Bill Self gives thoughts on Baylor-Kansas at halftime

The Kansas Jayhawks jumped all over the Baylor Bears early in tonight’s heavyweight matchup, leading 16-4 early in the game. However, Baylor nailed seven of their last ten shots to close the first half, closing on a 16-4 run to pull within one point, 32-31 at halftime. Before heading into the locker room, Jayhawks head coach Bill Self stopped to speak with ESPN’s Holly Rowe.

Kansas head coach Bill Self halftime comments

First she asked him what Kansas did to allow the Baylor Bears back in the game? “The law of averages kind of prevailed. We played well early. They missed some shots. We couldn’t buy a basket the last six or seven minutes. I thought we played pretty good except for defensive rebounding last half of the first half,” Self said.

Then she asked him about the Kansas shot selection. “I think we’re okay playing fast. A couple of them were a little quick but the bottom line is we’d like to try to score before they get set,” the Kansas head coach said.

If Kansas wins tonight, they would secure at least a tie for the Big 12 crown. The first half was truly a tale of two halves. The first ten minutes, Kansas led Baylor 21-9. In the final 10 minutes, Baylor outscored Kansas 22-11. Baylor was 7-for-8 from the free throw line in the first half. Kansas did not attempt a free throw.

The energy of the Baylor crowd in Waco, Texas is rowdy. There have been plenty of times where the Bears fans have drowned out the TV commentators for ESPN. The energy of the crowd is a perfect example of what makes college sports so very great.

Kansas star small guard Ochai Agbaji has heated up in the second half for the Jayhawks. He’s already pumped in 19 points on 7-of-15 shooting from the field. He’s one of the leading candidates for National Player of the Year and he’s already drilled 3-of-9 three-point attempts. There’s currently 11:46 remaining in the game.