Big 12 Basketball

No. 10 Baylor has kept its hopes for a Big 12 regular-season title alive thanks to an 80-70 victory over No. 5 Kansas on Saturday night at the Ferrell Center.

This was the second time these two heavyweight programs have met in the past three weeks. Kansas dominated the first meeting, 83-59, at Allen Fieldhouse on Feb. 5. Head coach Bill Self's squad was riding a four-game winning streak coming into this matchup.

The Bears got a much-needed win over one of their key conference rivals. Their last two losses were against Kansas and Texas Tech (83-73 on Feb. 16). They are now 12-4 in Big 12 play, one game behind Kansas in the loss column with two games left in the regular season.

Fresh off shooting 64.1 percent from the field and scoring 102 points against Kansas State on Tuesday, the Jayhawks' offense went cold against a much better defense. They only made 34.3 percent of their attempts, including 7-of-28 from three-point range.

Ochai Agbaji did his best to carry the unit with 27 points. David McCormack and Christian Braun both recorded a double-double in the loss. 

This game initially looked like it would be a blowout for Kansas after taking a 21-9 lead midway through the first half. 

Baylor settled in at that point, closing the first half on a 22-11 run to close the deficit to one point. Kendall Brown gave the Bears their first lead of the game with a dunk to open the second half. 

The Jayhawks cut the lead to three with just under two minutes to play, but the Bears scored seven unanswered points to seal the victory.

Flo Thamba was the star of the game for the Bears with a career-high 18 points. 

Notable Game Stats

• Flo Thamba (Baylor): 18 points (8-of-13 FG), 9 rebounds
• James Akinjo (Baylor): 12 points (8-of-9 FT), 6 assists
  
• Jeremy Sochan (Baylor): 17 points (5-of-9 FG), 5 rebounds
• Ochai Agbaji (Kansas): 27 points (8-of-21 FG), 6 rebounds
• David McCormack (Kansas): 10 points (4-of-11 FG), 13 rebounds
  
• Christian Braun (Kansas): 17 points (6-of-13 FG), 10 rebounds

Thamba, Sochan Step Up for Bears in Marquee Win

It's a testament to how well head coach Scott Drew has done at building depth on the roster that Baylor has been able to stay in the Top 10 of the Associated Press poll for most of the season, despite dealing with injury issues this season. 

It was only two weeks ago that Jonathan Tchamwa Tchatchoua suffered a season-ending knee injury in an 80-63 win over Texas on Feb. 12. 

Thamba and Kendall Brown are the only two players on the roster who have appeared in all 29 games.

Thamba did his best to keep Baylor's offense afloat early in this game when it was struggling. 

Freshman Jeremy Sochan provided a huge spark off the bench. The England native dropped 17 points and grabbed five rebounds. He has now scored at least 17 points in two of the past three games.

This wasn't the best performance for the Bears, but they were able to grind out a win over one of the top teams in the nation. 

Baylor did most of its work on the offensive end inside the three-point line. It went 25-of-44 on two-pointers, compared to 3-of-14 from behind the arc. This was the team's first game with at least 80 points since Feb. 12 (four games). 

If they can get LJ Cryer back healthy before the NCAA tournament begins, the Bears will be one of the most difficult teams to beat. The sophomore guard sat out his third straight game with a foot injury.     

Cold Shooting Dooms Jayhawks

If the theory about a team needing to peak at the right time is true, Kansas looked to be well on its way to making a deep run in the NCAA tournament before Saturday night. 

Per ESPN's College Basketball Power Index, Kansas entered this week ranked No. 1 in strength of record that measures how successful a team has been relative to its schedule. They rank fourth in adjusted offensive efficiency and 33rd in adjusted defensive efficiency, per KenPom rankings. 

One reason to be encouraged coming out of this game is that Kansas has not shot this poorly in a loss all season. The closest it came was a 39.1 field-goal percentage in a 76-62 win over Oklahoma State on Feb. 12.

Agbaji has shot 51 percent from the field (44.5 percent from behind the arc) this season, but he made just eight of his 22 attempts on Saturday. 

Even on a night when he was struggling, at least by his own standards, Agbaji was a one-man wrecking crew for Kansas early in the second half. He scored 10 of the team's first 12 points coming out of the intermission. 

Christian Braun was the only Jayhawks starter who made at least 40 percent of his field-goal attempts. Dajuan Harris Jr.'s late-season struggles continued against Baylor. He went scoreless in 31 minutes and missed all six of his shot attempts.

One positive is that Harris had seven assists with just one turnover. The sophomore has never been a dominant scoring guard, but he had been shooting 45.7 percent from the field coming into this game.

