Baylor snaps several skids in KU victory
LAWRENCE, Kan. — Jared Butler scored 22 points, MaCio Teague added 16 and fourthranked Baylor beat No. 3 Kansas 67-55 on Saturday for the Bears’ first win in 18 tries on the hallowed hardwood of Allen Fieldhouse.
Freddie Gillespie added 13 points for the Bears (13-1, 3-0 Big 12), who snapped a whole slew of ignominious streaks with their victory in Lawrence: They beat a top-five team on the road for the first time in 22 attempts, won their fifth consecutive game against a ranked team for the first time in school history and, perhaps most importantly, beat Kansas (12-3, 2-1) in their personal house of horrors for the first time since the building opened in 1966.
Isaiah Moss scored 15 points and Marcus Garrett had 11 for the Jayhawks, who lost leading scorer Devon Dotson to an injury for a long stretch midway through the game and could never solve the Bears’ league-best defense.
Kansas was 4 of 15 from beyond the arc and committed 14 turnovers, which Baylor turned into a 21-2 edge in points off turnovers. The result was just the Jayhawks’ second loss to the Bears in their last 15 meetings.
The two Big 12 heavyweights spent the first 10 minutes of the game sizing each other up, and the Jayhawks opened a brief 20-15 lead before the Bears — and Teague and Butler in particular — finally asserted control.
Teague began a 22-4 run to close the first half by beating the shot clock with a 3-pointer. He turned the same trick a few minutes later, right after Butler knocked down a 3 and added a jumper of his own. The quick flurry forced Kansas coach Bill Self to call the first of two fruitless timeouts in the closing minutes of the first half.
The second timeout came as the Bears were hitting seven straight field goals to take a 37-24 lead into the break.
Making matters worse for Kansas? Dotson appeared to tweak his hip or oblique down the stretch. He played on and began the second half, but he grabbed his side again 30 seconds in and immediately returned to the locker room.
Holding the Bears to a pair of field goals over the first 10 minutes of the second half, Kansas slowly managed to trim its deficit. Udoka Azubuike’s alleyoop dunk got the Jayhawks within 41-36, and Ochai Agbaji’s acrobatic layup a few minutes later provided an answer to yet another 3-pointer from Teague.
But the Jayhawks also misfired on plenty of opportunities to get closer. Garrett committed his fourth turnover with a chance to make it a onepossession game, Moss air-balled a 3-pointer and the Bears collapsed on easy looks in the paint.
That’s when Butler and Teague refused to let another Baylor lead dissipate in the Phog.
TEXAS A&M 69, VANDERBILT 50
In Nashville, Tenn., Andre Gordon scored 15 points, and Texas A&M (8-6, 2-1) spoiled the Commodores’ Southeastern Conference home opener. Vanderbilt (8-7, 0-2) was without SEC leading scorer Aaron Nesmith, who is out with a foot injury.
WEST VIRGINIA 66 TEXAS TECH 54
Miles McBride scored 22 points to lead host West Virginia (13-2, 2-1 Big 12), while Davide Moretti scored 16 points to lead Texas Tech (1-5, 1-2)
TCU 52 OKLAHOMA ST. 40
In Fort Worth, Desmond Bane led TCU (12-3, 3-0 Big 12) with 20 points, nine rebounds and six assists to beat Oklahoma State (9-6, 0-3).
NORTH TEXAS 81, FLORIDA ATLANTIC 58
In Fort Worth, Javion Hamlet had a season-high 20 points as North Texas (9-8, 3-0 Conference USA) easily beat Florida Atlantic (11-6, 3-1).
EAST CAROLINA 71, SMU 68
In Greenville, N.C., Tristen Newton hit a 3pointer from the left corner in the closing seconds and East Carolina (8-8, 2-1 American) upset SMU (12-3, 2-1).