Kansas center David McCormack came for redemption in the first half of Saturday’s rematch with Baylor as he racked up 14 points on 5-of-5 shooting to help keep the No. 17 Jayhawks ahead 33-30 on unbeaten No. 2 Bears at halftime inside KU’s Allen Fieldhouse. McCormack struggled with just six points in the first meeting, which Baylor won 77-69 on Jan. 18, but he has been more consistent since then and carried an otherwise sluggish offense in Saturday’s opening half.
Kansas still has work to do in the second half if it wants to be the first team to knock off Baylor, though. The Bears fell behind 13-6 early in just their second game back from a 21-day layoff between games. Baylor’s Flo Thamba scored nine points on 4-of-4 shooting in the first half to counter McCormack’s effectiveness in the paint and help lead Baylor out of its early funk.
Kansas entered the meeting projected as a No. 5 seed in the latest Bracketology by Jerry Palm, but the Jayhawks have never been lower than a No. 4 under 18th-year coach Bill Self and could give their resume a huge boost by pulling off the upset. Baylor is projected as a No. 1 seed.
