Waco, Texas ? Baylor coach Scott Drew didn’t expect what he saw from Kansas’ Markieff and Marcus Morris in Monday’s 75-65 loss to the Jayhawks.
“Playing on the road in a Big Monday game,” Drew said, “their freshmen stepped up.”
The twins combined for 22 points and 15 rebounds, sparking the Jayhawks even when center Cole Aldrich had to sit with foul trouble.
“The big thing I was impressed with was them hitting the free throws like they did,” Drew said. “Statistically, there’s a couple guys that haven’t hit free throws like that. They stepped up and made shots, made free throws tonight.”
Marcus Morris made all three of his free-throw attempts despite shooting just 54 percent from the line (33-for-61) heading into the game. As a team, KU was 16-for-20 (80 percent) from the stripe.
In the second half, Markieff made three of four shots from the floor, while Marcus was a perfect 4-for-4.
“They’ve been producing the entire year,” BU forward Kevin Rogers said. “I think that’s the thing with them. When Cole comes out and one of them are in his place, it’s not really a drop-off.
“They have a great front line. When (Cole) was out and they needed big plays from the front line, they were able to make them.”
Baylor, after trailing 46-35, used a 12-2 run to cut KU’s lead to 48-47 with 12:25 remaining.
The Bears wouldn’t get any closer, though, as a few minutes later the Jayhawks responded with a 10-3 run of their own to rebuild a 66-55 advantage.
“We got close, but when you get close like that it makes it tough if you don’t get over the hump, and we were never able to take the lead in the second half,” Drew said. “I know that our guys ran out of gas down the stretch.
“Kansas came up with the big plays and responded well in, I thought, a hostile environment. I thought the fans were super tonight.”
Sherron Collins took over late, scoring nine of his 17 points in the final seven minutes.
“Players were able to get him open,” Baylor guard Henry Dugat said. “He made great plays himself. He’s a great player.”
Collins also performed well defensively, holding BU’s Curtis Jerrells to four points on 0-for-7 shooting. It was the lowest output of Jerrells’ career.
“People all do go through slumps at times,” Drew said. “I think he’s just in one of those. The thing that’s tough is that in big games, you need him.”
BU (15-7 overall, 3-5 Big 12) has lost four straight games, including a pair at home to Texas and Kansas.
Drew said his team still had eight conference games to get itself straightened out.
“The last four (losses) have all stunk, so I think this one’s right in line with them all,” Drew said. “It’s a tough time for us. We had a great opportunity, and we felt like we didn’t seize it.”