Will Maui title help Jayhawks in ‘big-boy games’ during ’19-20 season? Self hopes so.
During the 2015-16 season, Kansas used a Maui Invitational title as a springboard to an undisputed Big 12 regular-season championship, conference postseason tourney crown and spot in the Elite Eight, where the Jayhawks had a stellar 33-5 season end versus Villanova.
It remains to be seen what’ll become of the 6-1 Jayhawks in 2019-20 following another 3-0 performance on the Islands. KU, which beat Chaminade, UCLA and Vanderbilt in 2015 in Maui, claimed wins over Chaminade, BYU and Dayton on Monday through Wednesday.
“I think what this tournament does more than anything … it exposes your weaknesses and allows you to prepare and get better for really big-boy games,” Self said. “Because that (90-84 OT win over Dayton on Wednesday in title game) was a big-boy game. And so the tournament is tremendous.
“And, of course, if you win two games, just like Dayton did, I’m sure if you’re going to play a third, you might as well win it. So we would much rather win it than not win it. But I’m not sure the win will have a ton to do with what we do going forward. It’s still November and I would like to think that that automatically puts us in a very good or favorable position.
“But if you don’t play well against Colorado, a top-20 team, next Saturday (6 p.m. Dec. 7 at Allen Fieldhouse), then this probably didn’t mean as much. So hopefully it’s just a springboard for enthusiasm and energy to excite our guys that we’ve got a chance to be good if we just continue to get better.”
KU, which won its sixth straight in-season tournament, must improve its three-point shooting (KU was 4 of 11 vs. Dayton; the Flyers 16 of 33) as the season progresses.
Yet the defense has been good, Self says — the team sprinkled in some zone the second half to come back from an eight-point deficit vs. Dayton — and the squad’s poise has been superb. KU hit all five of its shots in OT against Dayton. Senior Udoka Azubuike scored the first nine points of OT en route to a career-high 29 point outburst and sophomore point guard Devon Dotson played the entire 45 minutes and scored a career-best 31 points.
“I thought they (Flyers) were better than us for about the first 32 minutes or 33 minutes, even though we maybe had a lead in there. I thought we were on our heels and they had five guys that could stretch it,” Self said. “But the last eight minutes or so when we got down eight, I thought except for a couple of bone-headed type plays, I thought we played probably the best ball we played in a while. I thought we got the ball where it needed to go. I thought we exercised some patience offensively and we got the big guy (Azubuike. who averaged 18.3 points and 6.7 rebounds per game in his three outings in Maui) touches.
“And defensively I thought we guarded well and rebounded well down the stretch. So I couldn’t be happier with how we performed. We need to, obviously, shoot it better and be better beyond the arc.”
The title certainly provides the team a “feel-good” moment leading up to the next game vs. Colorado.
“I could be wrong because I’m not a big social media guy and I don’t read what’s out there — but I don’t think there’s been haters about this team. I think there’s been some haters about maybe our program, because we have been under a microscope or under some scrutiny, obviously, the last 18 months or so,” Self said. The Jayhawks have been hit with five Level I violations by the NCAA in a case that is ongoing.
“But that doesn’t have anything to do with this particular group and we don’t even talk — I’ll be honest, we don’t even talk about that — with our guys. We talk about it amongst ourselves (coaches) all the time, but not with our guys. And we try to distance from that as much as possible. But this team isn’t perfect and obviously we’ve got to shoot it better to have a chance to really have a really good team. But I do think we got some competitive pieces that, if we improve a little bit, this could be a pretty dangerous team down the stretch.”
Tourney co-MVP Dotson, who averaged 21.0 points, 4.3 rebounds and 4.2 assists per game in his three outings in Maui, said he thinks the team will not be content with just one title this season.
“I mean, this is the start of it. Yeah, the first of many. I mean, so we’re not satisfied. We’re going to enjoy this one, though, but we’re looking to get back to work,” Dotson said.
The Jayhawks were to spend Thanksgiving Day in Maui then fly home Thursday night into Friday morning.
Here’s a look at KU’s three victories in the just-completed Maui Invitational:
KU 93, Chaminade 63 (Monday)
The Jayhawks forced 27 turnovers in cruising to a 30-point victory over the Silverswords. Dotson scored 19 points, Azubuike 15 points (all in the second half), senior shooting guard Isaiah Moss 13 points and sophomore wing Ochai Agbaji 11 points.
