LAWRENCE, Kan. — Baylor’s No. 2-ranked men’s basketball team will not go undefeated this season.
David McCormack scored 20 points on 8-of-10 shooting and senior point guard Marcus Garrett added 14 points and seven rebounds to pace the No. 17 Kansas Jayhawks to a 71-58 victory over the previously unbeaten Bears (18-1, 10-1) on Saturday night — Senior Night — at Allen Fieldhouse.
Jalen Wilson grabbed 14 rebounds and scored seven points, while Christian Braun had 11 points and nine boards for KU (18-8, 12-6), which won its 38th straight game on Senior Night, a stretch of victories closing in on four decades, that started in the 1983-84 season.
Garrett, who dished two assists in 35 grueling minutes, was honored in ceremonies before and after the game. He exited the game with 6.8 seconds to play and received a big hug from Kansas coach Bill Self on the bench.
Baylor, which won at Allen Fieldhouse last year, was trying to become the first team to win in back-to-back seasons in Lawrence in the 18-year Bill Self era.
Jared Butler scored just five points on 2-of-9 shooting (1 of 7 3s) after burning KU for 30 points in a Baylor victory in Waco, Texas. MaCio Teague scored 18 and Davion Mitchell added 13 for the Bears, who defeated KU, 77-69, on Jan. 18 in Waco. Baylor hit just 6 of 26 3s and was 6 of 16 from the line while hitting 34.8% of its floor shots.
Butler did not score in the first half Saturday as KU, which led by as many as seven points (13-6), took a 33-30 lead into halftime.
McCormack scored 14 points on 5-of-5 shooting (4-of-4 from line) and grabbed two boards while playing 13 minutes in the initial half. Garrett had eight points on 4-of-6 shooting. The Jayhawks missed 7 of 8 3s in the half.
Baylor, which led by as many as four in the half (30-26), was led by Mo Thamba’s nine points and four boards. Teague and Mitchell each had seven points in the half. Baylor was 3 of 10 from 3 in the first 20 minutes.
KU built a 43-33 lead five minutes into the second half. Ochai Agbaji, who had missed his first five 3s, iced a 3 in the 10-3 run to open the half.
Baylor cut the gap to 45-42 at 12:42 thanks to a 9-2 run. Teague hit a 3 and was fouled by Agbaji on a made 3, scoring seven straight.
However, KU had it back to 50-42 at 11:28 following a layup by Dajuan Harris and rare 3 by Harris.
It was 56-52 with 6:17 left when KU went on a pivotal 7-0 run. Braun hit a free throw, then Mitch Lightfoot scored on a powerful inside move. Braun hit two free throws and after Lightfoot’s block of Mitchell, Lightfoot scored again on the inside. KU led by 11, 63-52, at 3:57.
KU is set to meet UTEP at 7 p.m. Thursday in Allen Fieldhouse in a game added to the schedule to replace the KU-Tarleton State game that was called off in December because of COVID-19 protocols in Tarleton’s program.
