Jayhawks ride new starting lineup to 95-57 victory over UNC Asheville

Bill Self wasn’t kidding Wednesday when he said he might alter Kansas’ starting lineup because of lack of production from bigs Carlton Bragg and Landen Lucas.

Self, KU’s 14th-year coach, did indeed replace the frontcourt duo with Udoka Azubuike and Lagerald Vick, and the two newbies combined for 32 points and 12 rebounds in the Jayhawks’ 95-57 rout of UNC Asheville on Friday night at Allen Fieldhouse.

“I thought they both played well. I thought Lagerald and Udoka were two of the big reasons we played better at the start,” Self said after No. 5-ranked KU’s fifth victory in six games.

Freshman center Azubuike (a career-high 17 points and three blocks) and sophomore guard Vick (a career-best 15 points and nine boards) combined for 18 points in the first half as KU blazed to a 47-21 lead over the Bulldogs, 3-3.

Lucas and Bragg, who each picked up two early fouls, scored six and four points, respectively, but did combine for nine rebounds while each playing 12 minutes.

“There wasn’t a lot that went into it (the decision) … try something different. They both earned a right and opportunity to do that (start),” Self said of Azubuike and Vick. “We’d been kind of stagnant in those two spots, so we looked at playing small. ’Doke is so good at catching the ball above the rim. He’s about as good as I’ve ever seen catching the ball above the rim,” Self added of the 7-footer, who hit 8 of 9 shots, including seven dunks. Many came off lobs from Devonté Graham, who totaled a career-high 11 assists.

Vick and Azubuike played so well that Self indicated they’d start again on Tuesday against Long Beach State at 7 p.m. at Allen Fieldhouse.

“Absolutely. There’s no reason to switch that up right now,” said Self, who had no problem with the effort of Bragg and Lucas on Friday after they grabbed five and four boards, respectively, in limited duty.

“I thought their attitudes were good and both played pretty well,” Self added of the 6-foot-10 bookends, who were ineffective in Tuesday’s CBE Hall of Fame Classic title victory over Georgia.

Self decided after that game to start the 6-5 Vick and 7-foot Azubuike against Asheville

“Like I told them (Bragg, Lucas), this doesn’t have to be permanent,” Self said. “But if ’Doke and Lagerald play like that … that’s the best production we’ve gotten all year long from those two spots. It could be permanent, but I don’t suspect it will be.

“I think we’ll be a team unlike most teams we’ve had. I think we’ll start based on scouting report a lot of times. We’ve never done that, but if a team plays small, we’ll probably play small. If a team plays two bigs, we may go two bigs. It was nice to see Udoka have some success. He is a physical presence we don’t have. He can get so much better. I think he will.”

Azubuike said he wasn’t nervous making his first start, but acknowledged the fact that UNC Asheville’s Ahmad Thomas had to tell him which side of the center circle to enter for the opening tip.

“I was like, ‘Go out there and play my game,’ ” Azubuike said. “Yesterday at practice coach (Self) was like, ‘You’ve got to step up.’ So I did. Right before the game started, Frank (Mason, 21 points, 5-of-5 on three-pointers, five boards and five assists) was, ‘Hey just go play your game and have fun.’ I did that.”

Graham, who also contributed six points, six boards and two steals with his 11 assists, said he had a blast flipping the ball up toward the goal for Azubuike.

“You’ve got to reward the big fella when he’s running the floor and blocking shots,” Graham said. “I try to reward him as much as I can.”

Vick hit three threes in four tries after entering the game 1 of 13. As a team KU hit 13 of 21 to Asheville’s six of 18.

“I got in the gym as soon as we got back (from the Sprint Center on Tuesday),” Vick said. “I watched film, studied my shot a little, came out with more confidence.”

Of Vick’s rebounding on a night KU outboarded the Bulldogs, 49-23, Graham said: “That is a great part of his game that Coach likes. Coach is on him about getting offensive rebounds and extra possessions.”

Meanwhile, freshman Josh Jackson scored 14 points with a career-best seven assists.

“Josh played well again. He does a little bit of everything,” Self said.

Graham indicated he’s not worried about Bragg or Lucas, who are off to slow starts.

Of senior leader Lucas, Graham said: “It’s a little funk you go through. Some things aren’t going right and then you’re not as energetic or into the game as usual. He got in foul trouble early then got frustrated with himself because he made a bad play or a dumb foul and now he has to sit out. I said it before, he’ll be all right.”

Friday’s game actually was part of the CBE Hall of Fame Classic, which KU won by beating UAB and Georgia on Monday and Tuesday at the Sprint Center. KU’s victories over UNC Asheville and Siena were deemed “host” games of the event.

▪ Connor Vanover, a 7-2 junior center from Arkansas Baptist High in Little Rock, attended as part of an unofficial visit. He is unranked in the Class of 2018 by Rivals.com.

KANSAS 95

UNC-ASHEVILLE 57

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Percentages: FG .365, FT .455. Three-Point Goals: 6-18, .333 (Teague 3-6, Thomas 2-4, Rackley 1-1, Brown 0-1, Miller 0-2, Vannatta 0-4). Team Rebounds: 1. Blocked Shots: None. Turnovers: 8 (Miller 2, Teague 2, Vannatta 2, Thomas, Wnuk). Steals: 7 (Brown, Robertson, Smith, Thomas, Vannatta, Weeks, Zilli). Technical Fouls: None. Fouled Out: None.

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Percentages: FG .623, FT .375. Three-Point Goals: 13-21, .619 (Mason 5-5, Vick 3-4, Graham 2-4, Mykhailiuk 2-4, Lightfoot 1-1, Jackson 0-3). Team Rebounds: 3. Blocked Shots: 7 (Azubuike 3, Jackson 3, Coleby). Turnovers: 15 (Azubuike 3, Mason 3, Graham 2, Lucas 2, Jackson, Mykhailiuk, Self, Vang, Vick). Steals: 5 (Graham 2, Jackson 2, Mason). Technical Fouls: None. Fouled Out: None.

Half: Kansas 47-21. Att: 16,300.

This story was originally published November 25, 2016 at 9:04 PM with the headline "Jayhawks ride new starting lineup to 95-57 victory over UNC Asheville."