Once again the Kansas Jayhawks find themselves ranked with in the top 15 despite not having as many marquee members as last year. Kansas finished their non-conference run going 11-2 with impressive wins along the way and now they hope to keep momentum high as they begin competition in a very competitive Big 12. That begins with the Baylor Bears, a team they have traditionally dominated in the past.
History in is in the Jayhawks favor in this matchup. Kansas has a 21-4 advantage over the Big 12 rivals who are currently ranked No. 21 in the nation and get the home court advantage. Last season, the Bears only managed to shoot 34.2 percent in their games against Kansas and opening Big 12 play with a loss against Oklahoma where they shot 37.3 percent certainly does little to inspire confidence.
The Jayhawks are riding high on Frank Mason III who leads the team in two statistical categories. The sophomore guard is leading the team with 4.2 assists per game while also ranking second in points with 12.4 a night. Over the past three games he has shot 55.3 percent while grabbing 12 rebounds total and putting up 14 assists. He has a nine game streak of scoring double-digit points. He was huge in the win over UNLV, putting up 18 points and seven assists. Even when the team loses he still does well, netting 20 points in the loss to Temple while the rest of Kansas shot just 24.4 overall.
In the loss to Temple, Kansas cleared struggled. Perry Ellis missed nine of ten shots to get just five points in the game despite averaging 13.0 points and 6.6 rebounds per game. He did managed to bounce back putting up 31 points total in the two wins that followed.
Baylor has not looked overally great this year despite being 11-2. They struggled to find their shot while the defense game up 73 points despite limiting most opponents to just 54.7 per game. Taurean Prince will lead the unit as he is averaging 12.0 points per game while being the best 3-point shooter in the conference.