In his last three games, Harris has scored a combined total of eight points on 4-of-16 shooting. 

The strength of this Jayhawks roster is offense. They entered Saturday ranked 14th in points per game (80.0) and 18th in offensive rating (112.9), per Sports-Reference.com. 

A one-game sample against Baylor isn't reason for panic. As long as Self can get his team to regroup, especially with a favorable schedule to end the regular season heading into the conference tournament, this loss will only be a blip on the radar of the 2021-22 season.    

What's Next?

Kansas will play its final road game of the regular season against TCU on Tuesday at 8 p.m. ET. Baylor will take on No. 20 Texas at the Erwin Events Center on Monday at 9 p.m. ET.

Baylor forward Jonathan Tchamwa Tchatchoua suffered a gruesome knee injury in Saturday's game against Texas:

A school spokesman said the junior was ruled out indefinitely, per the Associated Press. 

Many were quick to react to the video of Tchatchoua suffering the injury.

Tchatchoua scored just two points before suffering the first-half injury in the battle of Top 25 teams in the Big 12.

The UNLV transfer has played a key role off the bench during the past two seasons for Baylor.

Tchatchoua appeared in 29 games in 2020-21 as the Bears took home their first national championship in school history. He played 16 minutes in the title game victory over Gonzaga.

The 6'8" forward has made more of an impact in 2021-22, averaging 8.6 points and 7.0 rebounds per game entering Saturday, making 68 percent of his field-goal attempts. He scored 21 points on 9-of-10 shooting in Wednesday's win over Kansas State.

The latest injury could be brutal for Baylor, which is already lacking depth:

Jeremy Sochan could see more time off the bench, although there will be even more pressure on the entire roster. 

Baylor suffered its second defeat in three games, losing to No. 10 Kansas 83-59 at Allen Fieldhouse in Lawrence, Kansas.

Kansas was up 18 by halftime after holding Baylor to 21 first-half points. The Bears shot 8-of-31 from the field as a team and were sorely missing leading scorer LJ Cryer, who was out because of a lingering foot injury.

The Jayhawks led by as many as 34 points as they improved to 19-3. The eighth-ranked Bears, meanwhile, slipped to 19-4.

Notable Performers

Christian Braun, G, Kansas: 18 points, 10 rebounds, three assists, one steal

Ochai Agbaji, G, Kansas: 18 points, nine rebounds, two assists

James Akinjo, G, Baylor: one rebound, three assists, two steals

Adam Flagler, G, Baylor: 16 points, two rebounds, one assist, four steals

Kansas Atones for Kentucky Drubbing

Around this time last week, the Jayhawks were licking their wounds from a heavy 80-62 defeat at the hands of Kentucky. Although head coach Bill Self moved on as quickly as possible mentally, it was a stunning result from a program that's typically so difficult to beat at home.

Since then, Kansas already picked up a 70-61 victory over No. 20 Iowa State, but this felt a more cathartic win.

This was a great collective effort by Kansas from start to finish. The Jayhawks didn't rest on their laurels coming out of halftime and instead poured it on even more. This sequence at the 11:33 mark of the second half encapsulated the contest.

Christian Braun set the tone with his 14 points in the first half. His determination and swagger were infectious across his team.

Kansas already had ranked victories over Iowa State (twice), Texas Tech on its resume. A shellacking to this degree was absent until Saturday and it reaffirmed the Jayhawks' status as the top team in the Big 12 at the moment.

Baylor Finds Itself in Unfamiliar Position

The Bears dropped six games over the past two seasons, and their three losses entering Saturday all came by single digits. Calling Baylor a front-runner would be inaccurate, but this is a team that doesn't dig itself into as big of a hole as it experienced against Kansas.

There's no question Cryer's absence had a negative impact on Baylor's offense. But head coach Scott Drew at least got Adam Flagler and enough firepower to have mounted a better challenge against Kansas. James Akinjo missed all 11 of his shot attempts.

Kansas' wildly divergent outcomes from last week to Saturday is an example of why fans shouldn't read too much into one game. There are some days when things go inexplicably wrong.

Drew might also be able to use this to help refocus his players for the home stretch of the regular season. All will be forgiven if Baylor defends its home court and gains a measure of revenge against Kansas on Feb. 26.

What's Next?

Kansas' stretch of five ranked opponents ends Monday against No. 23 Texas in Austin. Baylor stays on the road to play Kansas State on Wednesday.

Texas guard Andrew Jones is using his name, image and likeness money for a good cause. 

