KU beats Baylor 73-68 in battle for top spot in the Big 12

Josh Jackson realizes Kansas’ basketball team took a big step toward winning its 13th-straight Big 12 Conference championship by beating Baylor on Wednesday night at Allen Fieldhouse.

However, it’s not over ’til it’s over, or something like that.

“Our job is not complete yet,” said Jackson, KU’s 6-foot-8 freshman guard from Detroit, after scoring a career-high 23 points on 8-of-13 shooting with 10 rebounds, two blocks, one steal, one assist and five turnovers in the third-ranked Jayhawks’ 73-68 victory over the No. 2 team in the country.

The win upped KU’s record to 20-2 overall and 8-1 in the Big 12. Baylor fell to 20-2 and 7-2.

“We’ll buckle up and do what we do,” Jackson added, acknowledging, “right now we are glad to be in first place, but we all know it’s not over.”

KU stormed back from an eight-point first half deficit to overcome the Bears, who were led by the 16-point efforts of Johnathan Motley, who had just two points in the second half; and Manu Lecomte.

KU’s Frank Mason scored 19 points on 3-of-12 shooting — he was 12 of 12 from the line — with six assists, three steals and two turnovers. Devonté Graham had 13 points on 5-of-9 shooting, including 3 of 6 on threes, and Svi Mykhailiuk had 11 points on 3-of-5 shooting — all three pointers.

Jackson’s baseline drive and dunk gave KU a 66-64 lead with 2:27 left. It turned out to be the game-winner as Baylor, a team that led 34-28 at halftime, never regained the advantage.

“I think I had made a three a couple of possessions before that (drive),” said Jackson. He hit 2 of 4 threes, but just 5 of 9 free throws on a night KU hit 9 of 20 threes and 20 of 27 free throws to Baylor’s 8 of 22 threes and 4 of 6 free throws.

“I figured if I up-faked the guy (defender), he’d jump,” Jackson added. “Landen (Lucas, 11 boards, five points and two steals) helped sealing the other big on the baseline. He couldn’t contest my shot. It was an easy bucket. It felt good to go out and play well. I wish I could have made a few more free throws. The way we played defense tonight, the way my teammates found me, it’s all on them.”

The Jayhawks’ defense actually saved the day, or at least prevented overtime.

KU led 71-68 after Mykhailiuk hit one of two free throws with 18 seconds left. Baylor had one final possession to tie, but hounded by KU’s defense, couldn’t get a shot off and instead threw the ball out of bounds with 1.3 seconds on the clock.

Mason, who had followed that Jackson bucket with two free throws at 1:55 to give KU a four-point lead, was fouled before the final inbounds pass. Hewent to the line and iced the game by hitting two free throws for the 73-68 margin.

“We were locked in,” Graham said. “It was the last possession of the game. We needed a stop. We did a good job of flying around and getting that stop.”

Of that defensive stand, Jackson said: “The only thing I remember is Coach saying the last 10 seconds of the game … that’s how we should always play.”

KU coach Bill Self was pleased with his squad’s man-to-man defense in crunch time. The Jayhawks had played zone much of the final half, but not the final few minutes.

“The bottom line is, did we guard the last 2  1/2 minutes?” Self asked. “When we went back man-to-man (after playing a lot of zone again this game) I thought our guys hunkered down and guarded probably as good of a stretch as we’ve had all year, and of course we had to in order to win the game.”

KU’s win over the Bears stretched its home-court win streak to 51 games. The Jayhawks have won 37 consecutive conference contests at home.

“That was a fabulous basketball game,” Self said. “That was two really good teams playing. I couldn’t be more proud of our guys. On the flip side, I don’t know if the Baylor staff could be more proud of their guys. They made some hard shots. They banked in three shots the second half.”

Of Jackson’s effort, Self said: “He’s a great, great player. I think he’s been great all year long, but I think he’s even more comfortable now than what he has been. He’s shooting the ball better. He made 2 of 4 from three tonight, that makes him 10 of his last 18. He has started to feel it. The one knock is he makes the game harder than what it should be because he’s not a good free-throw shooter yet. He will be.”

