Kansas knocked off Baylor in Waco to move closer to its 13th straight conference title
It took a pair of late Landen Lucas free throws, but the Kansas Jayhawks moved one win closer to a 13th straight Big 12 regular season championship with a 67-65 win over the Baylor Bears in Waco on Saturday.
The Jayhawks trailed by as many as 12 late in the first half, but a pair of 3-pointers cut the lead to six by halftime. In the second half, senior point guard Frank Mason took over, scoring 16 of his 23 points in the final 20 minutes.
It was another close win for Kansas, but the team now has a three-game lead in the Big 12 with four games remaining. No. 13 is all but a certainty.
Here’s a look at what else we learned from the Jayhawks’ win.
1. Kansas blitzed Baylor’s ball screens and it paid off
For much of the second half, Kansas guarded Baylor’s high ball screens by sending the screening man’s defender to either hard hedge or blitz the ball-handler. Often, that meant the Bears’ Johnathan Motley would get the ball in an open pick-and-pop situation at the top of the key. Those possessions produced mixed results with Motley hitting a couple shots, but also turning it over a couple of times. In general, though, the Jayhawks found success by taking point guard Manu Lecomte out of the game with the strategy. Lecomte’s bum ankle late in the second half also clearly had an effect late.
With Kansas leading 67-65 on the final possession of the game, Baylor looked to run another high ball screen action for Lecomte using Jo Lual-Acuil as the screener. Josh Jackson immediately sprinted off Lual-Acuil to double the Bears’ point guard. Lecomte wasn’t able to find a pass and ran to the right wing where Jackson managed to contest his long 2-pointer that ultimately careened off the rim.
Much has been made of the Jayhawks’ defensive shortcomings this season, but they’ve frequently come up big at the end of close games. This was the latest example.
2. Baylor’s turnovers may haunt them in March
Baylor came into Saturday’s contest committing a turnover on 20.2 percent of its possessions, which ranks 272nd out of 351 teams in Division I. It’s a problem that has reared its head in most of the Bears’ losses this season and did again against Kansas.
Baylor turned it over 16 times against the Jayhawks, equating to a giveaway on one out of every four possessions. Not only did the turnovers negate much of what the Bears were able to do well on the offensive boards, but Kansas scored 20 of its 67 points on possessions following a Baylor giveaway.
When the games get slower and the possessions get more valuable in March, the Bears can ill afford to commit this many turnovers if they want to make the Final Four run they’re capable of.
3. Frank Mason is one of the country’s best closers
Kansas now has 12 wins in the Big 12 and seven of them — including its last four — have come by five points or fewer. It’s arguably a concerning sign for a team with free throw problems and national title aspirations, but so far the Jayhawks have survived.
One of the keys for Kansas late has been point guard Frank Mason. The senior has developed into one of the best closers in college basketball because of his ability to penetrate and find teammates, draw fouls or score at the rim.
Next: Wichita State is ready for March
Over the final five minutes of this one, the Jayhawks scored10 points and Mason scored or assisted on six of them. The 5-foot-11 guard finished with 23 points and eight assists in the win.