Not in our house! No. 8 Kansas continues lifetime shutout of No. 16 Baylor in the Phog with 74-64 win. @marchmadness (NCAA image)
KUAD: Postgame box score, recap, videos, notes
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Pick up the University Daily Kansan for your #KUbball poster. #ESPN loves to show them at game time! @KUJournalism pic.twitter.com/eVssGfefuw
— Brett Akagi (@bakagi) February 12, 2015 2/14/15, 1:47 PM
@KUHoops Sooo hard to beat in Lawrence. Teams are typically good to excellent, coach is superb & fans are ALWAYS PLATINUM Level! @FansOfKU
@ClarkKelloggCBS
2/14/15, 1:47 PM
A few Bears were just scolded for watching pop-up video on AFH video board.
@KevinHaskin
2/14/15, 1:55 PM
Way to play Lando!
@N_Roberts20
2/14/15, 2:02 PM
And that's why he's the soul of this basketball team. Unbelievable effort from Frank Mason!
@abaker6sports
2/14/15, 2:02 PM
Just a great response by Kansas. Self benched Cliff Alexander for Landen Lucas in 2nd half. That sparked the comeback.
@SethDavisHoops
2/14/15, 2:03 PM
This got away from Baylor down the stretch. Perry Ellis the headliner, but Landen Lucas really gave Kansas some good minutes.
@jeffborzello
2/14/15, 2:06 PM
You can't measure what Frank Mason does for Kansas in the box score. Kid plays every single play like it's 4th and 1. #kubball
@JonRothstein
AP image
2/14/15, 2:06 PM
As @ClarkKelloggCBS would say Kansas turned Baylor's water off. Solid halfcourt defense last 10 minutes.
@SethDavisHoops
2/14/15, 2:07 PM
One of the most AMAZING consecutive conference title runs in CBB history likely to continue..WOW! @KUHoops @Big12Conference @FansOfKU
@ClarkKelloggCBS
2/14/15, 2:08 PM
It's okay @QuincyAcy @EkpeUdoh you understand Baylor doesn't come in the Phog and win. #soontobe11straight
@colea45
2/14/15, 2:44 PM
No better place hands down! @ Allen Fieldhouse
@Jeff_Hawkins_KU
2/14/15, 2:51 PM
How about this dude @PElliz!!! Congrats on 1000 points! #Mr1000 #RockChalk
@evan_manning5
2/14/15, 4:45 PM
Oubre today for Kansas is why NBA teams love him: Only 24 mins, 9 shots, but 18 pts, 6 rebs. So efficient. No SF in '15 draft shoots better
@jasonrmcintyre
2/14/15, 4:47 PM
Congrats to my bro @PElliz on reaching a 1000 points today.
@F_Mason0
2/14/15, 5:46 PM
Just like old times: Embiid just snuck into the media room to grab some bottles of lemonade.
@Schustee
Kansas forward Perry Ellis reached the 1,000-point barrier early in Saturday’s 74-64 victory over Baylor, banking in a 15-foot shot with 12:06 left in the first half.
“It’s a great accomplishment. I’m just blessed to be in this position,” Ellis said. “I’m trying to get better and better and just keep winning.”
The junior became the 56th player to reach 1,000 career points with the Jayhawks. Thomas Robinson was the last to accomplish the feat in 2012.
“Perry seems happy to reach that milestone, but he’s not done yet,” KU freshman Kelly Oubre said. “He’s going to continue to play to the best of his ability and continue to get better.”
…“It’s always good to see them. I’m so much older now. I feel old around these young guys,” Collison said. “But it’s great to still be in touch.
“The coaches have been great to me. I didn’t play for these guys, but I’ve gotten to know them really well. They’ve embraced all the former players. I’m fortunate to be a part of this program. It’s a good place to come back to.”
Embiid, who declared for the NBA draft after last season, had mixed emotions sitting behind KU’s bench.
“It was cool man. I love this place,” Embiid said with a smile. “When they were doing the introductions, I wanted to come back so bad. I wanted to play.
TCJ
Bill Self never has to worry about Perry Ellis speaking out of turn.
Even now, midway through his junior season, the Kansas forward rarely strings together more than a few words at a time. He talks in short, clipped sentences. He deflects attention, even when he has just joined the 1,000-point club at a school drenched in basketball tradition.
So after pouring in 18 points to reach the scoring milestone Saturday, and helping the eighth-ranked Jayhawks to a 74-64 victory over No. 16 Baylor, it was no surprise that Ellis didn't have a whole lot to offer eager reporters or in front of television cameras.