Self also lauded Mason, who still scored on a night he missed nine of 12 shots.

“I thought the zone was going to bother Frank. It always does,” Self said. “He’s not that tall and all of that length, for him to shoot 12 free throws and get 19 points, six assists and three steals when the game wasn’t meant for him as much as it has been other games I thought was remarkable.”

Mason also had six points in a key 14-0 run that turned a 36-28 deficit into a 42-36 lead with 16:31 left. Baylor immediately responded to take a 43-42 advantage at 14:47, courtesy of a 7-0 spurt.

KU will next meet Iowa State at 1 p.m. Saturday at Allen Fieldhouse as the Jayhawks continue a busy league schedule.

“I don’t even want to think about that right now,” Self said of the Big 12 race. “I just want to enjoy this one. I want our players to enjoy this.”

This, that

▪ Redshirt Malik Newman did not attend the game. Self said he had the flu and team doctors told him to stay home.

▪ Self said nothing has changed regarding Carlton Bragg, who has been suspended indefinitely.

Duval attends game

Trevon Duval, a 6-foot-2 senior point guard from IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla., attended the game as part of an official recruiting visit.

Duval, who is ranked No. 3 in the recruiting Class of 2017 by Rivals.com, has a list of KU, Baylor, Duke, Arizona and Seton Hall. He attended Late Night in the Phog on an unofficial campus visit.

During his high school career, the New Castle, Del., native also attended St. Benedict’s Prep in Newark, N.J., as well as Advanced Prep in Dallas. At one point he was a teammate of KU signee Billy Preston at Advanced Prep.

Young to announce date he’s committing

Trae Young a 6-2 senior guard from Norman (Okla.) North, reported on Twitter this week that he “will be announcing my commitment date later this week!! #ComingSoon.”

Some say he’s down to KU and Oklahoma, but Kentucky is still on his list.

Young’s buddy, Washington bound Michael Porter, recently commented to Zagsblog.com on Young’s recruitment.

“He hasn’t told me anything, I don’t even think he knows but I’m thinking Oklahoma or Kansas,” Porter Jr. said at the Hoophall Classic.

Baylor notes

▪ Chip Gaines, one of the hosts of HGTV’s “Fixer Upper,” attended the game and sat by Baylor’s bench. The show is based in Waco, Texas.

▪ The Bears made the trip to Lawrence on the day of the game, not on Tuesday. They arrived at 11 a.m.

No. 3 KANSAS 73

No. 2 BAYLOR 68

TableStyle: SP-bkwideplayersCCI Template: SP-bkwideplayers

Percentages: FG .412, FT .667. Three-Point Goals: 8-22, .364 (Lecomte 4-6, Wainright 2-6, Motley 1-1, Lual-Acuil 1-3, Maston 0-1, McClure 0-1, Freeman 0-4). Team Rebounds: 2. Blocked Shots: 6 (Lindsey 2, Lual-Acuil 2, Maston, Wainright). Turnovers: 14 (Lecomte 3, Motley 3, Lual-Acuil 2, Maston 2, Wainright 2, Freeman, McClure). Steals: 10 (Wainright 4, Freeman 2, Lecomte 2, Lual-Acuil, McClure). Technical Fouls: None. Fouled Out: Lindsey.

TableStyle: SP-bkwideplayersCCI Template: SP-bkwideplayers

Percentages: FG .415, FT .741. Three-Point Goals: 9-20, .450 (Mykhailiuk 3-5, Graham 3-6, Jackson 2-4, Mason 1-3, Vick 0-2). Team Rebounds: 1. Blocked Shots: 5 (Jackson 2, Lightfoot 2, Coleby). Turnovers: 15 (Jackson 5, Coleby 2, Lucas 2, Mason 2, Mykhailiuk 2, Graham, Vick). Steals: 7 (Mason 3, Lucas 2, Graham, Jackson). Technical Fouls: None. Fouled Out: None.

Half: Baylor 34-28. Att: 16,300.

This story was originally published February 1, 2017 at 10:26 PM with the headline "KU beats Baylor 73-68 in battle for top spot in the Big 12."