It’s showdown of showdowns, for now
No other game is likely to match Baylor-Kansas
Bill Self stood in front of a mural plastered on the wall outside the Kansas locker room in Allen Fieldhouse depicting the Jayhawks’ many championship rings, and he mused about the importance of the trip to Baylor Saturday.
“I don’t have to tell them,” Self said. “They know how many games are left in the league, and I’m not approaching it like a league race. I’m approaching it like an opportunity to play a terrific team on a big stage away from home. The league race is not something I’m going to emphasize because they’re probably already talking about it.”
Indeed, the biggest showdown in the Big 12 this season might just be the biggest showdown of the season. The topranked Bears (24-1, 13-0) roll into the game carrying a league-record 23-game win streak, highlighted by their first road victory in 18 tries against Kansas (23-3, 12-1). They could deal a blow to the Jayhawks’ bid to add another championship ring.
Baylor also could solidify its position as the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA tournament next month, even to the point the Bears might not need to win the league’s postseason tournament to earn it. The stakes could hardly be higher for two teams that have each spent time at No. 1 this season and have played four of their past eight matchups when both ranked in the top 5.
“When you’ve been around the league as long as I have,” Baylor coach Scott Drew said, “you’ve had a chance to see just the great players, great coaches, and also the great environments and see just how hard it is to accomplish what the team has accomplished, with getting the all-time longest Big 12 winning streak. At the same time, this group has stayed humble. They have stayed hungry. And, right now, it’s just one day at a time and focusing on the present.”
That’s because what happened in Allen Fieldhouse last month has little impact on what will happen at Ferrell Center. The Bears, who never had won a road game against a top-five team, handled the Jayhawks quite easily in a 67-55 victory. Jared Butler led the way with 22 points, including a run of 10 in the final eight minutes that clinched the game, and Baylor’s confounding defense forced Kansas into committing 14 turnovers that led to too many easy baskets.
While both teams haven’t lost since, they also are markedly different. Baylor could have a less-than-healthy MaCio Teague after its second-leading scorer missed the past two games with a wrist injury. Kansas will have a healthy Devon Dotson after the All-America candidate had a hip pointer in the first game.
The Jayhawks also have changed their approach after the Bears held them to their lowest offensive output at the Phog since the 2000 season. Self jettisoned his preferred approach with two big men for a four-guard lineup, and the result has been some of their most explosive and efficient scoring performances this season.
Kansas hardly is accustomed to being the hunter in high-profile matchups. While they are 0-2 against top-five teams this season, they have won 20 of the past 24 such games.