Jayhawk report
Friday’s box score
No. 9 Kansas 62, No. 16 Baylor 52
BAYLOR | Min | FG-A | FT-A | OR-TR | A | PF | PT |
O’Neale | 38 | 3-12 | 2-2 | 2-4 | 1 | 3 | 8 |
Chery | 37 | 7-14 | 2-4 | 1-5 | 1 | 2 | 20 |
Gathers | 29 | 3-7 | 5-8 | 6-13 | 0 | 5 | 11 |
Medford | 30 | 2-5 | 0-0 | 0-1 | 1 | 3 | 4 |
Motley | 27 | 2-8 | 1-2 | 4-6 | 1 | 3 | 5 |
Prince | 22 | 1-11 | 0-0 | 0-3 | 0 | 4 | 2 |
Wainright | 5 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-2 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
Freeman | 12 | 1-1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
Totals | 200 | 19-58 | 10-16 | 14-35 | 6 | 23 | 52 |
Percentages: FG .328, FT .625. 3-Point Goals: 4-22, .182 (Chery 4-7, Motley 0-1, Medford 0-2, O’Neale 0-5, Prince 0-7). Team Rebounds: 1. Blocked Shots: 5 (Motley 2, Medford, Gathers, Prince). Turnovers: 17 (Gathers 5, Medford 3, Prince 3, O’Neale 2, Freeman 2, Wainright, Motley). Steals: 13 (Prince 3, Medford 3, Gathers 2, O’Neale 2, Motley, Freeman, Chery). Technical Fouls: None.
KANSAS | Min | FG-A | FT-A | OR-TR | A | PF | PT |
Mason III | 33 | 3-11 | 2-3 | 1-2 | 4 | 2 | 8 |
Selden Jr | 31 | 7-9 | 6-12 | 1-8 | 3 | 0 | 20 |
Oubre Jr | 29 | 2-6 | 4-4 | 0-5 | 1 | 2 | 9 |
Lucas | 25 | 1-2 | 2-2 | 0-6 | 1 | 3 | 4 |
Ellis | 26 | 4-11 | 2-2 | 3-6 | 0 | 2 | 11 |
Graham | 11 | 2-3 | 0-0 | 0-1 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
Greene | 17 | 1-3 | 0-0 | 0-2 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
Garrett | 0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Traylor | 22 | 0-2 | 1-4 | 2-5 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
Mickelson | 6 | 1-2 | 0-0 | 1-1 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
Totals | 200 | 21-49 | 17-27 | 11-39 | 11 | 13 | 62 |
Percentages: FG .429, FT .630. 3-Point Goals: 3-12, .250 (Ellis 1-2, Greene 1-3, Oubre Jr. 1-3, Mason III 0-2, Selden Jr. 0-2). Team Rebounds: 3. Blocked Shots: 4 (Lucas 2, Mickelson 2). Turnovers: 18 (Traylor 3, Oubre Jr. 3, Lucas 2, Ellis 2, Mason III 2, Selden Jr. 2, Graham 2, Mickelson). Steals: 9 (Traylor 2, Mickelson 2, Mason III 2, Greene 2, Oubre Jr.). Technical Fouls: None.
Baylor | 18 | 34 | — | 52 |
Kansas | 26 | 36 | — | 62 |
A—18,972. Officials—Joe DeRosa, Mike Stuart, Kipp Kissinger.
Ellis has successful return
It sounded counter-intuitive in a way, but Kansas coach Bill Self was hopeful that junior forward Perry Ellis would get his right knee knocked around on Friday.
Ellis was playing his first game in 10 days after suffering a right knee sprain against West Virginia on March 12. He returned to the starting lineup and finished with 11 points and six rebounds in 26 minutes. But in Self’s mind, the most crucial moment came with 7:50 left in the second half, when Ellis took a shot to the right thigh in a collision in front of the Baylor bench.
Ellis walked gingerly back to the Kansas bench, but in the end, his knee was fine.
“I wanted him to go out there and get hit,” Self said. “I know it sounds bad. I wanted him to maybe cringe a little bit and realize he was fine, which was good. He knew that was going to happen, too.”
For Ellis, Friday’s victory marked the end of a nine-day rehab to get back on the floor. On March 3 at Allen Fieldhouse, he fell to the floor and clutched his knee after teammate Landen Lucas had rolled onto his leg. It was just a sprain. But Ellis said it was still the most serious injury he’s ever suffered.
“I didn’t know what was going on or what was happening,” Ellis said. “That was probably my first major-type injury. Well, it was minor, but it was probably the worst thing that’s happened to me.”
Ellis was nearly ready to play Thursday against TCU. But after taking an extra day off, he was eager to get back on the floor.
“It was great,” Ellis said. “I felt comfortable. And it’s going to get better from here.”
Worth noting
▪ The Jayhawks, who will face No. 2 seed Iowa State at 5 p.m. Saturday in the championship, are 1-1 against the Cyclones this season. They fell 86-81 at Hilton Coliseum on Jan. 17 before avenging that loss with an 89-76 victory at Allen Fieldhouse on Feb. 2.
▪ Self is 7-1 in postseason championship games at Kansas. He is 6-0 in Big 12 Tournament finals and 1-1 in NCAA championship games.
Rustin Dodd
This story was originally published March 13, 2015 at 11:24 PM with the headline "Jayhawk report."