Kansas to Face Baylor in Men's Basketball
Jan. 24, 2005
Kansas (14-1, 4-0) treads untapped waters as it plays its first game following a loss in 2004-05 at Baylor Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. KU is coming off an 83-62 loss at Villanova Saturday. To make matters worse, the blizzard which hit the New England area kept the Jayhawks in Philadelphia until Sunday afternoon instead of a normal return flight following the game. KU is looking to go 5-0 in Big 12 play for the second straight season while Baylor is 9-6 and 1-3 in Big 12 play after its 82-53 loss at No. 5 Oklahoma State Saturday. KU will be the fourth nationally ranked team the Bears will have faced in their last six games.
About Kansas
Kansas (14-1, 4-0) is looking to bounce back from its first loss of the season loss at Villanova 83-62 on Saturday. The Jayhawks have been ranked in the top 10 nationally the entire season after opening as the nation’s preseason No. 1 in both polls. KU has won its first two Big 12 road games this season and three straight dating back to year. Senior forward Wayne Simien paces KU with 16.8 points and 11.4 rebounds per game. The league’s preseason player of the year is the only conference player to currently average a double-double and he has twice been named the Big 12 Player of the Week this season. Senior guard Keith Langford is next in scoring at 13.9 points per game. He is also second on the team in assists with 44 and is tied for second in three-point field goals with 15. Sophomore J.R. Giddens is averaging 10.3 ppg. He leads Kansas and is fourth in the Big 12 in three-point field goals made at 2.2 per game. Senior point guard Aaron Miles ranks fourth on the team in scoring at 8.4 points per game. He also boasts a league-best seven assists per contest. Junior walk-on Christian Moody has rejoined the starting lineup and is averaging 6.1 points and is second on the team with 4.9 rebounds per game.
Kansas Head Coach Bill Self
Kansas coach Bill Self is 38-10 in his second season at KU and 245-115 in his 12th season overall. Last year, KU posted a 24-9 record and finished tied for second in the Big 12 race at 12-4. KU advanced to the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament for the third straight year, falling to Georgia Tech in overtime, 79-71. Self’s 24 victories tied Dick Harp for the most wins by a KU coach in his debut season at Kansas. Prior to KU, Self led Illinois to two Big Ten titles and three straight NCAA Tournament appearances. Before Illinois, he guided Tulsa to two WAC championships in 1999 and 2000 and was The Sporting News National Coach of the Year in 2000. A four-time Naismith Coach of the Year Award finalist, Self began his coaching career at KU in 1985-86 and was an assistant at his alma mater – Oklahoma State – from 1986 until 1993. His first head coaching stint was at Oral Roberts where he guided the Golden Eagles to the NIT in 1996-97, their first postseason appearance since 1983-84. Self is 1-1 against Baylor including 1-0 while head coach at KU.
About Baylor
Baylor is currently 9-6 on the season and 1-3 in Big 12 play. Its last three losses – at Texas 79-60, Oklahoma 65-61, and at Oklahoma State 82-53 – have been to ranked teams. BU is 8-3 at home this season and has won six of its last seven at the Ferrell Center. Expect the Bears to shoot plenty of threes as they make 7.3 per game and attempt nearly 20 treys per outing. Baylor is led by freshman Aaron Bruce who is averaging 16.1 points and 3.7 assists. Bruce also leads BU with 30 three-point field goals made. Sophomore transfer Tim Bush is next in scoring at 15.2 points and is second on the team in rebounding at 5.5 per game. Junior center Tommy Swanson leads BU in rebounding with 6.8 per game and is third in scoring at 13.5 ppg. He also has a team-high 12 blocked shots this season. Sophomore guard/forward Patrick Fields is also scoring in double figures at 11.5 ppg.
Baylor Head Coach Scott Drew
Baylor head coach Scott Drew is in his second season in Waco where he has a 17-27 record. Drew is in his third season overall with a 37-38 mark. Prior to Baylor, he coached one season at Valparaiso where he guided Valpo to the Mid-Continent regular-season championship in 2002-03. Drew is 0-1 against Kansas.
Series History
Kansas leads the all-time series with Baylor, 9-1… Last meeting saw the Jayhawks defeat the Bears, 74-54, on Feb. 18, 2004 in Lawrence… KU coach Bill Self is 1-1 against the Bears, and Baylor coach Scott Drew has a 0-1 record against the Jayhawks… Kansas is 3-1 all-time versus the Bears when playing at the Ferrell Center… Kansas is 90-15 all-time versus schools from the state of Texas… Kansas is 1,016-463 all-time against schools in the Big 12 Conference… The Jayhawks won the first-ever meeting with the Baylor Bears, 57-46, on Dec. 3, 1951 in Lawrence, Kan… Since 1997, Kansas is 29-3 (90.6 percent) in Big 12 regular season play against the league schools from the state of Texas – 7-1 vs. Baylor; 6-2 vs. Texas; 9-0 vs. Texas A&M; and 7-1 vs. Texas Tech. Counting the Big 12 Tournament, KU is 30-5 against the Lone Star Big 12 members.
Connections
-Baylor head coach Scott Drew was the associate head coach at Valparaiso when the Crusaders lost to the Jayhawks, 81-73, on Jan. 2, 2002, in Lawrence.
-Jayhawk assistant Tim Jankovich was 1-1 against the Bears from 1993-97 while he was the head coach at North Texas.
-Kansas senior Keith Langford and Baylor junior Tommy Swanson both attended North Crowley HS in Fort Worth, Texas.
Up Next
Kansas returns home Saturday, Jan. 29 against Texas on ESPN2 with an 8 p.m. tip. ESPN Gameday will originate from Allen Fieldhouse with one-hour shows at 10 a.m., 7 p.m. and immediately following the game. All times are Central.
