photo by: Nick Krug

Baylor head coach Scott Drew disputes a call against the Bears during the first half Monday, Feb. 2, 2009 at the Ferrell Center in Waco.

Jesse Newell: Welcome back to the GameDay Cram Session, as Kansas is taking on Baylor on Wednesday night in Waco, Texas.

Tom, say something nice about Baylor basketball coach Scott Drew.

photo by: Nick Krug

Baylor head coach Scott Drew disputes a call against the Bears during the first half Monday, Feb. 2, 2009 at the Ferrell Center in Waco.

Tom Keegan: He inherited a program that had to start from scratch in the wake of one of the biggest scandals in the history of college sports and has turned it into a perennial winner, getting as far as the Elite Eight in the tournament once and now has the No. 6 team in the country, a legitimate national-title contender. Drew’s dynamic personality has made basketball relevant in a place that used to only care about football, even if the football team wasn’t all that good. Drew’s a central figure in one of the most successful athletic programs in the nation. Baylor doesn’t have a the player of the year the way the football team did in quarterback Robert Griffin III and the women’s basketball team does with Brittney Griner, so in many ways Drew is the face of the program.

JN: The guy takes a lot of criticism, but I will also say that he seems to be learning from mistakes he might have made in the past.

Though Baylor is known as a zone team (and Drew takes a lot of heat for having his long and athletic players not play man), SI.com’s Luke Winn revealed some numbers a couple weeks ago that show that the Bears actually play zone about half the time and man about half the time.

Also, in BU’s first matchup against KU, the Bears played 52 possessions of man defense and just 16 possessions of zone, adjusting accordingly after the Jayhawks scored easy buckets off the 2-3 set.

photo by: Nick Krug

Kansas center Jeff Withey delivers home a jam against Baylor during the second half on Monday, Jan. 16, 2012 at Allen Fieldhouse.

Even though Baylor’s early-season schedule was toilet-paper soft, the Bears still have lost only two games this season. A 21-2 record can be helped by having oodles of talent, but it can’t be achieved with talent alone. Drew seems to be growing as a coach, and the result has been a Baylor team that has a legitimate chance at a Big 12 title.

Tom, Baylor is deeper and has two McDonald’s All-Americans to none for Kansas. Yet the schools are back-to-back in the national rankings — Baylor sixth and Kansas seventh. What does Kansas do better than Baylor?

photo by: Nick Krug

Kansas forward Thomas Robinson wrestles for position with Baylor forward Perry Jones III during the first half on Monday, Jan. 16, 2012 at Allen Fieldhouse.

TK: KU plays a more disciplined brand of basketball in that the right guys are taking the right shots. It seems the roles are more defined at Kansas. The goal of every possession is to get the ball inside to Thomas Robinson and very often the possessions start with Tyshawn Taylor breaking down the defense by getting to the lane. Baylor doesn’t seem to emphasize getting the ball down low to Perry Jones III. Everybody seems to feel free to take any shot. Defensively, Kansas plays with more intensity.

JN: One other thing KU does much better than Baylor is defensive rebound.

Though the Bears are long, they have had lots of problems this year securing the ball after an opponent’s missed shot. BU ranks eighth in the Big 12 in defensive rebounding percentage, while KU (thanks mostly to Thomas Robinson) is second in the conference in the stat.

photo by: Nick Krug

Kansas guard Travis Releford wrestles on the floor for a loose ball with Baylor guard Pierre Jackson during the first half on Monday, Jan. 16, 2012 at Allen Fieldhouse.

KU exposed this weakness in the teams’ first matchup, as the Jayhawks pulled down 48.4 percent of their misses — the seventh-highest percentage in a Big 12 game this year.

Though KU has had below-average offensive rebounding performances in each of its last five games, Wednesday should be an opportunity for the Jayhawks to get aggressive once again on the offensive glass.

All right, Tom, what’s your prediction for this game?

photo by: Nick Krug

The Kansas bench goes wild during a Jayhawk run in the second half on Monday, Jan. 16, 2012 at Allen Fieldhouse.

TK: Hmmm. Tough, tough call, but I’ll go with Kansas by four simply because you just know KU is angry at the way the game was officiated down the stretch and with the way they failed to score in the decisive moments. An angry Kansas team is a dangerous Kansas team.

JN: I’ll take KU by six.

photo by: Nick Krug

Kansas guard Tyshawn Taylor puts up a three over Missouri guard Phil Pressey during the first half on Saturday, Feb. 4, 2012 at Mizzou Arena.

