Injured Dotson sits out Kansas Jayhawks’ bounce-back win at OU: ‘No way he could play’
It was an easy decision, an obvious decision for Kansas coach Bill Self and the Jayhawks’ medical staff to rest Devon Dotson on Tuesday night at Oklahoma.
“Based on today’s practice there’s no way he could play. No way,” Self said of the Jayhawks’ leading scorer, who sustained what Self called a “hip pointer, a very deep bruise” in the first half of Saturday’s home loss to Baylor.
“He tried for a second at shootaround. He couldn’t go. It’s one of those things (there’s pain) when there’s any type movement that’s quick twitch. We were better off playing other guys at 100% than him at 50.”
Word spread quickly at the Jayhawks’ shootaround Tuesday that Dotson wouldn’t play. At that time, Dotson attempted to inspire his teammates, including guards Isaiah Moss and Marcus Garrett, who scored 20 and 15 points respectively, and big man Udoka Azubuike, who went for 16 points and 14 rebounds in No. 6 KU’s 66-52 victory.
“We’ve got confidence in each other. He put confidence in us,” said Garrett, who had five assists against one turnover in 38 minutes.
“He was telling us before the game, ‘Just play our game. Do what we do and win the game.’ On the court he was coaching us, helping us, telling us what he was seeing,” Garrett added of Dotson, who wore a gray hooded sweatshirt and blue sweats on the bench instead of his usual No. 1 jersey.
Freshman Christian Braun, who had two points and six rebounds in 25 minutes that included a few possessions as backup point guard, said Dotson indeed proved inspirational through his words.
“He told us to go get a win. Every game in conference, we’ve just got to find a way to win,” Braun said after the Jayhawks improved to 13-3 overall and 3-1 in the Big 12; OU fell to 11-5, 2-2.
“He told me if I needed help at shootaround with plays, to let him know. He said if I needed help in the game let him know. He helped us all out a lot with little things we take for granted because he always does it.”
Senior graduate transfer Moss, who made his first start as a Jayhawk after starting 92 of 96 games in three seasons at Iowa, made a career-high tying 6 threes in 11 tries in 38 minutes. His high in a game at KU had been five versus Monmouth. He swished six against Minnesota last season at Iowa.
“Knowing Dotson would be out, all our guards had to step up and fill in that void,” said Moss. He hit 7 of 13 shots overall with four rebounds. “I knew I’d have to step up. Devon is a big part of our offense and defense.”
Then there’s Azubuike. The 7-foot senior hit 7 of 10 shots and grabbed 14 rebounds. He also hit both of his free throws, which came in the second half.
Remember two years ago at OU he was 1 of 8 from the line as Sooners coach Lon Kruger had his players intentionally foul Azubuike during crunch time of an 85-80 Oklahoma victory.
“It was big for me. I’ve been working on my game. I don’t let that bother me at all,” Azubuike said of coaches who might decide to hack him on purpose. “I’m always in game mode. If they want to foul me, foul me. I’ll go through the same routine.”
KU coach Self marveled at the play of Azubuike on Tuesday.
“I think Doke is the best defensive big around,” Self said. “I don’t know anybody who can move their feet like that who is that big. And he plays 32 (minutes). He was fabulous.”
Azubuike, by the way, said his right hand was OK. He hurt it after blocking a shot late in the first half. He could be seen shaking his hand at various junctures.
“It’s OK. I’m fine,” he said.
Meanwhile, Garrett re-tweaked a tender left ankle late in the game, telling reporters he also was OK.
What about Dotson?
“Yesterday before practice we thought he probably would be able to play, but he just hasn’t responded quite as well to treatment as we hoped,” Self said before the game. “He’ll be out today and who knows how long he’ll be out?
“Anybody that’s ever had one (hip pointer) and most football players get them more than basketball players ... it’s very uncomfortable and certainly can be painful. If it gets hit or if you change direction it kind of pulls on that muscle or that bruise and the muscles kind of around it pull on that bone.”
Asked if Dotson will be able to play at 1 p.m. Saturday against Texas in Austin, Self said: “I have no idea.”
Oklahoma’s high scoring trio of Kristian Doolittle (13 points, 5-of-18 shooting with 10 boards), Brady Manek (10 points, 4-of-16 shooting) and Austin Reaves (four points 1-of-9 shooting) hit 10 of 43 shots. As a team, OU hit 30.6% of its shots to KU’s 43.9%. KU hit 8 of 19 threes; OU 8 of 29.
“Coming into the game, we knew we’d have to guard. They’ve got three who can really score the ball,” Moss said.
Play by play recap
This one was tied at 32-32 in the second half when a 10-4 KU run opened a 42-36 lead. Moss made two threes in that run.
It was 42-40 KU at 11:22. The Jayhawks went on a 14-5 run and led 56-45 at 4:41. Moss hit his fifth three of the game in that surge. Azubuike made two free throws, Garrett hit a three and two free throws, and Tristan Enaruna and David McCormack made buckets.
KU avenged last year’s 13-point defeat and a 5-point setback in 2017-18 at Lloyd Noble Center, where KU is 20-19 all-time.
The Jayhawks, who lost by 12 to Baylor on Saturday with Dotson limited the second half because of his injury, improved to 96-13 following a loss in the 17-year Self era.
Azubuike scored eight points with eight rebounds and two blocks as KU led 28-27 at halftime. Garrett had eight points and four boards the first half, but was 2 of 6 from the line and KU as a team was 2 of 8. Moss hit two threes and had eight points in the first half KU hit just 2 of 9 threes before halftime.
OU was led by Doolittle and De’Vion Harmon (13 points), who had eight points apiece. Doolittle had six boards in the half, while Manek had five boards and five points. OU hit 5 of 13 threes the first half and was 4 of 7 from the line. Overall, KU hit 38.7% of its first-half shots; OU 28.1%.
KU used a 9-0 run to turn a 20-16 deficit into a 25-20 lead with 4:08 left in the half. Garrett had five points and Azubuike four in that surge.
Game notes
KU leads the all-time series against OU, 149-68. The Jayhawks have won seven of the past games and 10 of 13 in the series. … KU snapped a two-game losing streak at Noble Center. … Bill Self is 21-5 versus OU as KU coach. … Self is 486-109 while at Kansas, 693-215 in his career.
This story was originally published January 14, 2020 at 10:00 PM.
