A Plethora of Problems: Nothing goes right for Kansas against Tennessee
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He wasn't on the court for tonight's game, but a guy named Edward Murphy may have had the biggest impact on the Kansas Jayhawks tonight. Murphy's Law states that "anything that can go wrong will go wrong." And boy did it all go wrong on Friday night as the Jayhawks fell to the Tennessee Volunteers 64-50.
Kansas shot 32% from the field, including 5-21 from beyond the arc. Tennessee went 42% from the field, the first Kansas opponent to shoot above 40% on the season. They went 12-27 from beyond the arc.
Dajuan Harris fouled out with more than nine minutes left in the game. He only played 18 minutes. Bobby Pettiford pulled up limping on a drive to the basket after just 3 minutes. He went to the locker room and didn't return. Jalen Wilson and Gradey Dick were both awful from the field. KJ Adams was the only big man to score on the night, and he only totaled four points.
The rough night started right away, as the Jayhawks missed six shots and turned the ball over three times before making their first bucket of the night. Meanwhile, the Vols ran out to a 10-2 lead thanks to two big three point shots. Kansas made multiple runs throughout the first half, but every time it seemed like the Jayhawks were making a run, Tennessee ended it with a timely three-pointer. They went into halftime down by 8.
The main bright spot of the night was Joseph Yesufu, who scored 14 points on the night off the bench to fill in for Dajuan Harris and the injured Bobby Pettiford. He was 2-6 from three and 6-11 overall, the only Jayhawk to shoot over 50%. But even with his big contribution, the rest of the squad couldn't get going. Jalen Wilson scored 14 points on 3-15 from the field. Gradey Dick was 2-8 including 2-5 from three for just 7 points. Kevin McCullar scored 7 on 2-5 shooting and 3-4 from the line.
Ultimately, while the defense played well, forcing 24 turnovers, the offense wasn't able to do enough to overcome the timely three point shooting for Tennessee. With virtually no inside presence, the Jayhawks settled time and time again for long shots. Head coach Bill Self lamented the lack of a post presence in the postgame press conference, talking about how Adams is not able to play the type of game they would like for this type of matchup, and the team is not capable of playing the technical type of game they need to be successful.
Also of concern is the hamstring injury to Bobby Pettiford, which Bill Self stated will likely keep him out for a significant amount of time.
The Jayhawks are back in action on Monday night against the Texas Southern Tigers at Allen Fieldhouse. Tipoff is scheduled for 7pm and the game will be broadcasted on ESPN+.
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