PAGE 4B
MONDAY, MARCH 11, 2013
THE UNIVERS
Kansas 28 | 30----58
Baylor 37 | 44----81
Points
KANSAS 58
JAYHAWK STAT LEADERS
McLemore 23
Rebounds
Withey
8
Assists
KANSAS
Johnson
McLemore
Kevin Young 0 0-2 2 0 1
Jeff Withey 8 3-3 8 1 2
Elijah Johnson 10 3-13 4 2 3
Ben McLemore 23 8-16 3 2 4
Travis Releford 2 1-6 3 2 2
Naadir Tharpe 2 1-6 1 1 0
Rio Adams 1 0-0 2 0 1
Andrew White III 0 0-2 0 0 0
Totals 58 21-56 33 11 13
2
BAYLOR
Player Pts FG-FGA Rebs A TOs
Cory Jefferson 25 11-13 7 0 1
Isaiah Austin 11 3-7 7 0 1
Brady Heslip 5 2-4 1 0 0
A.J. Walton 12 3-8 4 5 4
Pierre Jackson 28 11-13 6 10 3
LJ. Rose 0 0-0 0 0 0
Rico Gathers 0 0-1 2 0 0
Gary Franklin 0 0-1 0 1 0
Totals 81 30-52 34 17 10
Ben McLemore, freshman guard
GAME TO REMEMBER
McMemore doubts beaters. The only gripe with Kansas electric freshman was that he couldn't prove his "elite" status without a big game on the road. After an 8-16, 23-point and three rebound performance at Baylor there isn't much to not like about the kid.
McLemore
GAME TO FORGET
Kevin Young, senior guard
ASHLEIGH LEE/KANSAN
It won't be hard for others to forget Young's game, given that he was virtually invisible. After picking up two fouls in 24 seconds early in the first half Young vanished, scoring no points on two field goal attempts and only picking up 2 rebounds. The senior forward played just 15 minutes.
Ellis hits stride, teammates falter in loss against Baylor
BLAKE SCHUSTER
WACO. Texas — Entering Saturday's contest at Baylor, Ben McLemore had done everything anyone could ask of him.
The freshman guard had multiple 30-point outings over the season, broke Danny Manning's Kansas record for points by a freshman and produced 1.75 spine-shaking dunks per game — the latter, of course, is an unofficial stat.
bschuster@kansan.com
Yet McLemore hadn't delivered any of it outside of Lawrence.
That is, until he shot 8-16 from the field and racked up 23 points against Baylor.
It was a performance that may have him thinking about bottling the water in Waco and bringing
Young
— Kansas coach Bill Sell, or if he knew Baylor senior forward Cory Jefferson could shoot from long range.
Sophomore guard Naadir Tharpe talks to Kansas coach Bill Self after coming off the court during Saturday's game against Baylor at Ferrell Center in Waco, Texas. Tharpe played for 13 minutes in the Kansas loss.
Kansas did not score a field goal in the game's final 6:23
No. 4 Kansas was the highest-ranked team Baylor outeated in the regular season in 23 years, since it knocked off No. 3 Arkansas in Feb. 1990.
"He didn't hit a three in his career, so hell no."
KEY STATS
Self
6:23
QUOTE OF THE GAME
ASHLEIGH LEE/KANSAN
Freshman guard Andrew White attempts to steal the ball from his opponent during the game against Baylor at Ferrell Center in Waco, Texas. White had one personal foul in his two minutes on the court.
For the first time in 14 games dating back to Feb. 12,
2001, Baylor defeated Kansas in the regular season.
MEN'S BASKET
When Kevin Young picked up two fouls within 24 seconds early in the first half, Self didn't have much of a choice but to turn to his unproven rookie.
23
"I was just trying to go out there and play my game like always," McLemore said.
The highly touted Wichita recruit hadn't quite made the transition to the college game yet.
So when he helped bring Kansas within six points of tying the game in the second period, it was more than enough to make Self smile.
14
It was only the second time Ellis has scored in double digits in conference play, but it may be the boost Kansas needs heading into tournament season.
"I thought he was the best player for us today" Self said of Ellis.
As was McLemore. And with both hitting a new stride, it's only going to be harder to amaze Self.
Most likely, McLemore didn't
awse because he's capable of
Perhaps that's also why freshman forward Perry Ellis received the bulk of Self's postgame compliments. One saw his 12-point performance coming.
Even after everything he had accomplished in Allen Fieldhouse and on neutral floors, McLemore's "elite" status was questioned for not showing up on the road.
"It definitely does give me confidence," Ellis said. "I was just trying to come in and just play as aggressive as I can."
Still, it was the type of outing that silenced many of McLemore's detractors.
Edited by Tara Bryant
"He attacked them," Self said.
"The guys that he was scoring
And yet, they couldn't stop Ellis as he bobbed and weaved his way through traffic down low.
"He didn't have a big game," Kansas coach Bill Self said of McLemore after Kansas fell 81-58. "He made some shots, which is good, but I'm not going to go and tell you that anybody on our team had a good game."
it back to Kansas, but not impressive enough to get his coach's approval.
— and should be — posting these numbers on a nightly basis.
over, under or around were legitimate shot blockers that were much bigger."