Hawking Points: Jayhawks Keep Rolling, Down Jaspers 99-61

In Game 1 on Monday, the Kansas Jayhawks just barely missed out on hitting 100 points as the #1 team in the nation played up to their ranking. Tonight, they repeated that feat, missing on several opportunities to push it to triple digits late in another dominant 99-61 victory over the Manhattan Jaspers.

Key Plays

Just like the first game, the Jayhawks got off to a hot start. This time, it wasn't all from center Hunter Dickinson. KJ Adams, Kevin McCullar and Dickinson each scored in the opening flurry, but it was a three from McCullar that kickstarted the first big run. Elmarko Jackson and Dickinson followed up with a fast break layup and a three pointer to stretch the lead to 13 less than six minutes into the game.

Australian freshman Johnny Furphy check in at the 11:42 mark of the first half an immediately went to work. He hit a three just 34 seconds after entering, and then finished off a second chance opportunity with a jumper. He also was the recipient of a fast break pass for a layup just a couple minutes later. He finished the half with 7 points.

But it was the trio of Dickinson, Adams and McCullar that pushed the lead, scoring 32 of the 44 points for the Jayhawks on 13-22 shooting. The Jayhawks shot 60% from the field in the first half.

The second half saw the Jayhawks cool down a bit, but just slightly. Dickinson, McCullar and Adams sat for the majority of the half, and the rest of the bench got involved. Jackson had 7, Furphy had another 8 points, but the star of the half was Parker Braun, who went 4-4 in the half and scored 9 points.

When the bench took over, they shined as well. Michael Jankovich hit both of his three-point attempts. Jamari McDowell hit a three and got to the line for 2 more. Dillon Wilhite scored twice. Overall, everyone got in on the action and everyone had a good night.

Eye-Catching Stat Lines

Kansas came into the season still trying to figure out who their secondary ballhandler was going to be. They might have an early leader for that spot, as Elmarko Jackson finished with 10 assists on the night to lead the team. The assist rate for this game wasn't as good as the opener, as they only have 25 assists on their 38 made baskets.

And the shooting didn’t happen in a vacuum. Kansas did a great job of moving the ball early in the game, picking up 13 assists on the first 14 field goals and finishing with 34 assists for the game on 39 field goals.

Once again the defense was swarming, holding Manhattan to just 33.8% from the field. Add in forcing 18 turnovers and it was a good night.

Dickinson picked up where he left off, scoring 18 points to go with his 8 rebounds. Furphy had 15 points and 3 rebounds, while McCullarhad 7 rebounds and 4 assists to go with his 15 points. KJ Adams and Parker Braun rounded out the double-digit scorers on the night.

Areas of Improvement

Dajuan Harris struggled in this game, at least when compared to the high standards we have come to expect. He got his first points of the season, but he only made a single bucket, only had 5 assists and picked up 3 fouls, which is unusual for him.

The Jayhawks had several stretches where they were fairly careless with the ball. The 14 turnovers they committed were a bit too sloppy given the competition they were playing.

Nick Timberlake looked off most of the game. He was able to make his presence felt on the boards, but he struggled with his shot in a way I wasn't expecting.

Takeaways

While I'm disappointed that the Jayhawks once again failed to hit 100 points on the night, any real complaints are just nitpicking an otherwise wonderful performance. The Jayhawks have a fairly short rotation but seem to be using it fairly well. We'll see if it continues to hold up when the competition ramps up as well.