By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
            LAWRENCE, Kan. – Ever had one of those days where nothing seems to go right?
            That's the kind of day the eighth-ranked Baylor Bears had Saturday afternoon at Allen Fieldhouse. 
            With the Big 12 lead on the line, the 10^th-ranked Kansas Jayhawks jumped out to a double-digit lead in the first five minutes, held the Bears to 29.6% shooting from the field and dominated the boards in handing Baylor its worst loss in over four years, 83-59, before a raucous crowd of 16,300. 
            "That's not how we envisioned the day," said Baylor coach Scott Drew, whose team fell to 19-4 overall and 7-3 in the Big 12 with its 19^th loss in 20 trips to Lawrence. "First and foremost, blame starts with me. I didn't prepare our guys well enough, obviously. They came out and killed us in transition, killed us in second-chance points. That's 30 points in the first half. We didn't even give our half-court defense a chance."
            Baylor's timing could not have been much worse. 
            Kansas (19-3, 8-1), which rarely loses at home, was blown out 80-62 by then-No. 12 Kentucky in last Saturday's Big 12/SEC Challenge at Allen Fieldhouse. And Hall of Fame coach Bill Self never loses two-straight home games. 
            "We took one pretty hard at home, and we just had to bounce back," said Kansas guard Christian Braun, who recorded a double-double with 18 points and 10 rebounds. "We did a really good job today coming out with more energy than we had last Saturday. So, it felt good."
            The energy was evident right out of the gate, with the Jayhawks scoring 15 second-chance points, adding 13 fast-break points and outscoring Baylor, 10-0, on points off turnovers in the first half to take a commanding 39-21 lead into the break. 
            Baylor's guards, in particular, struggled in the first half. With leading scorer LJ Cryer missing his third-straight game with a foot injury, James Akinjo, Adam Flagler and Dale Bonner were a combined 0-for-14 in the first half, missing seven from outside the arc. 
            "I thought Adam was heroic playing today," Drew said of Flagler, who missed Monday's 81-77 win over West Virginia with a bruised knee. "Hadn't practiced much and did everything he could to give it a go. But again, that's all part of the game. You've got guys out. With us, we've gone through it in the last couple weeks. And at some point, hopefully, we can get everybody back, so we can start to get a rhythm and get better."
            Flagler did get going in the second half, hitting three 3-pointers and 6-of-11 from the field to score a team-high 16 points. 
            "The coaches, as well as myself, continued to tell each other to just compete at a high level. At the end of the day, it's about pride," Flagler said. "They did out-tough us. I just wanted to continue to stay aggressive and continue to play and continue to lead."
            Three minutes into the second half, Drew was hit with a technical foul when he argued a charging call on Matthew Mayer, who ran into Dajuan Harris after David McCormack grabbed him on the right arm. The Jayhawks hit four-straight free throws to push the lead to 48-26. 
            "I've been coming up here 19 years," Drew said, "so some things boil over."
            Ochai Agbaji, who missed the Jayhawks' last game for COVID health and safety protocols, scored 12 of his 18 points in the second half and pushed the lead to 79-45 on a layup with 3:37 left in the game. 
            After both teams cleared their benches, the Bears scored eight unanswered points in the last 35 seconds, including a 3-pointer by Kijana Love for his first points in a Baylor uniform. 
            "Obviously, when you're shooting 30% on offense, you've got to do a better job when you miss, maybe not thinking about the shot or hanging your head," Drew said. "Film doesn't lie, so we'll figure it out. We've got guys who don't like losing, don't like being embarrassed. Everybody feels pretty poor right now, so we'll try to work to change."
            Freshman forward Kendall Brown had a solid game with 12 points, eight rebounds, three assists and a block. Akinjo had his roughest day as a Bear, going 0-for-11 from the field and finishing with no points, three assists, three turnovers and two steals in 25 minutes. 
            Baylor returns to the Sunflower State for a matchup against Kansas State (12-10, 4-6) at 7 p.m. Wednesday in Manhattan, Kan. The Wildcats, blown out by 25 in the first meeting in Waco, avenged an earlier home loss with a 75-63 road win Saturday night at TCU.