Hot ticket: Top-ranked Baylor ready for ‘blockbuster’ vs. No. 3 Kansas

WACO — Freddie Gillespie, who does his best to please Baylor fans on the basketball court, didn't mean to break hearts on campus. It came with the territory this week, though, before the biggest home game in the Bears' history.

"I've had people on campus say, 'Hey, you're Freddie, right?'" Gillespie said with a grin. "I tell them, 'I'm him, yeah.' They say, 'Can you get me a ticket?'"

Gillespie chuckled, recalling his locked-in response: "You're about eight weeks late on that request."

The No. 1 Bears (24-1, 13-0 Big 12) host No. 3 Kansas (23-3, 12-1) at 11 a.m. Saturday in what's been touted as the regular-season game of the year. ESPN's College GameDay is on hand, and students were invited to a lock-in Friday night at the Ferrell Center to be among the first in line for student tickets Saturday morning.

"It's 72 degrees and sunny on the concourse," said Baylor coach Scott Drew, knowing it would be in the 30s overnight. "And if you're a sports fan, it doesn't get any bigger than College GameDay."

The Bears, ranked No. 1 for five straight weeks, have held that honor longer than any team in the state since Houston closed out the 1968 regular season on top for eight consecutive weeks. It's also the nation's longest streak at No. 1 since Kentucky's five weeks in 2015.

On HoustonChronicle.com: How Baylor became state's most successful program

"They could have seven or eight starters, they're all good," Kansas coach Bill Self said of the Bears.

On Tuesday at Oklahoma, Baylor won a Big 12-record 23rd consecutive game, snapping the mark set by Kansas in 1997 under Roy Williams.

"They're as good a team as we've had in our league since I've been here, at least the ones we've competed against," Self said.

Self has coached at Kansas since 2003 and led the Jayhawks to the 2008 national title. KU has won 14 regular-season Big 12 championships under Self and eight Big 12 tournament titles. But when Baylor rolled into historic Allen Fieldhouse on Jan. 11, the Jayhawks were no match for the nation's then-No. 4 team.

"They were better than us, more athletic and quicker," said Self, whose KU squad was ranked No. 3 at that time, like now. "We deserve what happened to us the first time we played them."

Baylor prevailed 67-55 for its first win at Allen Fieldhouse, snapping a 17-game losing streak in the historic venue..

"Everybody and their moms were watching," Baylor guard Jared Butler said of the first match.

Now they can add dad, grandparents and even distant cousins for No. 1 vs. No. 3 on the banks of the Brazos River.

"Big time, a blockbuster, it's fun," Butler said, before catching himself. "But it's also just another game."

Reminded that a win would give the Bears a two-game lead with four games to go in their quest for their first Big 12 regular-season title, Butler responded, "I guess it's a big deal if you put it like that."

Self said he doesn't need to emphasize to his players the enormity of Saturday's game.

"I'm not approaching it like it's the league race, I'm approaching it as an opportunity to play a terrific team on a big stage away from home," said Self, whose team has won 11 consecutive games since the Baylor loss. "We also know this. If you go down two games with four left, even if we're fortunate to run the table, I don't see them losing twice. We know this is a big game. I don't have to talk to them about that."

Gillespie and his teammates know it's a big game, too. All they have to do is walk across campus or drive across town to find out.

"The students are excited, the city is excited and of course we're excited," Gillespie said. "When the ball tips, all of that outside noise kind of goes away. But leading up to this, it's kind of hard to tell yourself it's just another game because of the hype and fanfare."

Kansas has not played a No. 1 team on the road since 1958, a win at Kansas State. The Jayhawks are 8-16 all-time against No. 1 but own a winning record in those marquee matchups under Self (3-2).

Drew, who's led the Bears to two Elite Eight appearances (2010 and 2012) in his 17 seasons in Waco, said he's glad his players don't have to wait all day Saturday for the program's most hyped regular season game in history.

"It helps playing an early game," Drew said. "If you sit around all day and think about those things, it becomes a little tougher."

As for those students in sleeping bags on the concourse Saturday morning?

"Trust me, 11 a.m. is early for any college students," Drew said, laughing. "They're going to wake up and be ready to go."

brent.zwerneman@chron.com

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