A painful hip injury forced sophomore point guard Devon Dotson to the locker room for treatment and limited Kansas' leading scorer to 28 minutes of playing time in the Jayhawks' 67-55 loss to Baylor on Jan. 11 in Allen Fieldhouse.
Though far from an ideal situation ... Dotson not playing his usual 35 to 40 minutes had absolutely no effect on the outcome, KU coach Bill Self stressed this week.
"You can't say that because it's not true," Self said Wednesday when asked on his weekly radio show about the perception that KU may have lost because of Dotson's limited availability.
"If you say, 'Well a guy got knocked out and didn't come back' ... he came back. We just weren't very good. There's no excuses for what happened. People may rationalize some things but that's not true. That would take away from them outplaying us if you said that."
Dotson, who left clutching his left hip with 19:19 left in the second half and KU trailing by 13 points and returned with 8:53 left and KU down 10, has helped No. 3-ranked KU to a 12-1 league record and 23-3 overall mark entering Saturday's rematch with No. 1-ranked Baylor (24-1, 13-0).
Tipoff is 11 a.m. at 10,284-seat Ferrell Center in Waco, Texas.
KU needless to say will be hoping for better production than it had at home against Baylor. The 55 points tied for KU's lowest point total in a Big 12 game in the 17-year Self era.
Dotson, KU's leading scorer at 18.4 points a game, scored nine points on 4-of-10 shooting (1 of 4 3-pointers) with three assists and two turnovers against the Bears.
"We lost to them earlier in the season. That has something to do with having I guess a little more edge, more motivation for sure," Dotson said of the mood of the Jayhawks players entering Saturday's rematch.
KU senior center Udoka Azubuike scored just six points on 3-of-6 shooting with 11 rebounds and seven blocked shots in 31 minutes in the first meeting.
"They played behind and in front of Doke," Self said. "Doke thinks he's open when fronted because he can't feel what is behind him. He wasn't really open. We've got to figure out some different angles to get him some touches. I think we're capable of doing that."
Self blames himself a bit for Azubuike's low point total the first game.
"They scouted us well," Self said. "We didn't adjust as well as what we probably should have. We probably didn't help them (KU players) enough as far as in-game adjustments."
The 7-foot Azubuike admits he was a bit flustered by 6-5 Mark Vital and 6-9 Freddie Gillespie.
"Every time the guys tried to pass the ball to me there was always somebody around," Azubuike said. "They did a good job denying me the ball. I think we are doing a better job now. Coach is emphasizing it. We run different type of plays. Guys are finding different ways to get the ball in the post.
"They've got good guys," Azubuike added of the Bears. "They find a way to win. They've got a really good team."
Baylor is led by 6-3 sophomore guard Jared Butler, who scored 22 points in the first game. KU's defensive stopper, Marcus Garrett, figures to draw the assignment on Butler on Saturday. Garrett, who was slowed by an ankle injury, guarded Butler some in Lawrence.
"I think he'll be excited when he's matched on him," Self said of Garrett on Butler, the Bears' scoring leader at 15.6 points per game. "We switch a lot. We're not going to shut him out. He'll get his because he can create his own (shot). We need our perimeter defenders to be good."
Self said in this second game against Baylor he'd like KU "to run good offense and attack them better. I'd like to not have live ball turnovers lead to 20 points (KU had 14 turnovers to Baylor's five in the January meeting). They were really good. They were better than us, more athletic, quicker. We deserved what happened the first time we played them."
KU has won 11 straight games since the loss to Baylor. The Bears have won 23 straight since a loss to Washington on Nov. 8.
"I think we are better. You probably could say the same thing about them," Self said. "Being better doesn't guarantee we will play well. In watching us you can see when we are on we are pretty good. When we are not on we can look pretty average."
If KU wins, the Jayhawks will move into a tie for first in the Big 12 standings with Baylor. A loss means KU would be two games back with four to play. Texas Tech currently is in third place at 8-5.
The Jayhawks, by the way, will be playing a No. 1 team in a true road game for just the second time in school history. KU beat then No. 1 Kansas State, 61-44, on March 10, 1958 in Manhattan, Kansas.
"It should be a fun atmosphere and a game a lot of people are looking forward to, including us," Self said.
The Bears, who will be hosting ESPN's "College GameDay" show immediately before the game, are definitely enthused. Just one Big 12 team has swept KU in home-and-home meetings in the same season in the Self era. That was Oklahoma State in 2018.
KU will return home to meet Oklahoma State at 8 p.m. Monday.
