After the No. 2 Baylor’s first defeat of the season on Saturday night, a 71-58 loss to Kansas No. 17, coach Scott Drew acknowledged that the COVID-19 protocols that alienated the Bears for 21 days are the “kryptonite” of his basketball team.
“We were the No. 1 pitching team in the country and we’re going to get back to that,” said Drew. “But even Superman has kryptonite. And I think the COVID protocols are ours.”
Baylor, who entered the game by throwing 43.2% in the 3 point range, hit 6 out of 26 behind the hoop. The Bears hit just 8 out of 25 behind the hoop in their first game of the round, an unexpected victory in Iowa on Tuesday.
This was Baylor’s first week back after six consecutive postponements due to COVID-19 problems within the program and the protocols of the big 12. The Bears trained last Sunday for the first time in almost three weeks.
“Anyone who’s ever had COVID would know when you get back, it’s probably not 100 percent,” said Drew. “For people who don’t [have COVID] and were not able to practice or work out, I think this is rust or other areas of it. The last thing is that it is a chemistry game, just like football. You can train with quarterbacks and running backs as much as you like, until you train with the line and the receivers – it’s a timing game too. At the end of the day, you need to shoot. And normally when the legs go, it’s difficult to do 3s … This will all come and we will return to that pace.
“Again, two plus two is four. Many people take breaks, but they may not have people who have COVID and, if that is the case, they are working every day, they don’t have snowstorms, they are training. The weather their return time is much faster than the other teams. “
Baylor guard Jared Butler, candidate for the Bears’ Wooden Award, hit just 2 of 9 on the field and scored five points before dropping out. MaCio Teague (18 points) and Davion Mitchell (13 points) made stretches in which they started rhythm on the offensive side, but kicked a total of 12 out of 35.
Marcus Garrett assumed most of the responsibility for defending Butler, who scored 30 points in the first clash between the two teams earlier this season.
“First, you have to give Marcus credit,” said Drew. “Secondly, our team, we have to do a better job to put you in better positions. Thirdly, you will have nights when you will not shoot well. And that was tonight.
“They did a good job too when it came to improvements and improvements,” added Drew later. “Guys in the rotation are much sharper and cleaner, what do you expect. We had three weeks when we got worse and they had three weeks when they got better, so we have to update ourselves.”
The game was back and forth for most of the first half, with Kansas reaching a seven-point lead before Baylor defended. Kansas won a three-point lead at the break and Baylor never came close to that in the second half. David McCormack dominated painting in the first half and finished with 20 points and three rebounds before dropping out, while Garrett contributed 14 points on the offensive side and Christian Braun with 11 points.
McCormack’s 14 points in the first half set the tone immediately; Kansas would use its size advantage against Baylor’s attacking court and the Bears would have to adjust. They delayed him after the break, but it was too late.
“We are going to give him credit for really helping Kansas, especially in the last six, seven games that they have played at a high level,” said Drew. “They did a great job bringing the ball to him. But he did a great job being strong, demanding, being physical, finishing … He deserves a lot of credit for that.”
Kansas dominated the tables, overtaking Baylor 48-28 – including 14 offensive rebounds that turned into 17 second chance points.
“I feel like we’re stuck,” said Garrett after the game. “We knew that we had to recover and defend to win the game. That was an important thing that we emphasized throughout the week.”
Kansas have won six of their last seven games, with the only loss occurring in the overtime for Texas on Tuesday. The Jayhawks held seven consecutive opponents to less than one point for possession, and Baylor’s 58 points on Saturday were the lowest Bears have scored in the entire season.
After appearing to be at the start of the NCAA tournament, Kansas is playing as well as any other team in the big 12 entering the postseason.
“We ended up with 12-6 in a ridiculously difficult league when we lost three weeks,” said Kansas coach Bill Self. “You take those three weeks off and we play consistently well. Of course, you can’t do that. But to play the entire game list and play with everyone twice, many teams across America would love to have 12 6 in the league more America’s difficult. “
Baylor could fall from second place in the country in next week’s AP vote for the first time in the entire season, and the Bears have a series of three tough games to end the regular season: in West Virginia on Tuesday at home against Oklahoma State on Thursday, home vs. Texas Tech on Sunday.
“At the end of the day, they came here and outperformed us in certain aspects of the game and we lost,” said Teague. “We have to be tougher than that. We just have to be better.”
ESPN’s Myron Medcalf contributed to this report.