Baylor
vs.
Kansas
College Basketball
Pick with Analysis
2/14/15
In a crowded conference, these two teams have looked like two of the better ones over the past couple of weeks. Kansas is known to be unstoppable at home, but if they were to lose, this Baylor team may be the ones to do it.
The Bears were on a roll in recent Games putting together an impressive stretch of wins until they fell at home to Oklahoma State, the team that just took out Kansas. Baylor recently beat three straight teams by at least 18 points, one of them vs. Texas and the other last weekend at West Virginia. That’s right, they went to Morgantown and dominated the Mountaineers. The reason for this success is their varied zone defenses combined with an offense that is firing on all cylinders. This is a dynamic team that has strength at every position. In the loss against the Cowboys, they shot 3-of-15 from long range and Kenny Chery struggled to do anything.
Kansas can matchup with them for the most part, especially at home. The Jayhawks have disposed of every team so far at Allen Fieldhouse by double digits, outside of the seven-point win against Oklahoma. It’s been smooth sledding and there’s no reason that confidence won’t show up in this Game.
These teams already met at the beginning of January with Kansas escaping in Waco by one point with the help of Frank Mason and Wayne Selden. These teams were evenly matched and Baylor stayed in the Game with the help of the three-pointer (8-of-15) and eight more made free throws. However, that was a month ago and both of these teams have improved since then.
The hands down best player in that Game was Baylor’s Kenny Chery, who went for 25 points on 8-of-14 shooting. No one else on Baylor had more than nine points and no one on Kansas more than 13. Even if Chery doesn’t repeat that performance, Baylor had a noticeable edge in the paint in that Game.
Rico Gathers is an absolute beast and leads the nation with 12.5 boards per Game and finished with 14 in that first meeting. Cliff Alexander and Perry Ellis were held to a combined eight points and Four rebounds. That’s not going to be enough with the way Baylor has been playing. OUtside of Chery and Gathers, Royce O’Neale has really picked up his Game as of late and could be the x-factor as he only had three points in the first Game.
The Jayhawks will need to do a better job on the boards, whether with Ellis and Alexander or Jamari Traylor. Wayne Selden has been on a tear lately and could be the difference maker for KU at home, especially against the zone defense of Baylor. The three-point shooting will be big if Selden and Mason can hit their shots, along with Brannen Greene off the bench.
To get an upset at Kansas, Baylor will have to do something spectacular. That means Gathers will have to dominate the paint again, Chery will need a solid Game, but also someone else has to become a factor. Whether it’s O’Neale or leading scorer Taurean Prince off the bench, the Bears have the players to do it, but will it be enough?
Baylor should come out with some energy after struggling in the second half on Monday. This should be a fun Game from start to finish and if the Bears can give Kansas its first home loss of the year, it wouldn’t be a huge surprise.
Our Prediction – Kansas by 11