The Kansas Jayhawks are set to take on the Baylor Bears Saturday afternoon as both teams open up their Big 12 schedules. Kansas comes into this game at 11-1 and ranked fourth in the nation, while Baylor comes in at 10-2 and ranked 23rd in the nation.
Kansas came into this season as a team that many people felt would contend for a national championship, and they have done nothing to make those people look wrong. The Jayhawks had one hiccup against Michigan State in the second game of the year, but since then, they have won 10 in a row, including wins over UCLA and Vanderbilt.
Kansas is an extremely talented team, but Perry Ellis has been the guy so far this season, as he leads the team with his 15.1 points and 6.2 rebounds per game. The senior forward doesn't shoot many three pointers, but he is a threat from out there, as he has made half of his 16 attempts on the season.
Another player to watch for Kansas is junior guard Wayne Selden, who is having by far the best season of his career. Selden is averaging 14.8 points per game, which is second on the team, and he has shot 55 percent from the field and 53 percent from three. Selden is coming off his lowest scoring outing of the season in a blowout win over UC Irvine (eight points), but the team didn't need him to score, and he also added seven rebounds and five assists.
Baylor looks like a team that might be able to compete with Kansas in the Big 12 this season, as they have only two losses, to very good teams, and they have a very nice win over then 16th ranked Vanderbilt. Baylor has won two games in a row since suffering their latest defeat in blowout fashion against Texas A&M and will now have a tough test in Allen Fieldhouse.
The Bears are led by senior forward Taurean Prince as he leads the team with his 15.5 points per game, and he has also added 5.9 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 1.7 steals per contest so far. Prince hasn't been all that efficient this season, as he is shooting 42 percent from the field (although he is 37 percent from three) and he is coming off a 2-12 performance against Texas Southern so his play will be a major key to Baylor pulling off the upset.
Another player to watch for Baylor is Rico Gathers, who is one of the best rebounders in college basketball. The senior forward has done a lot more than just rebound this season, though, as he is averaging a career high 14.6 points to go along with his 11.0 rebounds per game. Gathers has six double-doubles on the season, including a 31 point, 21 rebound effort against Northwestern State in the beginning of December.
Kansas defeated Baylor in all three meetings a season ago and has dominated the series overall, as they have won 24 of the 28 all-time matchups. Baylor is a heavy underdog again and will need to be at the top of their game if they want to start out Big 12 play with a win.
The game will air on CBS at 4 p.m. Eastern time, and to watch the live broadcast, go here. For the Kansas radio broadcast, go here, and for the Baylor radio broadcast, go here.
