Baylor erases 21-point deficit to upset No. 11 Kansas, Fran Fraschilla stunned

With 1:28 to go in the first half of Saturday’s game against No. 11 Kansas, Baylor found itself down 21 points. The Bears got the deficit to 19 at halftime – but they turned on the jets out of the break to pull off the come-from-behind upset victory.

Baylor outscored Kansas 56-28 in the second half to turn that deficit into a double-digit lead and seal the 81-70 victory in Waco. It was quite the turnaround for the Bears, and for the Jayhawks, it was something Fran Fraschilla hasn’t seen in his time covering college basketball.

“I’ve never seen Kansas collapse like this in 22 years,” Fraschilla said as time started to tick away in the second half.

It was all Jayhawks through the first half of play. KU shot 57.7% from the field with nine assists on 15 made field goals while holding Baylor to just 8-of-29.

In the second half, though, the Bears flipped the script. They went 17-for-29 while holding the Jayhawks to 11-for-31, including just 2-for-12 from three-point distance. Baylor also went 21-for-22 from the free throw line in the second half.

Baylor jumped back out in front with less than five minutes to go – its first lead since 9-8 early in the game. The Bears never looked back, eventually getting a crucial Big 12 victory.

“This is unbelievable, Jon,” Fraschilla told play-by-play announcer Jon “Boog” Sciambi. “I can’t believe the way Kansas has collapsed.

How it happened: Baylor comes back, upsets Kansas

Rob Wright led Baylor with 24 points on the day, including 20 in the second half. Norchad Omier also had a big way with 18 points – 17 of which came after halftime – and VJ Edgecombe had 14. However, he left the game after appearing to roll his left ankle and never returned.

On the Kansas side, Hunter Dickinson led the charge with 20 points before fouling out with just over a minute to play. Dajuan Harris added 12 points to go with a team-high eight assists.

After a sluggish first half, Baylor didn’t waste any time setting the tone out of the break. The Bears started the final 20 minutes on an 18-4 run to tie things up. When Kansas tried to pull away, Baylor had an answer, and it culminated in a 66-63 lead with 4:04 to play. From there, the Bears created separation and pulled off a comeback for the ages.

Baylor will now look to ride the momentum into Tuesday’s matchup against Texas Tech. Kansas, meanwhile, will face a tough test against an Iowa State team that suffered an upset of its own on Saturday.