The Baylor Bears knocked off the No. 4 Kansas Jayhawks Saturday in the final Big 12 regular season game, 81-58.
Kansas's Ben McLemore controlled the tip and scored on a quick layup four seconds into the game to give Kansas a two point lead. That was Kansas's first and last lead of the game.
The Bears finished the first half on a nine to three run that gave them a 37-28 lead at the half. Baylor's point guard Pierre Jackson and center Cory Jefferson continued to control the game in the second half, and Baylor had a 17 point lead with 10 minutes to go in the game.
Over the next four minutes the Jayhawks' Perry Ellis and Ben McLemore combined for 11 points as Kansas held Baylor scoreless and cut the deficit to six points.
Baylor answered with another run of its own, outscoring Kansas 20-3 in the final six minutes of play.
Jackson led the Bears with 28 points and ten assists. He finished the regular season leading the Big 12 in both scoring and assists. Jefferson had 25 points and seven rebounds, including shooting 3-3 from behind the arc. Isaiah Austin added 11 points and seven boards, and A.J. Walton contributed 12 points. Baylor shot 57.7 percent from the floor but had no points off the bench.
McLemore led Kansas with 23 points. Ellis had 12 points, and Elijah Johnson contributed 10 points. The Bears held Jeff Withey to eight points and eight rebounds. Kansas had three starters that finished the game with four fouls, including Withey, Travis Releford and Johnson. Kevin Young was also in foul trouble in the first half but finished the game with three fouls.
The loss was Kansas's worst loss in seven years.
Baylor will face No. 13 Oklahoma State in the Phillips 66 Big 12 Men's Basketball Championship quarterfinals game March 14 at 8:30 p.m. (CT). Kansas will face the winner of the West Virginia and Texas Tech first round game on March 14 at 2 p.m. (CT).
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