PAGE 6
THE UNIVERSIT
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 9, 2012
KANSAS 68
Kansas 33 | 35-68 Baylor 30 24-54
JAYHAWK STAT LEADERS
Points
WITHEY 25
Rebounds
ROBINSON
11
Assists
KANSAS
JOHNSON 5
OPPONENT
Player Pts FG-FGA Rebs A TO's
T. Robinson 15 6-11 11 1 5
J. Withey 25 8-10 5 1 6
T. Taylor 19 6-11 3 3 3
E. Johnson 0 0-6 0 5 1
T. Releford 1 0-1 3 3 2
C. Teahan 8 3-4 3 1 0
J. Wesley 0 0-0 2 0 0
K. Young 0 0-2 3 3 2
Totals 68 23-45 32 22 19
Player Pts FG-FGA Rebs A TO's
P. Jones III 5 1-8 3 1 2
Q. Acy 11 3-7 10 0 3
Q. Miller 3 1-4 2 0 1
A.J. Walton 2 0-2 1 1 1
P. Jackson 16 7-14 0 4 2
D. Bello 4 2-2 1 0 1
C. Jefferson 11 5-10 5 0 1
A. Jones 2 1-3 4 0 1
Totals 54 20-54 30 7 12
GAME TO REMEMBER
Jeff Withey, Junior Center
Withey followed his worst game as a Jayhawk with his best. He tallied a career-high 25 points, five rebounds, three blocks and two steals in 29 minutes played. His ability to beat the zone defense helped eliminate Baylor's early momentum. In a game that featured several premier NBA prospects, it was Withey, the quiet Californian kid, who topped them all.
Withev
GAME TO FORGET
Elijah Johnson, Junior Guard
It wasn't all bad for Johnson, who dished five assists compared to just one turnover. But it's got to be frustrating for a shooter of his caliber to miss all six of his shots, including four from three-point range. Self was amazed at the fact that his team shot over 50 percent from the field despite its shooting guard struggling so much.
"I'm so happy with my big fella right now."
Johnson
QUOTE OF THE GAME
— Taylor on Withey
Taylor
The Jayhawks shot this percentage from the field in the second half.
KEY STATS
59
Junior center Jeff Withey scored a career-high 25 points. His previous career-high was 15 points against Oklahoma on Feb. 1.
25
1-8
Sophomore forward Perry Jones III shot this ratio, 13 percent, from the field. He averaged 55 percent going into the game.
Freshman forward Quincy Miller played just 14 minutes after a flagrant foul.
14
Kansas dished 17 assists compared to Baylor's 7.
17-1
1
MEN'S BASKET
Taylor's improvement important for win
KORY CARPENTER
kcarpenter@kansan.com
CHRIS NEAL/KANSAN
Tyshawn Taylor has been one of the more inconsistent KU basketball players in recent memory. He's one of the more talented players as well, which probably explains the love/hate relationship Kansas fans and the media seem to have for Taylor from one game to the next.
CHRIS NEURANSAN
Junior forward Kevin Young drives in for a lay-up during the second half of Wednesday night's match-up against the Baylor Bears.
"You guys are really good at analyzing a lot of things about his game, and I do the same thing so I can't be mad at you for doing it, because I do it," coach Bill Self told the media after the loss to Missouri Saturday. "But he's damn good. He is damn good."
Beginning with the victory over Iowa State on Jan. 14 and heading into Wednesday night's game against No. 6 Baylor, Taylor was averaging 21.8 points per game in seven contests, nearly five points over his season average. He exceeded his season average in the 68-54 victory over Baylor Wednesday night as well.
Taylor had 19 points, just three turnovers, and shot more than 50 percent from the field (6-11) and the three-point line (4-7).
The impressive stat line was a big reason Kansas avoided losing back-to-back games for the first time since Nov. 22, 2005.
I
"I don't think we like the feeling of losing," Taylor said earlier this week. "We always come in with a good attitude and we try to get better and learn from our mistakes that we made in the previous game."
The lahawks opened up the half on a 23-4 run fueled largely by Taylor's eight points on two three-pointers and a layup. His pedestrian first half was anything but in the final 20 minutes of play in which he had 13 points, was 2-for-3 from
After a slow start found the Jayhawks down 19-9 with nine minutes remaining in the first half, Taylor later connected on a deep three-pointer to cut the Baylor lead to 27-22 with four and a half minutes to go. Kansas eventually took a three point lead to the locker room, 33-30.
The second half couldn't have gone much better for Kansas or Taylor.
beyond the arc and committed just one turnover.
He got into the heart of the Baylor zone and was able to find center Jeff Withey and forward Thomas Robinson with ease, who in turn wreaked
havoc on their Baylor counterparts.
The Jayhawks are now tied with Missouri for first place in the Big 12 with seven games remaining, and Bill Self has plenty of confidence in his point guard heading down the
stretch.
"I'll put the ball in his hands any day," Self said.
Edited by Katie James
CHRIS NEAL/KANSAN
Junior guard Travis Releford celebrates with sophomore guard Niko Roberts when Baylor calls a time out after being down by 20 points in the second half of Wednesdav night's game.