Jalen Wilson's Career-High 38 not enough against Kansas State
On a night where head coach Bill Self said that "four plays were the difference in the basketball game", the Kansas Jayhawks didn't have enough to overcome the Kansas State Wildcats on the road, falling 83-82 in overtime. It was the first lost in conference play for Kansas and dropped them into a tie for first place at 5-1, a record matched by both Kansas State and the Iowa State Cyclones.
The four plays in question came at the end of each period, as Keyontae Johnson made a jumper to end the first half and had a dunk on an inbound play that was oddly reminiscent of something the Bill Self would call. On the other end, a Dajuan Harris turnover at the end of regulation prevented the Jayhawks from putting up a potential game-winning shot, only to be mirrored by a Harris turnover to end overtime and keep Kansas from a chance to win the game.
Jalen Wilson led all scorers with a career-high 38 points, playing all 45 minutes and carrying the Jayhawks when others struggled. Gradey Dick was 1-8 from beyond the arc, but finished with 16 points thanks to his 7-8 mark from the free throw line. KJ Adams was a perfect 6-6 from the field, but he was only 5-10 from the free throw line. Kevin McCullar fouled out without scoring a single point. And Dajuan Harris had 11 assists, but only made one of his seven shots.
On the other side, Keyontae Johnson led the Wildcats with 24 points and some really big shots, but his point total was matched by Desi Sills.
Despite the loss, the game was fairly even, as both teams shot in the low 40%s, they each had 15 turnovers, 38 rebounds, and they were called for roughly equivalent fouls (25 vs 24) and shot nearly the same number of free throws (34 vs 33). But ultimately, the fact that Dick, Adams and McCullar all fouled out meant that Kansas had some unfamiliar faces on the floor in late game situations, and they just weren't able to do enough to pull out the victory.
The Jayhawks are back in action on Saturday as they host the TCU Horned Frogs in Allen Fieldhouse. Tipoff is scheduled for noon and will be broadcast on CBS.
Join the discussion! Come talk about this or any of our articles on the Blue Wing Rising Discord Server.
Follow Blue Wings Rising on Twitter.
Listen to the official podcast of Blue Wings Rising: The Rock Chalk Podcast.
