Waco, Texas ? The Baylor University basketball fans seated near Kansas University’s bench heckled Jayhawk freshman Darrell Arthur on Wednesday night.

“They were yelling at me, ‘You had a dream?”’ Arthur, KU’s forward from nearby Dallas, said with a smile.

“My mom was talking back to them. She said, ‘Be quiet. Look at the score.”’

Sandra Arthur, whose son chose KU over Baylor in recruiting last May because of a dream he had the night before his news conference to announce his college choice, pointed to the Ferrell Center scoreboard early and often Wednesday from her front-row seat.

She had the upper hand all the way as her son’s team claimed an 82-56 rout of the Bears. The Jayhawks had raced to leads of 20-3 and 27-7 early.

“I was glad we came out and played well after losing at Texas Tech (69-64 last Saturday),” said Arthur, who scored eight points and grabbed six rebounds with five turnovers.

His former South Oak Cliff High School teammate, Baylor’s Kevin Rogers, answered with 11 points and a whopping 16 rebounds.

“They weren’t too loud tonight,” Arthur said of a tiny crowd of 8,102 that included at least 1,000 KU supporters up in the rafters. “They told Sherron he looked like Gary Coleman.”

The 5-foot-11 Collins, who is actually quite a bit taller than the former “Different Strokes” actor, finished with 13 points off 5-of-8 shooting, including three of four threes.

“I was a little sped up,” said Arthur, who hit three of seven shots and missed a dunk. “But it was fun. Coach told me it’s all a learning process. We won, and I got to see a lot of family members I hadn’t seen in a while.”

The Jayhawks were in great spirits after improving to 17-3 overall and 4-1 in the Big 12. Everybody played, including Lawrence’s Brady Morningstar, who scored four points late, including a bucket following a steal and spin move which shed a defender.

“We were a team, not individuals tonight,” freshman guard Collins said. “We made the extra pass. There was no 1-on-1. We let everybody create for each other.”

KU had 18 assists on its 29 baskets.

Brandon Rush led the way with 18 points off 7-of-13 shooting, while Julian Wright snapped a slump with 16 points off 5-of-11 shooting, but six of seven free throws.

Collins had 13, while Mario Chalmers had nine points and Russell Robinson eight.

“We looked a lot more like a team,” KU coach Bill Self said. “We looked like a group more than a collection of individuals. We were more patient. We did a good job running and giving multiple guys touches on a majority of possessions.”

The Jayhawks hit 16 of 25 shots (43 percent) the first half to BU’s six of 33 (18.2) and raced to a 40-18 halftime lead. Rush and Wright scored nine points apiece the first half off combined 8-of-11 shooting.

“Coach had been encouraging me, giving me feedback,” said Wright, who rolled his left ankle the second half, but continued to play and said it felt fine after the game. “You’ve got to get to the free-throw line. I was able to do that and make the easy shots.”

It wasn’t all about offense Wednesday as the Jayhawks moved into a four-way tie for first place in the league with Texas Tech, Texas A&M and Texas.

Rush came out strong defensively on BU guard Aaron Bruce, who missed seven of eight shots the first half and finished with eight points off 3-of-12 shooting.

“I did a pretty good job,” Rush said. “I stayed in front of him and tried to contest it. He reminded me of Steve Nash. He licks his fingers when dribbling the ball.”

Self said, “I thought our defense was good. I thought they also missed some shots.”

Baylor, in fact, made its first shot then bricked the next 16 before scoring again.

“Being on the road and up I think, 25-7 : the game is not over by any means, but that can be a little frustrating to a crowd.”

Think so? A fan behind press row could be spotted napping in the second half. It was that kind of night for the Bears, who fell to 11-8 overall and 1-5 in the league.

As far as first-place KU : “I don’t know everybody’s schedule,” Self said of the contenders for the crown. “We have a couple of road wins; I’m sure the others (tied for top spot) do, too. I think 13-3 would be a heck of a record.”

KU will meet Colorado at 12:30 p.m. Saturday at Allen Fieldhouse.