their quality by amassing one of the best resumes in college basketball. A four point loss at Allen Fieldhouse is a tough pill to swallow, but helped to define the quality of this Baylor team as one that can make it all the way to Phoenix come March.