3 takeaways from Baylor’s demoralizing loss to Kansas: Second half collapse dooms Bears

Here are three takeaways from No. 9 Baylor’s brutal 87-71 loss to No. 5 Kansas:

Brutal collapse

Asking for a win in Allen Fieldhouse is like asking for a million dollars to appear at your doorstep. But this one felt like Baylor (20-7, 9-5 Big 12) lost it.

The Bears were leading 45-32 at halftime, only allowing 32 points in the first 20 minutes. The Jayhawks (22-5, 10-4 Big 12) responded with a 27-9 run and in the blink of eye, they took the lead. It took just seven minutes of game time from the tail end of the first half to six minutes into the second.

The Phog is so hard to win in — there’s a reason Baylor has only won there once in 20 contests — but this one still felt self-inflicted. The Bears connected on 9-of-14 shots from deep in the first half but only hit 1-of-11 in the second. Baylor committed 11 turnovers in the game and KU took advantage with 13 points off turnovers.

The Bears did their job in Waco by snagging a win over the Jayhawks, but this one was rough. The race for a Big 12 title has changed a little bit and Baylor now looks toward another tough road test at No. 12 Kansas State.

A true tale of two halves

Baylor shocked Allen Fieldhouse with a sizzling 45 points in the first half. The trio of Keyonte George, LJ Cryer and Adam Flagler were doing whatever they wanted and picked apart the Jayhawks’ defense. ESPN color commentator Jay Bilas even said the Bears appeared to be “playing a video game right now.”

It was that dominant. And it’s rare to see that, given Baylor’s track record at the Phog. So, what happened? Why was there a collapse?

Well, you can probably look to the rebounding and transition defense first. When the Bears knocked off KU in Waco, they controlled the glass and limited Kansas’ ability to get out in transition. In the first half of Saturday’s contest, Baylor appeared to be continuing to do that, resulting in success.

But when the floodgates opened for the Jayhawks in the second half, they took off and ran with it. At the end of the day, the games truly matter in March, but this one will sting in the rearview mirror.

George shows good, bad and ugly

George had three turnovers in just three minutes to start Saturday’s game. It was truly a “Welcome to Allen Fieldhouse moment” for the youngster. But he turned things around with a 15-point scoring splurge over a six-minute stretch in the first half.

He was incredible, there’s no other way to put it. George hit a pair of 3-pointers from well beyond NBA range to get it started, and then rose up and dunked all over the Jayhawks at the 5:09 mark. Kansas’ head coach Bill Self immediately needed a timeout after the dunk and he was just shaking his head wondering how to stop the kid.

Then, George hit another 3-pointer before burying one plus the foul for a 4-point play. Like Bilas said, it was video game stuff from the Lewisville native, and his draft stock surely grew after what he showcased in that tough environment.

On the flip side, though, George committed six total turnovers on Saturday and struggled on times at the defensive end. He finished the game -16 in +/- and a lot of the good that he did was largely overshadowed by the mistakes and poor team play in the second half.

George finished the game with 20 points of 7-of-15 from the floor, 5-of-10 from deep to go with five rebounds in 29 minutes.

Twitter: @MichaelHaag_

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