Kansas Jayhawks closing in on ‘something special,’ a Big 12 men’s basketball title
A Kansas victory over Baylor on the road Saturday night, paired with a Texas Tech loss at TCU, would assure the No. 5-ranked Jayhawks at least a tie for the 2021-22 Big 12 regular-season men’s basketball title.
Earning a piece of the crown with three games still to play would certainly please KU super senior Jalen Coleman-Lands, who experienced a last-place finish in the conference as a starter at Iowa State a year ago.
“The earlier the better, especially with it being in our control,” said Coleman-Lands, who has averaged 4.4 points a game off the bench for the Jayhawks (23-4, 12-2) heading into a 7 p.m. tip against Baylor (23-5, 11-4) in Waco, Texas. Texas Tech (22-6, 11-4) will tangle with the Horned Frogs (17-9, 6-8) in a 5 p.m. start in Fort Worth, Texas.
“We are playing each game, especially this one, like we are trying to win a championship. That’s the mindset,” Coleman-Lands added.
A Jayhawks loss Saturday against the defending national champion Bears would tighten things up a bit, with KU still in control of its own destiny.
“It feels great being a part of something special. I haven’t really seen it from that end yet,” said Coleman-Lands, who was a member of an 0-18 team in conference games at Iowa State a year ago. The 25-year-old Indianapolis native has also played at Illinois and DePaul with no title rings in his possession yet in a six-year college career.
“Day in and day out, working diligently to get to this point, it feels earned,” Coleman-Lands added of a possible 2021-22 league title. “Coming here in the summer, Boot Camp, doing all this stuff together and competing at the highest level in practices … it feels earned so I’m looking forward to earning it each game. This Baylor game is important.”
Kansas, Baylor and Texas Tech are the only three schools still in contention for the conference crown. KU travels to TCU on Tuesday, then has home games in Allen Fieldhouse versus TCU on Thursday and Texas on Saturday.
“It means a lot,” KU senior guard Ochai Agbaji said of being in position to claim a league crown. He was part of KU’s 2019-20 Big 12 title team.
“When I came in as a freshman I never would have thought I’d be in this position to lead my team to a Big 12 Conference championship or be in contention for any of that. It’s great. It’s crazy, but it’s also really exciting at the same time,” added the Oak Park High School graduate who averages 20.2 points and 5.2 rebounds per game.
“From the beginning of the season, we’ve always wanted it. Every single year that’s our goal,” Agbaji added of winning the league title, then the Big 12 tourney title and ultimately the national title. “This season, more than any, that energy and buzz we have … you can feel that energy walking to the locker room and at practice. We are always trying to get better. We’re never complacent as a team,” Agbaji noted.
Saturday’s opponent, defending national champ Baylor, lost to Kansas, 83-59, in the first of two meetings between the teams on Feb. 5 at Allen Fieldhouse.
That was the game in which Baylor guard James Akinjo missed 11 shots and did not score a single point. For the year, Akinjo, a 6-1 senior guard, averages 12.9 points a game with 149 assists against 81 turnovers.
Adam Flagler, a 6-3 junior guard who hit seven threes and scored 29 points in the Bears’ 66-64 overtime win over Oklahoma State on Monday in Stillwater, Oklahoma, scored 16 points versus KU, while freshman guard Kendall Brown added 12 points. Agbaji and Christian Braun scored 18 points apiece and Jalen Wilson 15 points for KU.
“I think it’ll be highly competitive, a fun game. You work a long time to play in games like this,” KU coach Bill Self said.
“I know they (Bears) will enjoy it. I certainly hope we enjoy it. It’s kind of a reward for both teams doing well, them hosting (ESPN) GameDay late in the conference season for a game that has implications. We’ll be excited about it. They’e got really good guys. We’ve got really good players. It should be a fun game,” Self added.
BU hit 29.6% of its shots; KU 51.6% in the first meeting in Lawrence. In the rematch, the Bears could receive a lift if sophomore guard LJ Cryer. who missed the game at Allen Fieldhouse is able to play. He’s missed six of the last seven games with a foot injury.
“I think we did a good job on him (Akinjo). Juan (Harris) guarded him the majority of the time,” Self said. “We did a good job on Flagler the first half. The show Flagler put on in Stillwater was about as impressive as anybody’s done all year long including by our guy (Agbaji),” Self added.
Of the challenge ahead against Baylor, Agbaji said: “We expect them to play different than what they did last time — to come out with more fire. They are at home. It will be a rough road game and rough environment for us. But I think it’s going to be fun. It’s a really great opponent. I’m ready for this test. It’s the test we’ve all been working for the whole entire season. I’m excited.”
