Kansas Still in the Big 12 Driver’s Seat After Monday’s Win
Posted by dnspewak on January 17th, 2012Less than five minute into his team’s 92-74 victory over Baylor on Monday, Kansas forward Thomas Robinson shook Allen Fieldhouse with one of the more memorable dunks of the 2011-12 season. Throwing down an alley-oop with athletic force that seemed almost inhuman, Robinson’s message to the Bears was clear.
Robinson's High-Flying Play Announced That Kansas Is Still Kansas (credit: @KUGameday)
The Jayhawks were not going to lose at home on this night.
Not to an undefeated top-five opponent, a team which figures to be a primary competitor in the Big 12 this winter. All night, KU bullied BU’s NBA-caliber front line, out-rebounding it by 15 boards. That rebounding margin is all you need to know about Monday’s game: Blue-blood Kansas came to play, ready to defend its Big 12 title. Baylor, on the other hand, crumbled in the face of the Phog. Robinson, by the way, finished with 27 points and 14 rebounds. Jeff Withey recorded a double-double and blocked three shots, and point guard Tyshawn Taylor played his finest game of the season on the biggest stage. For all of the offensive concerns Bill Self has expressed about his team this year, the Jayhawks got every shot they wanted on the offensive end. No matter what defensive look Baylor gave Kansas, the Jayhawks attacked Scott Drew‘s bigs and knocked down threes when it needed to.
Much of that credit must go to Self’s team, which executed its offense flawlessly all night. But Baylor’s defensive effort in the loss has to worry Drew. KU shot 57.4% from the floor, and despite 15 turnovers, they never seemed rattled or taken out of their game by the Bears’ defense. Even with a short bench and essentially a six-man rotation, Kansas got in the lane possession after possession and made Baylor’s defense look silly. This is the same BU defense that had Kansas State out of sorts last week in Manhattan, and it’s the same defense that has the ability to terrorize opponents with its length and size.
That just did not work against Kansas at the Phog. And though Perry Jones matched Robinson with a stellar offensive effort, his team went cold from three and did no damage on the offensive boards. Sure, Jones and Quincy Acy threw down a few dunks, but Brady Heslip‘s pedestrian three-point performance (1-3 from behind the arc) really hurt Baylor tonight. Still, despite the Bears’ rather modest offensive night, it was the defense that lost Baylor this basketball game. With two months left in the Big 12 season, this race is far from over, but Kansas made a statement on Monday that it is still the class of the Big 12 right now.
