KU basketball vs. Baylor recap: Jayhawks lose 75-69, suffer 3rd-straight Big 12 loss

WACO, Texas — Kansas men’s basketball’s 2022-23 regular season continued Monday with a Big 12 Conference matchup on the road against Baylor.

The No. 9 Jayhawks came in off of a loss at home against now-No. 11 TCU. The No. 17 Bears came in off of a win on the road against Oklahoma. Last season, Kansas lost on the road against Baylor.

Did coach Bill Self’s Jayhawks squad end a two-game losing streak in Big 12 play? Did coach Scott Drew’s Bears squad ensure it would further rise in the conference standings? These two teams tied for the Big 12 regular season title last season.

Here's what happened inside the Ferrell Center:

FINAL: Baylor 75, Kansas 69

Baylor leads 68-59 against Kansas with 3:41 left in 2nd half

The Jayhawks still have a chance. Although they're down nine points, there's still almost four minutes left in regulation. They also have the ball.

But the way this game has gone, it seems unlikely Kansas will be able to complete a comeback. There have been too many wasted possessions offensively. The fouls called on the Jayhawks have allowed Baylor to, basically, get away with things like a stretch right now in which the Bears haven't hit a shot from the field in more than six minutes.

Baylor leads 65-55 against Kansas with 7:40 left in 2nd half

The fouls keep mounting for Kansas, which will now play a large portion of the second half with 10 team fouls. Bill Self also recently got called for a technical foul. It's going from bad to worse, as the officiating and game in general is really not going the Jayhawks' way.

Baylor hasn't been shooting the ball well from the field, but it is getting a boost from the free-throw shooting that's come of these fouls. On the other end, while Kansas is shooting the ball well it hasn't had as many trips to the free-throw line and also has a couple more turnovers. So, the Jayhawks aren't playing with a recipe made for a comeback.

Baylor leads 57-49 against Kansas with 12:48 left in 2nd half

The Jayhawks took a lead for the first time on a Jalen Wilson 3-pointer that put Kansas up 46-45, but they didn't hold onto it long. Now Baylor is on a run, and leading 57-49 at a Jayhawks timeout with 12:48 left in the second half. The calls are going the Bears' way, and Bill Self certainly isn't happy with some of them.

Baylor still isn't shooting the ball well, but it's hit enough shots recently to regain control. Kansas is definitely still in this one. The Jayhawks just need to put some quality possessions together and avoid fouling, considering Wilson and Gradey Dick each have three fouls.

Baylor leads 45-43 against Kansas with 15:51 left in 2nd half

The shots just aren't falling for Baylor in the second half. The Bears are 1-for-8 from the field, and 0-for-5 from behind the arc, while going 2-for-2 from the free-throw line. And Kansas is taking advantage.

The Jayhawks trail by just a couple points with a little less than 16 minutes left in regulation. They're hitting shots, from the field and the free-throw line, without turning it over. And they have a chance to take the lead coming out of this break.

HALFTIME: Baylor 41, Kansas 34

Baylor leads 38-28 against Kansas with 3:25 left in 1st half

The Jayhawks are on the verge of playing out the rest of the half in the bonus offensively, which sounds like a positive turn of events for an offense that's struggled at times. However, there's less than three and a half minutes left before halftime. And with how the Bears are shooting from behind the arc, trading those trips with each other won't get Kansas back in the game.

Baylor is shooting 7-for-15 on 3s, while Kansas is 10-for-18 from the field overall. The Jayhawks are 4-for-9 on 3s, which is praise-worthy. But Kansas also has seven turnovers compared to Baylor's 2, and the Bears have nine points off of turnovers to the Jayhawks' two.

Baylor leads 27-16 against Kansas with 7:52 left in 1st half

Bill Self is trusting Gradey Dick with some more playing time, even though Dick has a couple fouls, and Dick hasn't picked up any more yet. However, the Jayhawks could use some more offense from him if he's going to be in. He's still at just three points on one shot attempt tonight.

Kansas hasn't hit a field goal attempt in a little more than two and a half minutes. The Jayhawks are actually shooting better from the field than Baylor, but have five more turnovers than the Bears do. In fact, Kansas has as many turnovers — 6 — as made shots from the field — 6.

Baylor leads 23-12 against Kansas with 10:39 left in 1st half

Bill Self had to call a timeout during this latest stretch before the game had even reached this media timeout. Kansas is in danger of being blown out for the second-straight game. It doesn't seem as if the Jayhawks have any momentum.

There might be a case for putting Gradey Dick back in, even with his two fouls. Right now, Kansas doesn't seem to have much of an offense besides giving the ball to Jalen Wilson and hoping he can make something happen. Not too long ago, Wilson nailed a NBA-range 3-pointer that just looked to be the only option the Jayhawks had.

Baylor leads 13-7 against Kansas with 15:23 left in 1st half

Gradey Dick has already picked up two fouls, and that's sent Kansas' best 3-point shooter to the bench early in the first half. Dick scored the Jayhawks' first bucket with a 3-pointer, but now the responsibility will be on Jalen Wilson and others to make up for his absence. Wilson and Kevin McCullar Jr. have split Kansas' other four points so far.

Bill Self had an eye on Baylor's 3-point shooting ahead of this one, and so far the Bears are 2-for-5 from behind the arc. The percentage may be something Baylor fans will like, but with how Kansas has performed defensively the Jayhawks should be fortunate the Bears haven't made more. Baylor should probably have 3 or 4 made 3s so far with the quality of looks they've had.

The game has started

Here are the starters

Don't expect Cam Martin or Kyle Cuffe Jr. back tonight for Kansas

Both super-senior forward Cam Martin and redshirt freshman guard Kyle Cuffe Jr. have been out due to injury, Cuffe for longer than Martin recently, and tonight isn't the night they'll return. Both Martin and Cuffe are on the court during warmups in street clothes.

No surprises for Kansas so far in availability

It's game day

Jordan Guskey covers University of Kansas Athletics at The Topeka Capital-Journal. He is the National Sports Media Association’s sportswriter of the year for the state of Kansas for 2022. Contact him at jmguskey@gannett.com or on Twitter at @JordanGuskey.

This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: KU basketball vs. Baylor: Live score updates from Kansas' Big 12 game