Kansas Basketball Wins Sunflower Showdown in 10-Point Victory Over Kansas State

The Jayhawks dominate their archrival at home in impressive fashion.

Kansas Jayhawks forward Flory Bidunga (40) runs the ball back after a Kansas State Wildcats rebound in the first half of the Sunflower Showdown game inside Allen Fieldhouse Saturday, Jan. 18, 2025. | Evert Nelson/The Capital-Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The No. 9 Kansas Jayhawks won the Sunflower Showdown in dominant fashion with an 84-74 victory over the Kansas State Wildcats in the latest edition of the Sunflower Showdown on Saturday.  

The Jayhawks capitalized on an early 14-0 lead and offensive struggles from the Wildcats. Zeke Mayo’s hot hand in the first half lit up the court and ignited the Jayhawk offense. Mayo led the team in scoring at the half with 14 points shooting 5-8 from the field and 4-6 from deep.  

In the second half, the preseason All-American forward, Hunter Dickinson, showed out for the Jayhawks. Scoring the first eight points for the Jayhawks in the second half, Dickinson put the team on his back as he finished with a team-high 25 points, shooting 12-19 from the field.  

As for the Wildcats, the sluggish start that put themselves in a hole early was too much to come back from. David N’Guessan and Coleman Hawkins led the team in scoring at the half with seven points apiece.  

In the second half, the Wildcats were able to shrink the Jayhawk lead to six with 1:45 remaining in the game. Hawkins continued to lead the team in scoring as he finished with a double-double and a team-high 15 points and 10 assists.  

Final Stats 

Kansas Jayhawks 

• Hunter Dickinson: 25 pts, 8 rebs 

• Zeke Mayo: 24 pts, 5 rebs, 3 asts 

• Dajuan Harris Jr.: 15 pts, 5 rebs, 5 asts 

Kansas State Wildcats 

• Coleman Hawkins: 15 pts, 7 rebounds, 10 asts 

• David N’Guessan: 13 pts, 5 rebs 

• Max Jones: 11 pts, 5 rebs, 2 asts 

The Jayhawks improve to 13-4 overall and 4-2 in conference play as the Wildcats drop to 7-10 overall and 1-5 in conference play.  

Kansas will look to carry their momentum into Wednesday when they travel to TCU.

Kansas State will continue their search for an answer to their now five-game losing streak when they travel to Baylor Wednesday.  

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Kansas on Sports Illustrated

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