Once Upon A Time In Las Vegas – Divisional Round
The Kansas Jayhawks will be looking to bounce back from their two-game losing streak when they face the Baylor Bears in a Big 12 battle on Monday night. Kansas had rattled off 10 consecutive wins before losing to Kansas State and TCU in its last two games. Baylor picked up its fourth straight victory when it snuck past Oklahoma in a 62-60 final on Saturday.
Kansas is looking to defend its title from last season, but it has experienced its first rough patch of the campaign. The Jayhawks won 16 of their first 17 games, with their lone loss coming against then-No. 22 Tennessee at the end of November. They bounced back with a 10-game winning streak before losing consecutive games to Kansas State and TCU last week. Kansas is opening another challenging week that concludes against Kentucky on Saturday. The Jayhawks had won 16 straight home games before getting blasted by the Horned Frogs, trailing 37-15 just 11 minutes into the contest.
next stop: Waco ??#KUbball | @MidwestFord pic.twitter.com/S7dcU80eQ9
— Kansas Men's Basketball (@KUHoops) January 22, 2023
Star forward Jalen Wilson put together another strong outing though, pouring in 30 points after scoring a career-high 38 against Kansas State. Wilson leads the Jayhawks with 21.3 points and 8.8 rebounds per game. Second-leading scorer Gradey Dick (14.4) was held to just eight points on 3 of 13 shooting against TCU. Kansas has been a solid offensive team overall this year, shooting 36.1% from 3-point range and 52.1% from inside the arc. The Jayhawks have a low turnover rate and grab a decent number of offensive rebounds. They are an inexperienced team overall, making this a tricky road game. Baylor has not been a great defensive squad, ranked No. 171 in field goal percentage.