San Diego Union-Tribune (Sunday)
KANSAS BEATS BAYLOR TO END PERFECT RUN
After its record streak in the Top 25 came to an end, Kansas spent the past the past three weeks quietly getting better, ripping off five consecutive wins before taking No. 14 Texas to overtime in a close loss on the road.
Baylor spent most of that same stretch mired in a COVID-19 shutdown.
So when No. 17 Kansas walked into Allen Fieldhouse on Saturday, it had reason to be confident it could end the Bears’ perfect start. And by the time David Mccormack finished pouring in 20 points, and Marcus Garrett added 14 on his senior night, the Jayhawks walked out with a 71-58 victory that left No. 1 Gonzaga as the nation’s only undefeated team.
“We had three weeks where they got worse and they had three weeks where they got better,” said Baylor coach Scott Drew, whose team led Kansas wire-to-wire in a 77-69 victory last month in Waco, Texas. “Even Superman has kryptonite and I guess COVID protocols are ours.”
Kansas (18-8, 12-6) had something to do with it, too.
The Jayhawks held the nation’s top 3-point shooting team to 6 of 26 from beyond the arc. They had a 4828 advantage on the boards. They forced Baylor (18-1, 11-1) into early foul trouble and proceeded to go 18 of 26 from the foul line.
They also made sure Baylor would need to wait at least a few more days to clinch its first conference title since 1950.
“There were a lot of naysayers saying whatever they would like,” said Mccormack, who fouled out in the final minutes. “We had our ebbs and flows, but we’re continuing to rise, and we’re going to continue to rise into March.”
Macio Teague scored 18 points and Davion Mitchell added 13 for the Bears, but leading scorer Jared Butler was 2 of 9 from the field and managed just five points while Garrett — one of the nation’s best defenders — hounded him all night.
The result was just the Bears’ second loss in 12 games against ranked opponents over the past two years, and an end to the best start in school history — though one that still has them positioned for a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
“It’s a huge win for us. It’s not going to get you a ring on your finger or anything like that, but it’s a big win,” Kansas coach Bill Self said. “We could have easily won in Austin and really finished strong, but I’m really happy with the way we played.”
No. 3 Michigan 73, Indiana 57: Franz Wagner scored 21 points and Isaiah Livers had 16 points and 10 rebounds, helping the visiting Wolverines (18-1, 13-1 Big Ten) pull away from the Hoosiers (12-12, 7-10 for their seventh straight victory.
No. 5 Illinois 74, No. 23 Wisconsin 69: Kofi Cockburn scored 19 points, and the Illini (18-6, 15-4 Big Ten) completed their first regularseason sweep of the Badgers (16-9, 10-8) since 2005.
No. 6 Alabama 64, Mississippi State 59: Jaden Shackleford scored 10 of his 15 points in the second half, and the visiting Crimson Tide (19-6, 14-2) clinched their first Southeastern Conference regular-season championship since 2002 by beating the Bulldogs (13-12, 7-9).
Oklahoma State 94, No. 7 Oklahoma 90 (OT): Freshman Cade Cunningham scored 10 of his season-high 40 points in overtime, leading the visiting Cowboys (16-6, 9-6 Big 12) over the Sooners (15-7, 8-7) for their fourth straight win.
No. 10 West Virginia 65, Kansas State 43: Sean Mcneil scored 16 points and the host Mountaineers (17-6, 10-4 Big 12) used two big second-half runs to beat the Wildcats (7-19, 3-14).
North Carolina 78, No. 11 Florida State 70: Freshman Walker Kessler scored a season-high 20 points, and the host Tar Heels (15-8, 9-5 Atlantic Coast Conference) boosted their NCAA Tournament chances with a win over the Seminoles (14-4, 10-3) while giving coach Roy Williams his 900th career victory.
Xavier 77, No. 13 Creighton 69: Paul Scruggs scored 23 points and Zach Freemantle added 17, helping the Musketeers (13-5, 6-5 Big East) bolster their NCAA Tournament hopes with a win over the visiting Blue Jays (17-6, 13-5).
No. 18 Texas Tech 68, No. 14 Texas 59: Mac Mcclung had 16 points to lead five Texas Tech players in double figures, and the host Red Raiders (15-8, 7-7 Big 12) beat the Longhorns (14-7, 8-6) to snap a three-game losing streak.
No. 16 Virginia Tech 84, Wake Forest 46: Keve Aluma scored 23 points and Tyrece Radford had 15, leading the host Hokies (15-5, 9-4) the Demon Deacons (6-13, 3-13) for their largest margin of victory for an Atlantic Coast Conference game.
No. 20 Arkansas 83, LSU 75:
Justin Smith had 19 points and 10 rebounds, helping the Razorbacks (19-5, 11-4 SEC) beat the visiting Tigers (14-8, 9-6) for their sixth straight win.
No. 21 Loyola Chicago 65, Southern Illinois 58 (OT): Cameron Krutwig had 20 points and the host Ramblers (21-4, 16-2 Missouri Valley) scored the last eight points in overtime to beat the Salukis (1113, 5-13).
Auburn 77, No. 25 Tennessee 72:
Allen Flanigan scored a season-high 23 points and had seven rebounds as the host Tigers (12-13, 6-10 SEC) held off the Volunteers (16-7, 9-7) to snap a three-game losing streak.