Kansas vs. Baylor: College basketball game preview, TV schedule
After struggling badly in the last few weeks, Manu Lecomte had a breakout game. He’ll have to do it again at Kansas.
TV schedule: Saturday, Jan. 20, 6:00 p.m. ET. ESPN
Arena: Allen Fieldhouse in Lawrence, Kansas
While the Big 12 is as tough as it’s ever been, there’s a possibility that the regular season title has already been decided. That’s because, on Monday, Kansas 15-3 (5-1) stormed back from a double-digit deficit on the road to beat West Virginia 71-66.
The Jayhawks were for the better part outplayed for the first 30 minutes, but the seniors on the team, Devonte’ Graham and Svi Mykhailuk, led a 15-3 run to get the lead and held on for the win. Not only did Kansas get a huge road win on the road, fellow title contenders Oklahoma and Texas Tech each fell later in the week, leaving Bil Self and the Jayhawks once again in the driver position.
But there’s never a day off in this league, and Baylor 12-6 (2-4) is looking for a huge win to get back in the bubble conversation. After losing four of the first five games while dealing with varying injuries, the Bears beat down Oklahoma State 76-60.
The team scored just 25 points in the first 20 minutes, before finally having an offensive explosion in the second half. All of this was led by senior point guard Manu Lecomte. He’s shot under 30% in conference play, but, with his shoulder healing up, he dropped a career-high 30 points in the win.
Right now there are six teams in the Big 12 in line to get into the NCAA Tournament, according to this week’s Busting Brackets Bracketology. The Jayhawks are squared as a four seed, while Baylor is looking to get back in it.
One battle to look for is down low between the Bears’ Jo-Lual Acuil and Kansas’ Udoka Azubuike, who played just 20 minutes due to foul trouble. He could get some more fouls against a very physical Baylor frontline. Of course, the point guard battle with Lecomte and Graham will be fun too.
Next: Is Kansas No. 1 in this week's Big 12 rankings?
The issue with Baylor is that the team struggles to score, which is something the Jayhawks don’t do. Lecomte might need an encore performance from Monday to pull off the upset.
Prediction: Kansas 77 – Baylor 64