Baylor put a historic winning streak in play at the end of February against Kansas last season and saw it collapse against his main enemy of the big 12. Advance one season and Bears number 2 is experiencing déjà vu after their unbeaten run ended on Saturday night, with a 71-58 loss to No. 17 Jayhawks at the Phog Allen Fieldhouse, which leaves Gonzaga as the last undefeated college basketball team.
The Bears (18-1, 10-1 Big 12) had slow starts on both sides and never recovered in the second half against a Kansas team that dominated boards and painting. Jayhawks center David McCormack played an important role in this equation, scoring 20 points in a redemptive effort after a poor play in Baylor’s first encounter last month.
Kansas (18-8, 12-6 Big 12) has now won six of his last seven games, with only one non-conference game against UTEP missing on the Thursday before the postseason starts. The Jayhawks entered the night as a seed projected into fifth place at the NCAA Tournament, according to CBS Sports Bracketology expert Jerry Palm, and that will not change immediately. But the victory is a shame at the top of a program that has suffered some struggles this season.
The Bears will continue to be the No. 1 seed designed, but will fall to 3rd overall, with Michigan taking 2nd overall in Palm’s projected category. The Wolverines improved to 18-1 overall and 13-1 in the Big Ten with a win over Indiana on Saturday, as they have won five straight wins since returning from a 23-day break between games earlier this month.
Baylor still seems to be looking for his pace after returning from a 21-day break with a narrow victory over a bad Iowa state team on Tuesday. The Bears’ struggles in that game turned out to be an accurate prediction of the problems they faced on Saturday. Just like last season, when Baylor carried a 23-game winning streak in his second game with Kansas, the Jayhawks avoided a sweep and ruined Baylor’s extent of dominance.