🏀 No. 6 Jayhawks to Play at No. 2 Baylor on ESPN Big Monday
LAWRENCE, Kan. – No. 6/7 Kansas (10-3, 4-2) plays its first of three ESPN Big Monday games of 2020-21 at No. 2/2 Baylor (12-0, 5-0) on Jan. 18. Tip from the Ferrell Center will be at 8 p.m., CT.
Kansas had its Jan. 16 home game against Iowa State postponed due to COVID-19 protocols in the Iowa State program. The Jayhawks are coming off a 75-70 loss at Oklahoma State on Jan. 12. KU will look to hand Baylor its first loss of the season as the Bears improved to 12-0 with a 68-60 win at Texas Tech on Jan. 16 in their last outing.
The Kansas-Baylor series dates back to 1951 with the Jayhawks leading 33-6. Kansas has won 14 of the last 16 in the series and holds a 19-4 advantage in the last 23 meetings. Kansas is 14-3 against Baylor in Waco with all the battles at the Ferrell Center.
Expect a close game, as eight of the last 10 Kansas-Baylor meetings have been decided by eight points or less, with six of those by five points or fewer. Dating back to 2015, five of the last six battles in Waco have been decided by six points or less with Kansas holding a 5-1 record versus Baylor in that stretch.
KANSAS NOTABLES
- Kansas is 4-2 against ranked foes this season. Including 2020-21, the Jayhawks play an average of 8.8 ranked opponents per season under 18th-year head coach Bill Self.
- Kansas leads the Big 12 in blocked shots per game at 4.6 and ranks in the upper half of 11 conference stat categories.
- This season, Kansas men’s basketball will be wearing a patch that reads “UNITED WE STAND” signifying its stance on the recent social injustice in the United States. The patch has gold lettering with the black background being in the shape of the state of Kansas.
- In honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day (Jan. 18), Kansas will be wearing shooting shirts for the Baylor contest with five different quotes by Dr. King on them. Each KU player chose a specific quote for his shooting shirt. Additionally, the coaching staff will wear a patch honoring Dr. King, an initiative from the Big 12 Black Assistant Coaches Alliance.
- Junior Ochai Agbaji leads the Big 12 in 3FG% (42.7) and 3FGs made (2.7). Agbaji has made 22 threes in his last seven games.
- Junior David McCormack is averaging 20.3 points, 7.0 rebounds and 2.5 blocked shots per game in his last three outings. He has two 20-point efforts in his last three games with 20 at TCU (1/5) and 24, with 12 rebounds, at Oklahoma State (1/12). His three double-doubles this season are tied for the team high with redshirt-freshman Jalen Wilson.
- Kansas is 98-13 following a loss in the Bill Self era, which started in 2003-04, including 2-0 this season and 3-0 in 2019-20. Incredibly, KU has been even more efficient over the last six-plus seasons, amassing a record of 47-5 after losses. This includes an 8-1 mark in 2018-19.
- Kansas has been ranked in each of the last 228 Associated Press polls dating back to 2008-09. The 228-consecutive weeks in the AP poll is an all-time record, surpassing UCLA’s 221 from 1966-80. KU holds the same streak in the coaches’ poll at 235.
UP NEXT
Kansas continues its Big 12 road swing at Oklahoma on Saturday, Jan. 23. Tip off from the Lloyd Noble Center is at 11 a.m. (Central) and the game will be televised on ESPN or ESPN2. Kansas leads the all-time series with Oklahoma, 151-68, which includes a 63-59 win on Jan. 9, 2021, earlier this season in Allen Fieldhouse.
