Scott Drew addresses Baylor's turnover issues vs. Kansas

Baylor was three points away from pulling off a pivotal upset. After Baylor’s 64-61 loss to No. 4 Kansas, head coach Scott Drew addressed the minor mistakes that prevented his team from escaping with a win.

“A lot of unforced ones,” Drew said, regarding his team’s turnover output against Kansas. “Obviously, Kansas’s defense caused a couple of them. Their length on our drives tipped some balls, and they did a good job with that.

“But, we had way too many self-inflicted wounds. Just not catching the ball with two hands, not hitting a person in a shooting pocket where they would want it. So, hopefully it’s a one-game anomaly.”

In the loss, Baylor committed a jaw-dropping 21 turnovers. In contrast, Kansas only choked away eight possessions in the game. The Jayhawks capitalized on the Bears’ mistakes, tallying 17 points off turnovers.

Baylor hasn’t had any significant issues with turnovers this season. The team averages 12.3 turnovers per game. While the Bears certainly aren’t breaking any records for their ball security, they’re also not a liability.

Baylor guard RayJ Dennis, who finished with six turnovers in the loss, owned up to his mistakes after the game and discussed how he can fix the issue looking forward.

“I’ve got to cut all the turnovers down, for one,” Dennis said. “Just get in film, watching it, getting with the coaches. Basically just watch a lot more film, study harder and figure it out.”

Baylor looks to bounce back

In seven different games this season, Davis has turned the ball over five or more times. His assist-to-turnover ratio currently sits a 1.9-to-1. With so many turnovers, Davis and Co. played directly into Kansas head coach Bill Self’s game plan.

“I was hoping the game was slow, which it was,” Self said during the postgame press conference. “I was hoping the game was ugly and muddy, which it was in large part because they turned it over and in large part because we couldn’t make shots.”

Baylor will have a chance to right its wrongs sooner rather than later. On Tuesday, the Bears will face off against No. 25 Oklahoma on ESPN 2. Scott Drew knows the Sooners will give his team another great challenge.

“Oklahoma is another typical Big 12 team,” Drew said. “Another excellent team defensively, offensively. Defensively they rank higher than they do offensively, nationally. But Porter is an outstanding coach, been to a Final Four (with Loyola-Chicago). You have to beat them, they don’t beat themselves.”