WACO, Texas — LJ Cryer had 22 points with five 3-pointers and 17th-ranked Baylor stretched its Big 12-best winning streak to five games with a 75-69 win over No. 9 Kansas on Monday night in a matchup of the past two national champions.
The reigning champion Jayhawks (16-4, 5-3 Big 12), coming off a 23-point home loss to TCU, lost their third straight game, tying their longest losing streak since coach Bill Self took over in 2003-04. They also lost three in a row in February 2005, February 2013 and January 2021, but this is the first time Kansas has lost three straight to ranked teams since February 1989.
Adam Flagler added 17 points, while Jalen Bridges and Langston Love each had 11 for 2021 champion Baylor (15-5, 5-3), which overcame another tough shooting night. The Bears were 37.1% (23-of-62) from the field two days after a 62-60 win at Oklahoma in which they shot a season-low 36.2%.
Baylor is now 12-1 in its past 13 games against opponents ranked in the top 10 of the AP poll, tying the best 13-game span by any team in the AP poll era. The Bears are 25-8 against top-25 teams over the past four seasons, the nation’s best mark.
Freshman Gradey Dick had 24 points for the Jayhawks while Jalen Wilson had 23. Kevin McCullar Jr. had 14 points and 12 rebounds for his fifth double-double this season.
Love converted a three-point play for the Bears with 14:32 left to put them ahead to stay after Kansas took its only lead at 46-45 when Wilson swished a 3-pointer from the left wing. Love’s field goal and free throw started a 12-3 run that he capped with a 3-pointer.
K.J. Adams Jr. made two free throws with 6 seconds left in the first half to get the Jayhawks within 41-34, the closest they had been since about five minutes into the game.
After Wilson’s layup got Kansas within 11-7, Baylor had a 9-0 run that was punctuated by Josh Ojianwuna‘s two-handed putback dunk. That was the last time in the half that the Bears had consecutive scores, though Cryer did make three 3s in an 83-second span — the first two after 3s by Dick and Wilson, and the third following two free throws by Dick.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.