"It's a great accomplishment," he said simply. "I'm just blessed."
Leave it to Self to lavish the praise.
"I've coached him for three years and he leaves me wanting more, but I haven't thought that of late," Self said. "I think he's playing closer to his ceiling now than he has."
Ellis had plenty of help on Saturday. Kelly Oubre also had 18 points and Wayne Selden Jr. had 15, helping the Jayhawks (21-4, 10-2 Big 12) dig out of a 13-point first-half hole.
The win was their 21st straight at Allen Fieldhouse, and ensured the 10-time champs would have no worse than a two-game lead in the conference race with six games to go.
"You don't get easies (against them)," Baylor coach Scott Drew said. "You have to beat them."
…Baylor regained the lead a few minutes later, but the trio of Ellis, Oubre and Selden took over down the stretch, allowing Kansas to celebrate their forward's personal achievement.
Even if everybody else would have to talk about it.
"Perry and I, we talk about everything imaginable -- a lot of current issues, world peace, a lot of things that Perry and I have similar interests in," Self said sarcastically. "But truthfully speaking, he has become more vocal, which doesn't mean he's vocal. But he's much more comfortable in his own skin. He's a much more confident player."
AP
“Just execution, as always,” said Baylor bruiser Rico Gathers when asked to pinpoint what went wrong late. “Whenever you're down two, if you're gonna take that three-pointer you better be able to hit it.”
Added Baylor guard Kenny Chery, who scored 17 points but made just 6 of 15 shots: “We got the shots we wanted. They just didn't go in.”
…“They did a good job hitting the boards tonight. A lot of the shots that were taken weren't really bouncing my way. They made it tough tonight, but that didn't have anything to do with why we lost.”
LJW
“It doesn’t matter where we play or who we play, we always walk into the gym thinking we can win this game,” Chery said. “We got the shots we wanted. We just didn’t put it in. We executed, we did exactly what coach asked for. We fought, we battled and we never gave up and we came up short.”
Waco Tribune
AP image
Just before the Oklahoma City Thunder started their training camp this season, Nick Collison made a stop in Lawrence to work out with Kansas’ players.
At the time, he knew almost nothing about 6-foot-10 center Landen Lucas — though that changed quickly.
“I was impressed with him,” the 11-year NBA pro Collison said. “He’s got legitimate size, he’s got nice touch and he’s figuring out how to play.”
Never was that more evident than the second half Saturday, as the sophomore Lucas helped carry No. 8 KU during a late run in a 74-64 victory over 16th-ranked Baylor.
…“Coach knows what he’s doing. He’s going to find time for those guys,” Collison said. “I think he’s a guy that will get more and more of an opportunity.”
…“Obviously, his game changed,” Embiid said. “I would just say that I loved his patience in the post and just loved seeing him on the court, because last year, he didn’t really get the minutes.
“This year, he’s getting the minutes and he’s doing what he has to do to help the team win.”
…“He’s worked hard. And he does work hard,” Self said of Lucas. “To me, Cliff (Alexander) is ahead of him, but there’s certain things within a game that Landen does better than any big guy we have, because he understands the game better than any big guy we have.”
TCJ
He grinned when asked if he was extra-fired up playing before 11-year NBA player Collison, as well as Joel Embiid of the Sixers and Ben McLemore of the Kings, who also attended.
“It’s great to have them around. I think we try to play hard all the time, but it’s great to put on a show for them. We know what they represent is the history of this program,” Lucas said.
LJW
KC Star image
LJW image
This Kansas basketball team does not have a natural go-to guy. There are no real All-American candidates. There might not even be any true locks for the All-Big 12 first team. Kansas coach Bill Self will tell you this. The statistics will, too.
All season, the Jayhawks have done it by committee, with numbers, with depth and talent and each player pulling his own weight. On any given Saturday, given the circumstances or the opponent, nearly any player can step into a prominent role. But here is the thing about No. 8 Kansas’ 74-64 victory over No. 16 Baylor on Saturday afternoon at Allen Fieldhouse:
Nobody thought it would be Landen Lucas.
Lucas, a 6-foot-10 redshirt sophomore, entered Saturday afternoon averaging just 11.4 minutes per game. But in reality, the minutes don’t truly define his role. On some days, like a road victory at TCU, Lucas will play 24 minutes off the bench. On other days, he won’t play at all. He is, to put it one way, Kansas’ fourth big man, and that means his role is largely dependent on the success of the men playing in front of him.
“I’m comfortable with it,” Lucas said. “Whatever Coach asks of me, I’m ready to do it.”
