Baylor Bears at Kansas Jayhawks Preview: Complete Opposite of Expectations

The Kansas Jayhawks stayed undefeated in convention with one more lopsided victory, this time over the Texas Tech Woman Raiders. Subsequent up is a ranked matchup with one of many preseason favorites, the Baylor Bears.

It has been over a decade for the reason that Jayhawks have hosted a ranked matchup in Allen Fieldhouse, however this might be the primary of many on the season if they’ll get this win early in convention play.

So let’s check out a Baylor group that’s fairly totally different from those that we’re used to seeing.

Opponent Overview

Group: Baylor Bears

Document: 11-3 (2-0 Huge 12)

Web Score (through CBB Analytics): 14th (thirty first offense, fifteenth protection)

Line: TBA

Group Type

The Bears are coached by head coach Nicki Collen, who’s in her second season at Baylor. Her report on the faculty is 39-10. They’re coming off a season the place they completed 28-7 total, together with a 15-3 Huge 12 report. They completed the season in an upset loss to South Dakota within the second spherical of the NCAA Event.

This season, the group is taking pictures 45.5% total and 33.8% from three-point vary. They’re struggling from the free throw line, solely taking pictures 63.9%. Offensively, this group is correct within the center by way of tempo, however they’re skewed in the direction of the guard place, which is a departure from what Baylor has usually been. Nonetheless, whereas the guards are the principle scoring choices, they solely shoot 33.9% of their photographs from past the arc. With 52% of their photographs coming contained in the paint and 30.3% on the rim, they’re very a lot a group that appears to drive to the basket.

Baylor averages 75.9 factors per recreation, 41.1 rebounds per recreation, 18.4 assists per recreation and eight.1 steals per recreation. They flip the ball over a mean of 15.0 occasions per recreation. On the season, they’ve a 17.5% turnover share, however because the competitors has ramped up that quantity has risen drastically. Within the final 5 video games, they’ve turned the ball over on 22.3% of their possessions.

Gamers to Watch

Baylor’s main scorer is junior guard Sarah Andrews, Whereas she scores 14.4 factors per recreation, she has been extraordinarily inefficient in doing so, solely taking pictures 37.3% on the season. Nonetheless, she is undoubtedly one of many leaders on the group and her performances normally go an extended solution to figuring out how nicely the group performs. She is second on the group with 4.6 assists per recreation, so she has been in a position to assist get others concerned.

She is joined on the perimeter by freshman guard Dariana Littlepage-Buggs, who’s the main rebounder for the Bears with 8.2 per recreation. The principle three level risk on the perimeter is freshman guard Bella Fontleroy, who’s making 37.8% of her three-point makes an attempt. And senior guard Jaden Owens leads the group in assists with 6.2 per contest.

Within the submit, the one constant possibility has been senior Caitlin Bickle. She is the second-leading scorer with 12.0 factors per recreation, the second-best free throw shooter, making 75.9% of her makes an attempt, the perfect three-point shooter among the many major scoring choices, and the second-leading rebounder at 6.5 per recreation. Sadly for Baylor, the dropoff after they go to the bench is critical.

Matchups to Watch

It looks as if we’re taking part in a damaged report right here, however middle Taiyanna Jackson may have a huge effect on this recreation. She continued to dominate within the submit, with a 10-rebound quarter in every of her final two video games, and double-digit scoring to go together with it. Her means to not solely have an effect on Bickle’s type of play but in addition discover further alternatives for the Jayhawks can be extraordinarily precious. However one other participant to observe on this one is Ioanna Chatzileonti. Final season, she had her two greatest video games of the season towards the Bears, with 20 factors and eight rebounds within the first recreation in Allen Fieldhouse, and 21 factors and three rebounds within the second recreation down in Waco. She has proven the power to compete nicely towards Baylor’s type of play, and I count on that to proceed.

And naturally you’ll be able to’t ignore the perimeter play from the Jayhawks, particularly on the defensive finish. Holly Kersgieter and Zakiyah Franklin have harassed quite a few gamers this season, and I do not see something that Baylor does that makes me assume they may be capable to stop that. Will probably be essential for Kansas to remain in entrance of these drives into the paint, however the three-point taking pictures of this group is missing, which ought to assist in that regard.

Prediction

It’s kind of unusual coming right into a recreation towards a ranked opponent and feeling assured that the Jayhawks are the higher group. Kansas has proven the power to play with and beat groups which are on par or higher than the Bears, and I do not count on a lot to be totally different in at this time’s recreation.

I am going to take Kansas to get off to a quick begin earlier than Baylor battle again into it round halftime. However this Jayhawk group has proven the power to kick into one other gear when wanted, and Chatzileonti and Jackson each have the power to go off for large scoring on this one. Give me the house group pulling away late to arrange a monumental showdown subsequent week in Ames.

Kansas 79, Baylor 67.

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