Hawking Points: Second-Half Collapse Dooms Kansas in AFH
A rarity took place inside Allen Fieldhouse on Tuesday. The Kansas Jayhawks suffered a defeat inside their home arena, blowing a double-digit second half lead to fall to BYU 76-68.
Key Plays
Dajuan Harris got the scoring going on the first possession with an acrobatic layup. And after a BYU free throw, KJ Adams drew an and-one as Kansas emphasized the paint. BYU missed another three and this time Hunter Dickinson drew an and-one on a layup that ran around the rim a half dozen times.
BYU finally made a three five minutes in to cut the lead to 8-6. The Cougars missed their next and Dickinson beat everyone down the floor for a transition slam. The trio of Elmarko Jackson, Jamari McDowell, and Parker Braun entered for the first time and Jackson drilled a baseline jumper to go up six. BYU cut it to one but then KU pulled away a bit in part thanks to a McDowell three.
The Cougars had no answer from KU’s drives as Adams again drew an and-one but missed the free throw. BYU hit back-to-back threes to go down 25-24 with 6:30 to play. Timberlake took a hard fall on the next trip down and had to come out.
Adams took it strong to the rack again and then swatted his second shot on the defensive side. That led to a Harris floater and a seven point KU lead. Jaxson Robinson somehow got left alone for a wide open corner three and KU turned it over on the last possession to lead 35-29 at the break.
Kansas started with the ball to start the half and went straight to Dickinson in the post. After a missed Cougars three, Dickinson grabbed the board and fired a paaa to Furphy for a transition layup. A BYU offensive foul and then a Cougars turnover led to Timberlake drawing a foul on a transition drive. Kansas opened the half with six straight points.
Things got chippy as Dickson and Tevin Knell picked up double technicals. A minute later, Dickinson took a shot on a rebound but nothing was called after a review. BYU cut it to six and then Harris drew a foul, BYU’s sixth of the half in five minutes, but he only made one. He made up for it, getting a steal on the next possession and dishing to Dickinson, who was fouled.
BYU again clawed back thanks to the three and some KU turnovers. Kansas led by just two at the under-12 timeout but BYU picked up its 10th foul of the half by this point. The Cougars hit a three to go down one and Harris answered with a floater.
At the under-eight timeout, BYU coach Mark Pope went at an official and received a technical. Harris hit both technical free throws and KU got the ball up four. Harris then found Braun for a pick-and-roll alley-oop.
Harris had an answer again when BYU made it a one-possession game but a turnover by Timberlake and foul on Furphy gave BYU two free throws and the lead by one. Adams tipped in a Harris miss for the lead. A Cougars three and free throw put them up three. Timberlake made his first three and BYu answered. Then Dickinson tied it with his own three with 2:30 left. A soft foul on Adams and another BYU triple gave the Cougars a 71-66 lead with 1:31 left.
Down six with 25 seconds left, Dickinson missed both free throws to seal it.
Eye-Catching Stat Lines
The offensive numbers were woeful for KU. The Jayhawks shot just 39% from the field, 20% from three (3-15), and were a dreadful 61% (19-31) from the line. BYU wasn’t much better shooting the ball from the field, though it made 13 threes and 79% of its 24 foul attempts.
Dickinson shot 5-10 from the floor but was just 6-15 from the line, with most of those attempts coming in the second half. He accounted for all but three KU misses from the stripe. Though he still led KU in scoring with 17 and grabbed 11 rebounds.
Adams was great in the first half but finished just 5-13 from the field for 11 points and five rebounds, but also two steals and two blocks. Furphy was also just 4-12 from the field and 0-5 for three for 10 points while Timberlake was 1-6 from three and 1-9 from the field.
The performance wasted a solid Harris game, as the point guard had 12 points and six assists, but also four turnovers.
Areas of Improvement
Free throws were a problem, obviously: especially in the second half. Kansas had chances to pull away by more but missed multiple opportunities. Kansas missed five free throws in a row at one point in the second half and it didn’t get much better from there.
The shooting is also a concern in certain games. We know KU will never be great from three, but it feels like especially in weeknight games on short rest, Kansas really struggles to finish from inside the arc, and that was definitely the case today.
Takeaways
This is one I have to imagine KU will want to have back. The Big 12 title hopes are gone, but more importantly, trying to get a Wednesday bye in the Big 12 Tournament and maintain the two line in the NCAA Tournament are at stake. The Jayhawks have to answer on the road Saturday in Waco.