The Jayhawks have played two straight games in really tough road environments, and they shouldn’t face that level of atmosphere Wednesday night in the Ferrell Center. Yes, it will be a sellout, but part of the reason for that will be the Dallas-area KU alums snatching up tickets.

KU’s 1.30 points per possession against Baylor earlier this year was its most against a Big 12 opponent, and I think the Jayhawks can have success once again facing Baylor’s man defense.

If KU can limit Baylor’s three-pointers, then I like its chances of winning to stay atop the Big 12 standings.

OK, Tom, who’s your Hawk to Rock?

TK: Thomas Robinson.

photo by: Nick Krug

Kansas forward Thomas Robinson gets up for an alley-oop over Baylor defenders Perry Jones III and Anthony Jones (41) during the first half on Monday, Jan. 16, 2012 at Allen Fieldhouse.

Provided he makes his free throws.

JN: I’ll take Jeff Withey, who will be happy to play against guys more his size.

photo by: Richard Gwin

Jeff Withey gets a hand on a shot by Baylor forward Perry Jones.

The junior had nine offensive rebounds in the first matchup, and he should be a huge key for KU this game. Give me a double-double for him against Baylor after a zero-point, four-rebound effort against Missouri.

Predictions tally (through 23 games)
Tom: 17-6 record, 231 points off (10.0 points off/game)
Jesse: 21-2 record, 200 points off (8.7 points off/game)

Hawk to Rock

Tom Keegan
Towson: Tyshawn Taylor (4th in Keegan ratings)
Kentucky: Tyshawn Taylor (1st in Keegan ratings)
Georgetown: Elijah Johnson (4th in Keegan ratings)
UCLA: Tyshawn Taylor (2nd in Keegan ratings)
Duke: Elijah Johnson (4th in Keegan ratings)
FAU: Jeff Withey (4th in Keegan ratings)
South Florida: Tyshawn Taylor (1st in Keegan ratings)
Long Beach State: Elijah Johnson (7th in Keegan ratings)
Ohio State: Thomas Robinson (2nd in Keegan ratings)
Davidson: Thomas Robinson (1st in Keegan ratings)
USC: Jeff Withey (4th in Keegan ratings)
Howard: Kevin Young (4th in Keegan ratings)
North Dakota: Elijah Johnson (3rd in Keegan ratings)
Kansas State: Tyshawn Taylor (5th in Keegan ratings)
Oklahoma: Tyshawn Taylor (4th in Keegan ratings)
Texas Tech: Thomas Robinson (1st in Keegan ratings)
Iowa State: Elijah Johnson (4th in Keegan ratings)
Baylor: Thomas Robinson (1st in Keegan ratings)
Texas: Thomas Robinson (3rd in Keegan ratings)
Texas A&M: Thomas Robinson (3rd in Keegan ratings)
Iowa State: Tyshawn Taylor (1st in Keegan ratings)
Oklahoma: Thomas Robinson (1st in Keegan ratings)
Missouri: Thomas Robinson (1st in Keegan ratings)
Average: 2.8th in Keegan ratings

Jesse Newell
Towson: Conner Teahan (6th in Keegan ratings)
Kentucky: Elijah Johnson (4th in Keegan ratings)
Georgetown: Kevin Young (9th in Keegan ratings)
UCLA: Elijah Johnson (1st in Keegan ratings)
Duke: Thomas Robinson (1st in Keegan ratings)
FAU: Tyshawn Taylor (7th in Keegan ratings)
South Florida: Elijah Johnson (6th in Keegan ratings)
Long Beach State: Thomas Robinson (1st in Keegan ratings)
Ohio State: Travis Releford (5th in Keegan ratings)
Davidson: Jeff Withey (5th in Keegan ratings)
USC: Elijah Johnson (1st in Keegan ratings)
Howard: Tyshawn Taylor (1st in Keegan ratings)
North Dakota: Conner Teahan (5th in Keegan ratings)
Kansas State: Travis Releford (1st in Keegan ratings)
Oklahoma: Elijah Johnson (3rd in Keegan ratings)
Texas Tech: Travis Releford (2nd in Keegan ratings
Iowa State: Thomas Robinson (3rd in Keegan ratings)
Baylor: Kevin Young (9th in Keegan ratings)
Texas: Travis Releford (5th in Keegan ratings)
Texas A&M: Tyshawn Taylor (1st in Keegan ratings)
Iowa State: Jeff Withey (3rd in Keegan ratings)
Oklahoma: Conner Teahan (6th in Keegan ratings)
Missouri: Kevin Young (8th in Keegan ratings)
Average: 4th in Keegan ratings