In a statement released on Friday (via ESPN's Myron Medcalf), Jones announced he is partnering with the V Foundation to donate 10 percent of his NIL earnings for cancer research:

"The money donated to the V Foundation played a major part not only in my ability to receive proper treatment but maintain confidence in both my recovery and eventual return to basketball. To be able to share my story on how this foundation has impacted my life while paying that forward to future families impacted by cancer is an honor."

A sixth-year senior, Jones missed most of the 2018-19 season when he was diagnosed with leukemia.  

Jones showed tremendous promise during his freshman season with the Longhorns in 2016-17. He averaged 11.4 points and 3.5 assists per game in 33 appearances. 

Per ESPN's Jeff Goodman, Jones declared for the 2017 NBA draft but didn't hire an agent. He wound up returning to school for his sophomore season. 

A wrist injury early in the 2017-18 season knocked Jones out of the lineup for three weeks. He appeared in two games after the injury healed, but was diagnosed with leukemia after experiencing fatigue on the court and during practice. 

Jones finished his chemotherapy treatment in August 2018. 

After being granted medical redshirts for the 2017-18 and 2018-19 seasons, Jones returned to the court on Nov. 5, 2019 against Northern Colorado. He scored a team-high 20 points in a 69-45 win. 

Per Asher Price of Axios.com, Jones created his own branded merchandise that is described as "a motivational clothing line." 

Jones is averaging 10.1 points and 2.9 rebounds per game in 19 appearances this season.    

For the second time in the past five days, the No. 1 Baylor Bears men's basketball team has lost. 

Oklahoma State stunned the defending champions on Saturday 61-54 at the Ferrell Center in Waco, Texas, behind strong performances from Bryce Thompson (19 points) and Bryce Williams (nine points, six assists).  

That spoiled big evenings from LJ Cryer (18 points) and Matthew Mayer (16 points, five rebounds). And it likely put an end to Baylor's spot atop the rankings, which it has held for the past five weeks after starting the season with 15 straight wins. 

But No. 19 Texas Tech put an end to the streak with Tuesday's 65-62 win over the Bears. And then Oklahoma State shockingly handed Baylor its second straight loss at home and the first two-game losing streak for the school since the 2018-19 season. 

It didn't come easy. Despite leading by as many as 18 points in the first half and by as many as 14 points in the second half, the Cowboys saw the Bears cut the deficit to just one with a minute and 20 seconds remaining. 

But Baylor couldn't get any closer, with multiple turnovers down the stretch. Oklahoma State hit its free throws and left Waco with the win. 

When it came to being upset, Baylor was at least in good company on Saturday:

Anytime the top team in the country loses, it's a major story. But doing so at home, against an unranked team, only adds to the tale. 

But Oklahoma State is quite the story in its own right.

The school is banned from postseason play this season following former associate head coach Lamont Evans pleading guilty in January 2019 to a charge of conspiring to commit bribery after accepting over $22,000 in bribes for steering players to financial and business advisors. Other penalties include a reduced number of scholarships, recruiting restrictions and a three-year probationary period.

That was part of a larger FBI investigation into corruption in college basketball. 

Oklahoma State appealed the punishment and participated in postseason play last year while the appeal was pending, though it was ultimately denied and the punishments were upheld.

Those circumstances could have easily left these Cowboys feeling ambivalent about the 2021-22 season. But despite some struggles this season, they've continued to fight. 

On Saturday, they took that fight to the top team in the nation and left with arguably the biggest upset of the men's college basketball season. 

Tuesday was not a good day to be an undefeated team in men's college basketball.

After USC lost to Stanford, Baylor was the last remaining undefeated team in the country. Turns out, that lasted merely hours.

The No. 19 Texas Tech Red Raiders went on the road Tuesday and stunned the top-ranked Bears with a 65-62 upset. The victors improved to 12-3 on the season and 2-1 in Big 12 play, while Baylor fell to 15-1 overall and 3-1 in the league.

James Akinjo's potential game-tying three in the final seconds came up short, clinching the upset for the visitors.

While the Red Raiders had five players score in double figures, they won the game on the defensive side.

That's not particularly surprising considering they are fourth in the nation in Ken Pomeroy's pace-adjusted defensive rankings. They swarmed Baylor's outside shooters while holding the country's top team to just 8-of-24 shooting from deep and cut off its driving lanes while forcing 14 turnovers.

The last possession in particular stood out, as the Bears struggled to create a quality shot and were left with Akinjo tossing up a contested miss.

Adam Flagler and Akinjo each scored 17 points, but LJ Cryer was the only other Baylor player to score in double figures with 10.

