EditorsNote: Fixes typo (split) in third graf
Udoka Azubuike dominated in the paint, scoring 23 points and collecting a career-high 19 rebounds as No. 3 Kansas outlasted No. 1 Baylor 64-61 on Saturday afternoon in a titanic Big 12 battle in Waco, Texas.
The win, the Jayhawks' 12th in row, pulled Kansas (24-3, 13-1 Big 12) into a tie for first place with Baylor in the Big 12 standings with four games to play in the regular season.
Baylor (24-2, 13-1) had its Big 12-record 23-game winning streak snapped and had to settle for a split of the season series with the Jayhawks. The Bears hadn't lost since Nov. 8, when they fell to Washington in the Armed Forces Classic in Anchorage, Alaska.
The Jayhawks led 62-55 after two free throws by Devon Dotson with 34 seconds to play before Jared Butler and MaCio Teague hit consecutive 3-pointers to bring Baylor back to within 62-61 with 16.2 seconds remaining. Isaiah Moss canned two free throws with 7.9 seconds left to bring the Kansas lead to 64-61 before Butler missed the potential tying 3-pointer attempt at the buzzer.
Dotson scored 13 points, and Moss added 11 for the Jayhawks, who shot 50.9 percent from field but was only 3 of 13 from 3-point range. Azubuike made 11 of 13 shots and also recorded three blocked shots.
Butler led the Bears with 19 points, while Freddie Gillespie and Matthew Mayer added 10 each for the Bears. Baylor was just 8 of 15 from the free-throw line and shot 39.7 percent from the field, including 7 of 20 from behind the arc.
Kansas used a penetrating offensive attack to get to the rim in the first half while building as much as a nine-point lead. But the Bears ripped off the final six points of the half, grabbing the momentum and pulling to within 34-31 at intermission.
Azubuike had 13 points in the first half, with eight of those coming on dunks, as Kansas outshot Baylor 53.6 percent to 44 percent over the first 20 minutes. The Jayhawks owned a 22-10 edge on points in the paint in the half and finished with a 42-30 edge.
Mayer led the Bears with eight points off the bench. Baylor was just 6 of 11 from the free-throw line in the half.
Kansas led by three points at the break but used a mid-second half run to move ahead 48-37. The Bears slowly worked their way back into the game, pulling to within 56-53 on a Gillespie jumper with 4:03 to play.
--Field Level Media
