WACO, Texas (AP) — Kansas was led by a pair of 20 point performances by Kevin McCullar Jr. and Hunter Dickinson, but it wasn’t enough as No. 7 Kansas fell to No. 15 Baylor, 82-74 inside Foster Pavilion on Saturday.
The loss dropped Kansas to 21-8 (9-7 Big 12), handing the Jayhawks consecutive losses for the first time this season. Baylor was led by four players in double-figures, including 18 points from Jayden Nunn and 17 points from Yves Missi to advance Baylor to 21-8 (10-6 Big 12) this season.
McCullar Jr., the Big 12’s leading scorer, made his return to the lineup after missing four of the previous five games, and matched Dickinson’s 20 points. Dajuan Harris Jr. had 12 points and nine assists for the Jayhawks.
The Bears had their largest lead before halftime at 31-24 after senior guard RayJ Dennis made a 3-pointer with just over three minutes left, but they needed his jumper with 28 seconds left to lead 35-34 at the break.
Kansas went on a 10-2 spurt in between those baskets by Dennis. The Jayhawks’ streak started with two nifty assists by Harris, including a give-and-go break with McCullar, who had a steal. Harris’ floater put the Jayhawks up 34-33.
The Jayhawks scored 46 points in the paint, with 22 of those before halftime. The first half included an emphatic two-handed dunk by Dickinson with just under six minutes left that gave him the last of his 10 points before the break. He scored Kansas’ first six points, including consecutive passes from Adams for a dunk and a layup.
Baylor outscored Kansas 47-40 after the halftime break, as the Bears reached a 13-point advantage with 8:36 remaining in the game. Kansas battled the deficit back to just four points with 1:43 remaining on a Harris jumper, which made the score 75-71 in favor of the Bears. Baylor would then hold off Kansas by outscoring the Jayhawks 7-3 over the final 1:15 to play to secure the victory, 82-74.
UP NEXT
Kansas is back home at Allen Fieldhouse to play Kansas State in the Dillons Sunflower Showdown on Tuesday night. Tip is set for 8 p.m. CT on ESPN.