…But it was Lucas who carried the water inside for long stretches of the second half, banging with Baylor big man Rico Gathers and making crucial play after crucial play. At one point, Lucas finished a three-point play at the basket, sparking a 10-0 run. In another moment, he stepped in front of Gathers and drew a critical charge.
Gathers, who had gone four straight games with at least 15 rebounds, was limited to eight total boards and just two on the offensive glass.
…On Saturday, the offensive issues were glaring early. Baylor built a 13-point lead in the first half, deploying a 1-3-1 zone that was different from the zone used in Kansas’ 56-55 victory in Waco on Jan. 7. By halftime, KU had cut the lead to 33-27. And the Jayhawks shot 54.5 percent and made 20 of 22 from the free-throw line in the second half.
Five of those free throws came from Lucas, who reverted to an old free-throw routine at the start of Big 12 play. It’s simpler, he says, with fewer dribbles. It’s also working. Lucas is shooting 15 of 17 from the line in conference games, and the Jayhawks are rolling toward more hardware.
Sometimes, Lucas’ role is undefined. Sometimes his minutes fluctuate. But for now, he is happy where he is. And Kansas definitely is, too.
“You never know who it’s going to be on any certain day,” Lucas said. “With (our) guards it’s like that, and with the bigs, it’s like that, too.”
KC Star
KU freshman big man Cliff Alexander on Landen Lucas going 5-for-5 from the free throw line: “I’ve seen him make 25 free throws in a row before.”
Sophomore guard Wayne Selden Jr. also complimented Lucas’ nine-point, four rebound performance.
“Landen has been really solid all year, really efficient all year. He is a big body, can really rebound the ball, is a great passer out of the post. He does a lot of things well for us,” Selden said.
LJW
TCJ image
Before he could think about setting his feet, Kansas guard Wayne Selden was trapped in transition.
Selden had been aggressively driving to the paint all afternoon, and perhaps if he’d gone straight to the lane instead of curling to the right wing, this play becomes another example. It certainly would’ve been one of the best options for the Jayhawks with two minutes remaining in the second half and Kansas clinging to a five-point lead.
Regardless, Baylor’s Kenny Chery cut him off mid-stride, nearly forcing a travel in the process.
That’s when Selden (15 points, four assists) spotted KU’s Kelly Oubre jogging across half court. Selden hit him with a pass just as he got to the top of the arc and without much thought Oubre let a 3-pointer fly.
“I just felt like somebody was going to come behind me so I felt like I had to have a quick release on that one,” Oubre said.
The reasoning was justified by the result. Oubre’s shot dropped easily and No. 8 Kansas took an eight-point lead that held for a 74-64 victory and season-sweep over No. 16 Baylor.
This was more than just fortunate timing between Oubre and Selden. The latter knew just where to look.
“I know his game like the back of my hand and he knows my game like the back of his hand,” Oubre said after scoring 18 points on 6-of-9 shooting (4 of 6 from 3-point range). “We have that chemistry. We work hard together.”
TCJ
Anyway, the 1,000-point discussion after Kansas’ amazing finish in a 74-64 victory against a tough, fearless, scrappy, unified Baylor squad led to someone asking freshman Kelly Oubre Jr. a question about him one day reaching the same mark at KU. It was the only moment of the day that Oubre sported the expression of a wide-eyed freshman.
“Put me on the hot seat right there, man,” Oubre said after an 18-point, six-rebound effort. “I don’t know if I’m saying anything.”
He didn’t, of course. Oubre ranks as most likely Kansas player to join the ranks of the one-and-done college basketball players because his long-range potential equates to guaranteed first-round money. He was wise enough to duck the question, knowing it’s a distraction from the task at hand, Kansas winning an 11th consecutive Big 12 title.
…“I think that’s the one thing with Kelly that I want to see consistency with because he’s a good shooter, but that’s not who he is,” Self said. “He’s a junkyard dog. He can do a lot of things, and when he’s worried about those things it just seems so much more natural for him to jump up and make shots.”
A junkyard dog who too often doesn’t flash his fangs because he has enough ability to impress dog-show judges as well with flashes of beauty to his game. The thought of Oubre frothing at the mouth on a consistent basis, eager to make the opposition play ugly, panicky basketball sends the imagination running deep into the NCAA tournament bracket. But can Oubre, at such a young age, bring that mentality into every game, home and away? Not many freshmen do. So far, he has averaged 12.3 points, shot .529 overall and .489 from three at home, 5.5, .291 and .136 on the road.
No better time than Monday night in Morgantown, W.V., to embrace the Self/Sloan junkyard dog mentality against crazy defensive pressure and a wild crowd to see if that brings better road results and impresses Sloan and the rest of the talent evaluators in the building.
