Kansas Stymies Baylor 62-52

Kansas started the game off well, hitting their first two shots - both three pointers, amazingly enough - and the Jayhawks took care of Baylor Friday evening in Kansas City.

After Kelly Oubre and Perry Ellis led the game of with their back-to-back treys, Baylor fought back and kept it close for most of the first half.  Baylor even grabbed the lead a couple of times, but then the Bears' offense went cold.  Baylor only scored two points - individual free throws four minutes apart by Kenny Chery - in the last 7:10 of the first half, and KU took a 26-18 lead into the break.

Kansas stretched the lead to 35-20 a few minutes into the second half, but then Baylor made a run, closing to within 39-35 at the 11:17 mark.  The Jayhawks clamped down defensively again, held the Bears scoreless from the 10:11 mark to the 4:09 mark, and cruised to the 62-52 win while the Rock Chalk chant echoed throughout the Sprint Center as the clock hit a minute left to go.

Perry Ellis started for Kansas; he came out of the game with about 8 minutes left to go and slightly favoring his injured knee.  Hunter Mickelson got some more time in as well and played well, even if the stat line doesn't necessarily show it.

Wayne Selden led all scorers with 20 points on 7/9 shooting.  Perry Ellis was the only other Jayhawk in double figures with 11 points on 4/11 shooting.

Kansas outrebounded Baylor 39-35.  Selden came down with 8 while Lucas and Ellis each added 6.

As a team, Kansas shot 3/12 (25.0%) from 3-pt range while Baylor went 4/22 (18.2%) from behind the arc.

Kansas hit 17/27 (63.0%) free throws to Baylor's 10/16 (62.5%).

Up next, top-seeded Kansas will take on second-seed Iowa State in the finals of the Big 12 Tournament on Saturday, March 13, at 5:00 PM Jayhawk time. The game will air on ESPN.