Sophomore forward David McCormack scored 10 points, while junior combo guard Marcus Garrett had eight points and seven assists.
“What an atmosphere for an opening round game,” KU coach Bill Self said, noting that KU has “an unbelievable fan base to travel like that. It’s amazing how much support we get. Our fans love coming over here,” he added, noting 2,000 of the 2,400 fans were wearing colors crimson and blue.
Seven-footer Azubuike played just seven minutes the first half because of foul trouble. He scored all 15 of his points the final stanza.
“Ochai, Isaiah and Dot all shot pretty well the first half to compensate for it,” Self said of guards making up for lack of inside points.
KU wound up hitting 12 of 29 threes to Chaminade’s 7 of 21. Of Agbaji’s 3 of 6 outing from three, Self said: “I thought he played fine. I actually thought he and Dot and Marcus were all pretty good the first half. The second half nobody got in rhythm offensively like those were the first half. Doke got a little better the second half.
“Ochai is a good player, a good scorer. That dunk he made in transition (vicious second half slam) was pretty impressive too. Those plays give you confidence. He seemed to have a lot more tonight,” Self added.
KU 71, BYU 56 (Tuesday)
The semifinal was a lot different than Game 1. In this one, KU made just 4 threes in 18 tries.
But it was stifling defense that carried the Jayhawks past the Cougars.
BYU hit 22 of 54 shots for 40.7%. The Cougars made 9 of 33 threes
McCormack scored 16 points on 7-of-9 shooting with five boards in 20 minutes. Azubuike scored 11 points and grabbed 10 boards in 26 minutes.
Doke gave maximum effort, exhibited on a steal, which resulted in a breakaway layup and dunk that gave KU a 24-19 first-half lead. It was the signature defensive play of a game in which KU held BYU to 40.7% shooting. The Cougars hit 9 of 33 free throws. KU was 4 of 18 from three and shot 47.5 percent 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 Self joked after hearing McCormack’s statement.
Agbaji, who struggled early — Self said he was responsible for BYU’s first seven points — scored 14 points, 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.
KU 90, Dayton 84, OT (Wednesday)
The Jayhawks led the title game by as many as five points the first half and trailed by as many as eight in the second half before rallying.
Azubuike, who scored a career-high 29 points with three boards and four blocks, opened overtime with KU’s first nine points. He was 3 of 3 from the free throw line in OT.
Dotson, who played all 45 minutes, finished with a career-best 31 points on 11-of-16 shooting with six rebounds, six turnovers and four assists. Dotson and Azubuike’s 60 points were most by a KU combo since Terry Brown and Alonzo Jamison combined for 65 against NC State on Jan. 5, 1991.
Garrett, who was in foul trouble, had 18 points, two off a career high. Agbaji, who did a nice job especially the first half on Dayton power forward Obi Toppin (18 points, 40 minutes), scored six points with six boards and four assists in 45 minutes. Yes, he also played the whole game.
Dayton (5-1) hit 16 of 33 threes to (6-1) KU’s 4 of 11.
Toppin had scored 49 points combined in wins over Georgia and Virginia Tech in Maui, drawing praise from ESPN’s Jay Bilas as being the best player in the tourney.
KU committed just 11 turnovers to Dayton’s 14. KU hit 55.9% of its shots (29 of 48 from two-point range; 4 of 11 from three) to Dayton’s 43.5 percent.
“That was a great basketball game. Two good teams competing against each other and in a terrific atmosphere. Proud to be a part of it and certainly very fortunate that we came out on top. But that was a lot of fun. I thought or guys competed and of course these two (Dotson, Azubuike) were absolutely terrific,” Self said.
Toppin, who hit 6 of 11 shots en route to his 18 points praised KU big man Azubuike after the game: “Udoka’s a really good player. He’s a really strong, big man in the post. I don’t really know what to say, but like he’s a really good player and he showed it today.”
In the final analysis, Agbaji may have succinctly stated the reason for KU’s success in the tourney. “Heart,” he said. “Listening to coach and playing hard and having fun.”