LJW
According to DraftExpress.com, he projects as the No. 9 player off the board in this summer's NBA Draft — ahead of Texas' Myles Turner, Wisconsin's Frank Kaminsky and Kentucky's Devin Booker.
Again, loaded question.
The better this story gets, the shorter it feels.
And when the lottery beckons, all bets are off.
"I mean, he's the prototype of what you look for of a wing player in the NBA these days," Jonathan Givony, DraftExpress.com president and noted straight-shooter, told FOXSportsKansasCity.com when asked about Oubre.
"Just in terms of his size, his body, his length — everything comes easily to him. Put him on 2 (guards), put him on 3's, he can guard 1's (point guards), 4's (power forwards). He's probably their best center this year."
Fox Sports Keeler
LJW image
Maybe the misleading story lines and over-analysis are just part of the background noise here, like those pop-up videos during timeouts or the Rock Chalk Chant at the end of wins.
Because so much of the talk around this particular Kansas basketball team has been about what it cannot do and what it does not have. Not enough inside scoring. Not enough athleticism. No dominant big man. No lock for first-team all-conference.
All of those points have varying degrees of legitimacy, and the part about inside scoring remains a potential problem, but the focus has been so far toward the holes that it’s been easy to miss the Jayhawks’ strengths.
Because, viewed in the light of day and with reason, the team with supposedly underwhelming talent or no identity or whatever other pick that’s been nit is winning the nation’s No. 1 RPI league by two games and tracking toward a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament after a 74-64 win over No. 16 Baylor at Allen Fieldhouse on Saturday.
“We’re getting better every day,” says Kelly Oubre, the freshman star. “We’re only getting better.”
Things can change quickly, and it’s unlikely that KU makes it through the final six conference games without at least one loss. But taken in both the micro and macro sense, this is a rarity: a KU basketball team that’s actually better than many people think.
KC Star Mellinger
Even though this was expected of the Jayhawks, it's still impresive to see them battle for a bit then pull off a win. The roster seems to be coming into shape and the rotation more figured out. The team they beat today is a really tough opponent that -- even despite a loss earlier in the week -- is looking like a potential Sweet-16 team that was rounding into form. The Big 12 is Kansas' conference, pure and simple, and with this win they stay two games up on the rest of the league.
CBS
Baylor has tried to defeat the Jayhawks in Kansas 13 times. @KUHoops has never allowed it. pic.twitter.com/CvsTwJVXl8
— CBS Sports CBB (@CBSSportsCBB) February 14, 2015 LJW Tait: The Day After
“We spent a whole day working against West Virginia about 11 days ago. We played Iowa State on Monday. Wednesday was basically an opportunity to go against seven or eight guys (against five) the entire practice. Thursday/Friday was Oklahoma State prep. Obviously, I did a great job on that,” KU coach Bill Self cracked, noting the Jayhawks lost at OSU.
“We’ll have a 30-minute practice to work against West Virginia and play Monday. If we played West Virginia the second time with one day prep we’d be better off. The first time will be short prep. Frank (Mason III), Devonté (Graham), Wayne (Selden Jr.), Kelly (Oubre Jr.) and Brannen (Greene) will need to be really good. If we make any adjustments it will be tweaks as opposed to changes and hope our guys go in with the mindset to attack their pressure to score as opposed to just survive, because if you do that, then they’ll smell blood,” Self added.
LJW
“We spent a whole day working against West Virginia about 11 days ago. We played Iowa State on Monday. Wednesday was basically an opportunity to go against seven or eight guys (against five) the entire practice. Thursday/Friday was Oklahoma State prep. Obviously, I did a great job on that,” KU coach Bill Self cracked, noting the Jayhawks lost at OSU.
“We’ll have a 30-minute practice to work against West Virginia and play Monday. If we played West Virginia the second time with one day prep we’d be better off. The first time will be short prep. Frank (Mason III), Devonté (Graham), Wayne (Selden Jr.), Kelly (Oubre Jr.) and Brannen (Greene) will need to be really good. If we make any adjustments it will be tweaks as opposed to changes and hope our guys go in with the mindset to attack their pressure to score as opposed to just survive, because if you do that, then they’ll smell blood,” Self added.
LJW
TCJ image
TCJ image
“Pay Heed. The game you love began here. Respect those who came before you. Make their legacy your own. Because destiny favors the dedicated. And rings don’t replace work. In this game you don’t get what you want. You get what you earn. We are Kansas. Together we rise. Rock Chalk Jayhawk!
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