Adonis Arms spearheaded the offensive effort for Texas Tech with 14 points, but he also stuffed the stat sheet with nine rebounds, five assists and two blocks. His ability to get into the lane and either finish himself or create for others was enough for the Red Raiders to overcome their own shooting woes at 4-of-14 (28.6 percent) from deep.

It has been quite the stretch for the victors considering they also defeated No. 6 Kansas on Saturday. The Red Raiders look the part of Big 12 contenders in the early portion of the conference schedule and will look to continue their momentum when they face Oklahoma State on Thursday.

Baylor will attempt to bounce back from its first loss when it plays the Cowboys in its next game as well on Saturday.

While the Bears will be in the unfamiliar position of playing after a loss, they are still in an ideal spot to earn a No. 1 seed come Selection Sunday when they will be attempting to defend their national title.                

Gabe Kalscheur scored 30 points to lead the unranked Iowa State men's basketball team to a 78-59 win over No. 9 Memphis in the NIT Season Tip-Off Championship on Friday from Brooklyn, New York's Barclays Center.

The senior guard added eight rebounds and five steals for a Cyclones team that benefitted from Memphis' 22 turnovers and a 19-of-53 (35.8 percent) shooting night.

Emoni Bates led the Tigers with 12 points and three blocks. Fellow 5-star recruit and freshman Jalen Duren had an off night with two points and five turnovers.

Memphis only had one lead, when Lester Quinones hit a jumper 10 seconds into the matchup for a 2-0 edge. Iowa State responded with an 8-0 run.

The Tigers later tied the game at 25, but the Cyclones closed the half on a 7-2 spurt.

The second half was all Iowa State. Kalscheur started the half on a personal 6-0 run capped by a four-point play for a 38-27 lead:

Iowa State later went on a 31-13 run to take a 75-51 lead. Senior forward Aljaz Kunc went on a personal 7-0 run during that stretch, with this bucket serving as the highlight:

He finished with 11 points, seven rebounds and four assists.

The Cyclones led by as many as 25 en route to the 19-point victory. Their dominance on the boards helped, as they out-rebounded Memphis 42-34.

Iowa State looks like it's defying preseason expectations that placed the Cyclones last in the Big 12 preseason coaches poll.

The 6-0 Cyclones now have two wins over Top 25 programs after being No. 25 Xavier 82-70 in the NIT Season Tip-Off semifinals.

This game marked the 5-1 Tigers' first loss of the season. They had outscored their opponents by an average of 17.8 points entering the game.

Both teams play next on Wednesday.

Iowa State will now host the 0-7 Arkansas-Pine Bluff Golden Lions at 8 p.m. ET. Memphis will visit the 2-4 Georgia Bulldogs at 7:15 p.m. ET.

One of the biggest upsets of the still-young 2021-22 college basketball season came on Friday, with the No. 4 Kansas Jayhawks falling to Dayton 74-73 in a thriller decided at the buzzer. 

Trailing by one point with the clock ticking down, Mustapha Amzil's jumper bounced off the rim and backboard before falling through the net after time expired to give the Flyers a stunning victory over the previously undefeated Jayhawks.  

Amzil only finished with four points, and the final shot was his lone field-goal attempt of the game. Four of Dayton's five starters reached double figures in scoring, and the team shot 51.8 percent from the field. 

Kansas left a lot of points on the board at the free-throw line. Head coach Bill Self's team only made nine of 20 attempts from the charity stripe. 

The Flyers entered this matchup with a 2-3 record. Each of their three losses came in consecutive games, to UMass Lowell, Lipscomb and Austin Peay. 

Kansas had won each of its first four games by an average of 20 points. It looked to be on track for another big win early on Friday. The Jayhawks jumped out to an 11-1 lead in the first four minutes and led by as many as 15 points in the first half. 

After a Remy Martin layup put Kansas up 49-37 with 18:13 remaining, Dayton scored 12 straight points to tie the game. The Flyers took their first lead at 51-50 on a Daron Holmes II dunk. 

Dayton did get its lead up to seven points with 7:23 left to play. Kansas stormed back by scoring 12 of the next 14 points to take a 73-70 advantage in the final minute. 

Malachi Smith cut that deficit to 73-72 on a layup with 45 seconds left. David McCormack was called for an offensive foul on the Jayhawks' ensuing possession, giving Dayton the ball back with 15 seconds remaining. 

McCormack looked like he was going to play the role of hero on defense when he blocked Smith's layup attempt. Amzil was able to corral the ball and put up a shot as time expired. 

The win gave Dayton its first victory over a team ranked in the top five of the Associated Press poll since a 72-71 win over No. 3 DePaul on Feb. 18, 1984.