Despite disqualification, Jamari Traylor shines vs. Bears

By Staff     Jan 8, 2015

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Kansas forward Jamari Traylor (31) puts up a floater amidst the Baylor defense during the second half on Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2014 at Ferrell Center in Waco, Texas.

**1. Jamari Traylor -** Fouled out and picked up a couple of bonehead fouls while doing it, but played his best offensive game of the season and, more important than that, was under control, played with purpose and produced when the Jayhawks needed him most. As Wayne Selden Jr. said after the victory, “He got us this win.” Traylor made 6 of 7 shots and hit his only free-throw attempt for 13 points and added five rebounds, two assists, two blocks and a steal.

**2. Brannen Greene -** Wednesday must have been one of those nights where his injured neck wasn’t bothering Greene. Gun-slinger hit 4 of 5 shots, two enormous free throws, scored 12 points and played with enough passion and intensity on defense to log 29 minutes.

**3. Wayne Selden Jr. -** Outside of dishing four assists in a game where points where tough to come by, Selden did not do much for most of the game. But the sophomore guard’s three consecutive buckets down the stretch allowed Kansas to maintain control in the final minutes.

**4. Frank Mason III -** Quiet in the first half, Mason finished with 11 points and 5 assists, modest numbers by his recent standards but still more than enough to play a huge role in the victory.

**5. Kelly Oubre Jr. -** Made just 1 of 7 shots — including 1 of 5 from three-point range — but grabbed five boards, dished two assists and came up with the defensive play of the game, a deflection on a Baylor inbounds pass with 8.5 seconds to play and KU leading by one.

**6. Cliff Alexander -** His first taste of Big 12 basketball was not kind. Alexander played just 20 minutes and scored four points and grabbed one rebound. Looked to be a step slow and thinking too much for much of the night. Did manage to dish four assists and block two shots during the stretches when he looked most comfortable.

**7. Perry Ellis -** KU coach Bill Self said it best after the victory when he said Ellis “was out of it tonight.” The junior tallied just four points and three rebounds in 31 minutes and missed six of the eight shots he attempted. A lot of the offense against Baylor’s zone ran through Ellis at the high post, but the forward often looked tentative when he touched it and finished with just one assist.

**8. Landen Lucas -** Only memorable contribution in his four minutes came on a hustle play in which he took out an elderly couple in the first row while hustling after a loose ball.

**9. Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk -** Played three minutes, air-balled the only shot he took and did not record another statistic. Even during warm-ups, when his shots weren’t falling then either, the Ukrainian looked to be in his head and frustrated. 

SEASON STANDINGS
———–

Frank Mason III – 109

Cliff Alexander – 98

Perry Ellis – 97

Wayne Selden Jr. – 97

Kelly Oubre Jr. – 70

Jamari Traylor – 69

Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk – 68

Brannen Greene – 59

Landen Lucas – 44

Devonté Graham – 39

Hunter Mickelson – 16

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