KU exerts maximum energy on defense in 71-56 Maui Invitational semifinal win over BYU
Kansas big men David McCormack and Udoka Azubuike were not planning on sneaking out of the Westin Maui Hotel for a late night walk on the beach Tuesday.
Rest, relaxation and sleep were on their minds after the two big men produced a combined 27 points and 15 rebounds while playing rugged defense in the Jayhawks’ 71-56 Maui Invitational semifinal victory over BYU at Lahaina Civic Center.
The victory, which ended just before 8 p.m., local time, propelled KU (5-1) into a title game matchup against Dayton (5-0), set for noon local time (4 p.m. Central) on Wednesday.
“It’s definitely tough on the body,” McCormack said of playing three games in three days. KU drilled Chaminade, 93-63, in the first round on Monday.
“I think it’s more a mental thing. As long as we lock in, do what we have to do, get rest, recovery and pay attention to scouting report, we should be good,” added McCormack, who scored 16 points on 7-of-9 shooting with five boards in 20 minutes.
“Get a good night’s rest, stay off our feet, we should be fine,” Azubuike said after scoring 11 points on 5-of-6 shooting (1 of 5 from the line) and grabbing 10 boards in 26 minutes.
He gave maximum effort, exhibited on a steal that resulted in a breakaway layup and dunk that gave KU a 24-19 first-half lead. Azubuike’s sprint down court proved to be the signature defensive play of a game in which KU held BYU (4-3) to 40.7% shooting. The Cougars hit 9 of 33 threes. KU was 4 of 18 from three and shot 47.5% overall.
“Anytime we see Doke go coast to coast and dunk it, it will definitely spark our team,” McCormack said.
“Any time? That’s the first time,” KU coach Bill Self joked after hearing McCormack’s statement.
“But yeah it was definitely a kick-start for our team. We got energized behind him. We started to play with more energy after that,” McCormack said.
Azubuike, whose dunk may have been just a tad better than a Christian Braun alley oop slam in the second half, explained the play this way: “I got the steal. I thought the ref was going to call a foul. He didn’t call a foul. Every day we work at practice on dribbling the ball. That kind of helped me a little bit. I just saw the front of the rim and dunked it.”
Self was thrilled with his squad’s play on defense.
“We didn’t guard one time like that last year,” he told two reporters as he prepared to board the team bus for a ride back to the team hotel. “Tonight was one of those deals you don’t play great offensively, look up and you are up 12 because you did guard. We’ll have to do the same thing (in final against Dayton).
“When you shoot inconsistently like we do there will be nights like that. You’ve got to have something to hang your hat on. Hopefully that will be what we can hang our hat on.”
Self said Azubuike and Marcus Garrett (seven points, six boards, three assists) would likely guard Dayton forward Obi Toppin, who scored 49 combined points in Dayton’s wins over Virginia Tech (89-62) and Georgia (80-61) in Maui.
“Marcus had two fouls the first half so we sat him (10 minutes),” Self said. “He played really well the second half.”
Sophomore wing Ochai Agbaji, who struggled early — Self said he was responsible for BYU’s first seven points — scored 14 points, Devon Dotson 13 with eight assists.
TJ Haws scored 16 points for BYU, which committed 20 turnovers in large part because of KU’s active defense.
McCormack scored eight points, while Agbaji and Dotson had seven apiece the first half as KU led, 29-27, at the break. Haws had eight points and Alex Barcello and Kolby Lee five apiece for BYU. KU’s Silvio De Sousa played just four minutes in the game, by Self’s decision.
Garrett, who didn’t score the first half, had five points in a 13-4 run that opened a 42-31 lead at 15:24. Azubuike and Agbaji had three points and McCormack two in the surge. KU expanded the lead to 48-35 at 9:41. And 50-35 at 9:31. The bucket to give KU a 15-point lead came when Agbaji dived to save the basketball from heading out of bounds. He passed to Dotson for a layup. Azubuike followed with a bucket to make it 52-35 at 8:25.
KU misfired on 7 of 9 threes the first half, while BYU was 5 of 17. It was a fast-paced half, KU committing eight turnovers; the Cougars 10.
Notes
KU is 14-6 all-time at the Maui Invitational. The Jayhawks have won five straight games and seven of eight at Lahaina Civic Center, … KU improved to 4-1 all-time versus BYU. … KU coach Bill Self is 685-212 in his 27th season overall as a head coach and 478-107 while at KU. He is three games from being the 30th active coach in the NCAA to have coached in 900 games. … KU is 5-1 or better for the eighth straight season, starting in 2012-13, and for the 15th time in the 17-year Self era … KU has advanced to its third straight Maui Invitational championship game appearance … KU won its 13th straight in-season tournament game …
KU in Anaheim tourney next season
Kansas will compete in the 2020 Wooden Legacy Classic on Nov. 26-28 at Anaheim Convention Center in Anaheim, California, it was announced Tuesday. The Jayhawks will be joined by UCLA, Virginia and Georgetown.
The early-season event was created in 2013 when the Wooden Classic was merged with the Anaheim Classic, formerly an eight-school bracketed event played for six years (2007-12) at the Anaheim Convention Center. The 2019 Wooden Legacy begins Thursday featuring Arizona, Charleston, Long Beach State, Penn, Pepperdine, Providence, UCF and Wake Forest.
Past winners include USC (2007), Wake Forest (2008), West Virginia (2009), UNLV (2010), Saint Louis (2011), California (2012), San Diego State (2013), Washington (2014), Michigan State (2015), UCLA (2016), Washington State (2017) and Seton Hall (2018).
This story was originally published November 26, 2019 at 11:25 PM.
