Lagerald Vick scored 18 points and topped the 1,000-point mark on his 22nd birthday as No. 7 Kansas recorded its first true road victory of the season, 73-68 over short-handed Baylor on Saturday at Waco, Texas.
Dedric Lawson had 17 points and Devon Dotson added 14 for the Jayhawks (14-2, 3-1 in Big 12), who shot 54.5 percent from the field, including 9 of 16 (56.3) from 3-point range. Kansas entered the game shooting just 33.3 percent from beyond the arc for the season, and 26.1 in the previous five contests. Vick was 9 of 36 on 3-pointers in those five games, but went 6 of 8 on Saturday.
The Jayhawks, who dropped their first two true road contests at Arizona State and Iowa State, also recorded a season-high 11 blocked shots and held Baylor (9-6, 1-2) to a season-low 33.3 percent shooting.
Prior to the game, Baylor coach Scott Drew announced that talented sophomore Tristan Clark will miss the rest of the season to undergo season-ending left knee surgery. The 6-foot-9 Clark entered play Saturday leading the nation with a 73.7 field-goal percentage, and also ranks among the Big 12 leaders averaging 14.6 points, 6.3 rebounds and a team-best 2.4 blocks.
"He's a tremendous player and teammate, so this is obviously disappointing news, but Tristan is determined to do whatever it takes to rehabilitate and return to being one the nation's top premier big men," Drew said in a statement.
The Bears could have used Clark, especially early on as they missed their first 15 field-goal attempts. Baylor scored the first two points of the game on free throws, then Kansas went on an 18-0 run and, despite allowing the hosts to get within two, led by 10 at half. The Jayhawks led by as many as 23 in the second half before getting sloppy and allowing the Bears to make things interesting.
Freshman guard Jared Butler hit four 3-pointers and led Baylor with 14 points.
Kansas returns to action Monday night against Texas at home. Baylor will play Monday at Oklahoma State.
--Field Level Media
Kansas | Baylor | |
Lagerald Vick 18 | Scoring | Jared Butler 14 |
Devon Dotson 5 | Assists | Jared Butler 4 |
Quentin Grimes 6 | Rebounds | King McClure 10 |
Devon Dotson 7 | Free Throws Made | Makai Mason 3 |
Dedric Lawson 5 | Steals | Freddie Gillespie 2 |
Dedric Lawson 5 | Blocks | Freddie Gillespie 1 |