Kansas basketball fends off late-game comeback attempt from Baylor despite injury-riddled roster

Five days removed from a bad loss to Kansas State on the road, the Kansas Jayhawks basketball team needed to bounce back to get back into the win column. While it was not pretty by any means, Allen Fieldhouse worked its magic to gift Bill Self and Co. a victory.

Kansas played well for most of the first period, and a couple of 3-pointers and layups put them up by as many as 12 in the second half. But a scoring drought in the final six and a half minutes had fans biting their nails during the latter stages of the game.

Scoring just two points in the final 4:51 of the game, blunders from Jayhawk players — specifically Nick Timberlake, who replaced the injured Kevin McCullar in the starting lineup — nearly cost KU a win. However, Baylor couldn't take advantage of their opportunities, missing two threes in the final ten seconds of the game and falling 64-61 to Kansas.

Hunter Dickinson led the team in scoring but struggled to get anything going in the second half, finishing a mediocre 7-for-19 from the field while dropping in 15 points and seven rebounds. Dajuan Harris scored double digits for the third time in four contests and was the only player to score a bucket in the final six and a half minutes.

The Jayhawks didn't fare well beyond the arc, shooting 5-for-21 from deep, including six misses from Johnny Furphy. Baylor's 21 turnovers played a massive role in the final outcome, as Kansas had only eight as a team. Kansas was outrebounded 42-to-25 but still came out on top.

Even though McCullar has his caveats at times, it was a rollercoaster (not a fun one at that) watching Timberlake play with the starting unit. It would greatly improve Kansas' chances of winning tomorrow when they take on No. 23 Texas Tech on the road.