Wayne Selden made three consecutive baskets when No. 12 Kansas needed them most, and the Jayhawks held on for a 56-55 victory over No. 21 Baylor on Wednesday night to win their 24th consecutive conference opener.
Selden was only 1-for-6 shooting before scoring seven points in a row, including a tiebreaking 3-pointer with 2:17 left that put the Jayhawks (12-2, 1-0 Big 12) ahead to stay.
A jumper by Selden with 2:59 left tied the game, and he added a layup with 1:19 to go.
Jamari Traylor led Kansas with 13 points before fouling out with 5:18 left. Brannen Greene had 12 points, including two free throws with 6.3 seconds left, and Frank Mason scored 11.
Kenny Chery led Baylor (11-3, 0-2) with 25 points.
Kansas hasn't lost a conference opener since January 1991, when the Jayhawks were still in the Big Eight.
When Mason missed a 3-pointer with 22 seconds left, it ended a streak of seven consecutive made field goals by Kansas, which was still ahead by one point.
Chery got the rebound, and Royce O'Neal's shot was blocked by Perry Ellis. Rico Gathers couldn't tip it in before a wild scramble that kept the ball in Baylor's hands with 10 seconds left.
Kelly Oubre deflected the inbounds pass by Chery, who had the ball go off his hands and out of bounds with 8.5 seconds left, a play referees reviewed to confirm the call.
Mason missed a free throw with 5.1 seconds left. Taurean Prince got the rebound, and Chery bobbled the ball before passing to Lester Medford, whose layup went in after the buzzer.
After shooting only 28 percent (8 of 29) before halftime, the Jayhawks shot 73 percent (16 of 22) in the second half.
Baylor's last lead was 49-47 when Gathers had a tip-in with 3:21 left.
Traylor and Cliff Alexander helped Kansas quickly wipe out a 33-28 deficit early in the second half.
Alexander had an assist on Mason's jumper, then had a slam after Traylor's steal. A blocked shot by Alexander led to a short hook by Traylor to put the Jayhawks up 34-33 in less than two minutes. Baylor hit a free throw before Traylor's assist on Alexander's tiebreaking slam.
The game was tied eight times, and the lead changed eight times.
