No. 3 Kansas Look To Continue Home Dominance Against No. 25 Baylor

Lawrence, KS (Sports Network) - Sherron Collins scored a game-high 28 points, as third-ranked Kansas survived a major test to down No. 25 Baylor, 81-75, and extended its nation-best home-court winning streak to 53 games.

The Jayhawks (17-1, 3-0 Big 12) also received 22 points and eight rebounds from Marcus Morris, 12 points and seven steals from Xavier Henry and 10 points from Cole Aldrich. Kansas has won three straight since its lone loss of the season at Tennessee.

The win was Kansas’ 200th in the Big 12, making the Jayhawks the first league team to win 200 conference games.

“Marcus Morris was unbelievable. That’s probably the best game he has played since he’s been at KU. Of course our little point guard (Sherron Collins), all he did was get 28 points and have no turnovers,” said Kansas head coach Bill Self.

Baylor (14-3, 2-2) was paced by LaceDarius Dunn’s 27 points and nine rebounds. Tweety Carter added 17 points and seven assists, while Quincy Acy joined Ekpe Udoh in double figures with 10 points.

Dunn’s three squared the contest at 13-13 almost nine minutes in, and his three-pointer with just under 3 1/2 minutes remaining in the half gave Baylor a 27-24 edge. Morris’ bucket just before the half took the teams into the locker room with a 30-30 stalemate.

Baylor notched the first four points of the second half, but Kansas gained a lead with a seven-point turnaround. Collins’ trey handed the home team a 46-43 lead with just under 13 1/2 minutes to play. Morris’ jumper just under the 12- minute mark pushed the edge to five, and the advantage grew to 10 on the heels on an 8-1 stretch capped by Aldrich’s bucket for a 60-50 game.

The Bears did not go quietly into the night.

After Morris’ layup again pushed Kansas’ edge to double digits at 65-55, the Bears ran off the next 10 points to tie the game. Dunn and Anthony Jones scored four points apiece during the stretch with Jones’ slam tying the game with just over 3 1/2 minutes remaining.

The Jayhawks held a two-point lead before Morris’ free throws extended it to 71-67 with just under two minutes left. With the edge again just two, Collins provided the dagger with a key trey for a 74-69 lead with 1:13 left. Baylor missed on the other end, and Kansas connected from the free throw line to secure the victory.

“I wish we could go back and do the last three minutes again, because we didn’t get those offensive boards late in the game. I credit KU for doing what they needed to do,” said Baylor head coach Scott Drew.

The Jayhawks shot 43.5 percent from the floor and assisted on 18 of 27 made baskets...Baylor made 52.1 percent of its shots, but was outdone by 20 turnovers...Kansas leads the all-time series, 15-2, but did lose to the Bears in last season’s Big 12 Tournament.

-- Via Sports Network