Kansas trio lead balanced effort to 90-78 win over Kansas State in foul-filled game.
In a game where neither team was able to build consistent momentum, the Kansas Jayhawks were able to piece together the most mini-runs around the constant whistles and claim a 90-78 win over the Kansas State Wildcats in Allen Fieldhouse on Tuesday night. The win moved them to 18-4 overall and 6-3 in Big 12 play,
Jalen Wilson led the Jayhawks with 20 points, Dajuan Harris added 18 and Kevin McCullar had 16 as all nine Jayhawks who saw the floor scored.
Kansas jumped out to an early lead thanks to Harris' three-point basket on the first possession for the Jayhawks, setting the tone for the entire night. That shot was the first of 11 made baskets from long range for the home team, many of which were used to fuel big runs throughout the night.
The only lead for the Wildcats came on a Markquis Nowell three-point jumper just 2:55 into the game, but Wilson hit his first three of the night just a minute later to tie it up. That sparked a 23-10 Kansas run over the next 7 minutes that included four different Jayhawks hitting a three-pointer and four other players scoring.
But the game was full of ups and downs, as that run was immediately followed by a 10-0 Wildcat run. But Kansas flipped it again with a 17-8 run to end the half and take a 12-point lead into the break.
The second half was a slog, as the lead hovered between 8 and 15 the majority of the half, but neither team was able to sustain a run. That was largely due to an incessant whistle, as foul after foul was called in the most inconsistent way possible. There were a total of 45 fouls called on the two teams, with multiple one-minute stretches in the game that had four or more fouls called.
The whistles frustrated both benches the entire night, as Jerome Tang was called for a technical foul in the first half and Bill Self came very close to getting one himself multiple times in the second half.
Kansas State relied heavily on stars Keyontae Johnson and Nowell in this game, as those two combined for 45 points. But Desi Sills, who torched the Jayhawks in Manhattan just a couple weeks ago, only got seven points on the night, all from the free throw line.
The Jayhawks continued to get good minutes from the bench in this game, as KJ Adams saw limited time in the first half due to foul issues, resulting in significant minutes for both Ernest Udeh and Zach Clemence. Bobby Pettiford and Joseph Yesufu each had double digit minutes and scored multiple times. And foul trouble led to some interesting lineups, with both Clemence and Adams being on the court together when Gradey Dick and McCullar were on the bench at the same time.
The Jayhawks will look to maintain their spot in the conference race on Saturday as they travel to Ames, IA to take on the Iowa State Cyclones. Tipoff is scheduled for 11am CST and the game will be broadcast on ESPN.
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