College Basketball Game of the Week: Kansas vs. Baylor

Story posted February 26, 2022 in CommRadio, Sports by Evan Smith

The No. 10 Baylor Bears host the No. 5 Kansas Jayhawks in Waco Saturday night.

Baylor is riding a two game winning streak heading into the matchup, while the division leading Jayhawks come in following a four game winning streak.

Regardless of the result, Kansas will hold its spot at the top of the conference, with Baylor currently competing with Texas Tech, who has the same conference record at 11-4, but have beaten these Bears in both matchups this season. In the last meeting between these teams, Kansas took the 83-59 victory.

What to watch for: Baylor

While the chances are slim, Baylor still has a chance to win the Big 12 regular season title. For that to happen, Baylor needs this result to go in their favor.

However, this Baylor team is at its best when the whole roster is healthy. But even when they were healthy, Kansas still beat them handily. The Bears are now without star forward Jonathan Tchamwa Tchatchoua and their entire guard room is running on minor injuries. This is causing Baylor to have to rely more on a spread out defense which is not seeing the same success as the team’s original style.

What to watch for: Kansas

The Jayhawks need just two wins to claim the Big 12 championship.

The team comes into this matchup confident following three straight games winning by more than 10 points. Two players helping Kansas through this stretch are Ochai Agbaji and Christian Braun, who is coming off a 20 point performance against Kansas State. The team has been on a roll since their close defeat to the Texas Longhorns and are looking to keep the momentum going on the road.

Verdict:

Kansas handled Baylor when the Bears were at their best. Right now, Baylor isn’t the same team that got crushed in Kansas; they’re much worse off.

Kansas has the momentum and has shown they can stand against Baylor’s gameplans.
The Jayhawks should win this game with flying color

Prediction: Kansas 78, Baylor 63

Evan Smith is a first-year student majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, email ers5828@psu.edu