Kansas Jayhawks vs Baylor Bears Predictions

The Kansas Jayhawks held on against the UCF Knights without starting point guard Dajuan Harris, who suffered an ankle injury in practice and was unable to play. With Harris expected back, Kansas heads on the road today to Waco, TX to take on the Baylor Bears. 

Can the Jayhawks take advantage of another talented team that seems unable to live up to their high expectations? Or will Baylor be able to put everything together in one of their biggest home games of the season?

Our crew gives their thoughts:

Kyle Davis

Check out our Baylor Preview for Kyle's full breakdown and prediction.

Derek Noll

Going on the road and getting a win has been difficult for KU this season, so I’m 50/50 on what we’ll see in what is sure to be a rocking arena in Waco. On one hand, Kansas should have the full squad back but on the other hand, this team somehow goes several minutes looking like they’ve never seen a basketball let alone are capable of playing it at a high level. I will say this about this game, it is directly before a massive game against Iowa State at Allen and if Kansas can take momentum into that one, the schedule looks favorable for a few weeks. So I’ll take Kansas to get it done with Rylen Griffen having a bounceback game for the Jayhawks. 

Kansas 72, Baylor 70.

Brendan Dzwierzynski

Waco hasn’t been kind to the Jayhawks since they won at the old Ferrell Center in 2020, and I truly don’t know how to lean in this matchup. I think if Kansas can find a way to limit V.J. Edgecombe, not even completely stop him, it’s got a great chance to win. That, of course, is much, much easier said than done. I also worry about this team’s focus and energy level, something that’s been concerning all season and especially so after the hideous start to the win over UCF. Having Dajuan Harris back is huge on both ends, but I’m feeling more pessimistic than usual regardless. I hope I’m wrong, but I’m taking Baylor to narrowly escape at home. 

Baylor 74, Kansas 72.

Andy Mitts

This feels like a simple "Kansas struggles on the road against good teams" type of game, but this isn't your typical Baylor team. The Bears have a great offense, but the defense is unusually mediocre this season. Baylor has trouble guarding the three point line, but they also give up a lot of offensive rebounds. They send their opponents to the line a lot, and the only thing they really do well is forcing turnovers. Offensively, they get blocked on one of every 8 shots, which should let players like Bidunga feast on the defensive end. Ultimately, I think that despite the road troubles, Kansas has just enough to pull this one off.

Kansas 87, Baylor 84.

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