Two freshmen just flipped Kansas’ season: Darryn Peterson’s 26-point masterpiece and Flory Bidunga’s 23-11-5 eruption buried Baylor and signaled the Jayhawks are peaking at the perfect time.
Bill Self didn’t mince words post-game: “When your freshmen play like upper-classmen, you become a different animal.” That animal mauled Baylor 80-62 Friday night behind a pair of first-year phenoms who combined for 49 points on 19-of-25 shooting, 11 boards and five rejections that turned Allen Fieldhouse into a deafening, blue-clad zoo.
First-Half Punch: 19-4 Run, Then Peterson’s Step-Back Dagger
Kansas sprinted out of the locker room with a 19-4 blitz, forcing three Baylor turnovers and holding the Bears to 2-of-9 shooting in the first six minutes. Baylor clawed back—an 8-0 spurt gave them a brief 37-36 edge—but Peterson answered with a step-back jumper at the horn to send the Jayhawks into halftime up 43-37. He already had 20 at the break, matching Baylor’s entire starting five output.
Bidunga’s Second-Half Statement: Dunk, And-1, Block Party
Whatever momentum Baylor carried into the locker room evaporated 18 seconds into the second half. Bidunga slammed an alley-oop while drawing a foul, converted the three-point play, then swatted Cameron Carr’s lay-in on the next possession to ignite a 15-3 run. Kansas led 58-40 with 14:12 left and never let the margin dip below 14 the rest of the way.
- Bidunga’s line: 23 pts, 11 reb, 5 blk, 8-of-10 FG
- Kansas outscored Baylor 38-18 in the paint
- Baylor’s final 10 field-goal drought spanned 7:24
Why It Matters: Big 12 Logjam & NCAA Seeding
The win lifts Kansas to 3-2 in league play, tying them with four other teams one game behind first-place Iowa State—whom they just throttled 84-63 three nights earlier. Back-to-back 50%+ shooting nights have vaulted the Jayhawks from bubble chatter to projected 6-seed in ESPN’s latest Bracketology. Baylor, meanwhile, drops to 1-4 and 11-6 overall, sliding toward the wrong side of the cut-line.
Peterson’s Scoring Explosion by the Numbers
- His 26 points tie the KU freshman record for most in a Big 12 game this season.
- He’s now averaging 21.8 ppg, the highest by a KU frosh since Joel Embiid’s 11.2 (2014) and Andrew Wiggins’ 17.1 (2014) combined.
- Peterson’s 6-for-6 mark on two-pointers showcases elite finishing at the rim; only four players nationally have gone perfect inside the arc on 6+ attempts in a conference game.
Baylor’s Cameron Carr Goes Off—But Gets No Help
Carr drilled 5 triples and finished with 24, yet the rest of the Bears combined to shoot 13-of-40. Baylor’s 11 made threes kept them within striking distance early, but a 38-18 paint deficit and 16 turnovers—six in the decisive first seven minutes of the second half—proved fatal.
Historic Footnote: First Unranked Meeting Since ’66
Friday marked the first time since Dec. 10, 1966 that Kansas and Baylor faced off with neither team in the AP Top 25. The Jayhawks still hold a 37-11 all-time edge and are now 21-1 at Allen Fieldhouse in the series, the lone loss coming in 2021 when Baylor was en route to a national title.
Next Up
Kansas heads to Boulder on Tuesday for a revenge game against Colorado—whom they lost to in overtime earlier this month—while Baylor returns home to face No. 15 Texas Tech desperate to stop a three-game skid.
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