David McCormack made his first six shots and netted 20 points Saturday night as No. 17 Kansas handed No. 2 Baylor its first defeat of the season, 71-58, at Lawrence, Kan.

The Bears (18-1, 10-1 Big 12) rolled to their best start in history, but their first conference championship since 1950 (Southwest) will have to wait. Baylor will play three makeup games next week and needs just one victory to capture the Big 12 title.

Kansas (18-8, 12-6), meanwhile, became the first Big 12 team to complete its conference schedule, extending a string of Senior Night victories launched in 1984. Another home game will be played next week against UTEP, though Kansas elected to honor its seniors on Saturday.

In beating the Bears for the 18th time in 19 matchups at Lawrence, the Jayhawks arguably played their best game of the season. They claimed a 48-28 edge on the backboards and held Baylor to 34.8 percent shooting.

The sluggish Bears' top threat, Jared Butler, did not score until the 10:14 mark of the second half and fouled out with just five points (2-for-9) after netting 30 in a victory over Kansas on Jan. 18.

MaCio Teague led Baylor with 18 points, but on 7-for-20 shooting. Teague added a team-high eight boards. Davion Mitchell scored 13 points.

McCormack finished 8-for-10, while Marcus Garrett added 14 points and seven rebounds for Kansas. Jalen Wilson led the Jayhawks with 14 boards.

Kansas closed the first half with a 7-0 run to claim a 33-30 halftime margin behind 14 points from McCormack, who went 5-for-5. The Jayhawks grabbed their largest lead, 13-6, early in the half before Baylor answered with a 10-0 spurt to go up 16-13.

Flo Thamba scored all nine points in the first half to lead the Bears, who shot just 40.6 percent but forced seven turnovers to remain close. Butler went scoreless on two first-half attempts before sitting out the final seven minutes with two fouls.

Garrett added eight first-half points for Kansas, which shot 50 percent despite missing seven of eight 3-pointers. The Jayhawks looked eager to take advantage of any rust the Bears attempted to shake while playing their second game following a three-week layoff COVID-19 pause.

--Field Level Media