Undersized KU Jayhawks dominated Duke Blue Devils in surprising category
Kansas’ rim protection against Duke proved to be a major factor in the No. 6-ranked Jayhawks’ 69-64 victory over the No. 7 Blue Devils in Tuesday’s Champions Classic at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.
The Jayhawks — whose tallest starters were 6-foot-8 Jalen Wilson and Gradey Dick, compared to Duke’s front line of 7-foot-0 Kyle Filipowski and 6-10 Ryan Young — totaled 13 blocked shots to Duke’s two.
The 13 blocks accounted for the most rejections by the Jayhawks since Jan. 5, 2014, when KU blocked 13 shots against San Diego State. That Kansas team featured eventual NBA centers in Joel Embiid (five blocks in the game) and Tarik Black (one). Seven Jayhawks had at least one blocked shot on Tuesday.
“Their level of physicality knocked us back,” first-year Duke coach Jon Scheyer said after the game.
For KU, Ernest Udeh, a 6-11 freshman, led the way with four rejections in 13 minutes. Freshman Zuby Ejiofor, 6-9, had two blocks in 10 minutes and 6-7 sophomore KJ Adams made two blocks in 20 minutes.
Transfer guard Kevin McCullar had two blocks, while forward Jalen Wilson and guards Bobby Pettiford and Dajuan Harris each recorded a block. Harris and Udeh had blocks in succession in a particularly eventful sequence.
“We told our guys we’ve got to make them feel us,” KU coach Norm Roberts said, adding, “we stayed tough and made it happen.”
Filipowski scored 17 points and grabbed 14 rebounds, while Young had six points and three boards. Seven-footer Dereck Lively came off the bench to score four points with five boards. Filipowski and Lively accounted for Duke’s two blocks.
“Our rotation rebounding was bad,” Roberts said, pointing out KU’s frontcourt players were not perfect. “We could not keep ‘em off the glass. Filipowski killed us on the glass.”
In fact the Jayhawks were outrebounded, 46-35. KU did pull down 12 offensive rebounds to Duke’s impressive total of 21.
KU’s advantage in blocked shots as well as points in the paint proved pivotal in upping its early-season record to 3-0. Duke fell to 2-1.
KU had 48 points in the paint to Duke’s 42. The Jayhawks also had 48 points in the paint in the season opener against Omaha.
Adams had eight points in the paint to lead KU’s frontcourt players, while Ejiofor had only two points but chipped in with five boards.
“I think we did a really good job staying on top of what we were doing defensively,” Adams said. “Zuby of course had a good showing when me and Ernest had two fouls. He really stepped it up. I was proud of his motor today, getting on the glass, because it’s what we needed. He showed up real well.
“Zuby is an amazing athlete. He can get offensive rebounds, defensive rebounds,” Adams added of Ejiofor. “He has a really good nose for the ball that helps us a lot. When you come off the bench you have to be really active. He does a good job with that. He doesn’t ever look nervous, just like he’s trying his hardest. I really like that about him. I really like playing with Zuby.”
Adams also had a huge bucket with 22 seconds left. Harris took a few dribbles toward the paint and then passed to Adams, who banked in a short shot that gave KU a 67-62 lead.
“When you have a good point guard like Juan,” Adams said, “and an undersized big like me, when (we screen), they want to come up and try to suffocate Juan. He made an easy pass to me. The other 5-man came late. I got a good and-one. It was an amazing experience making the big bucket at a big time. I came to Kansas to make buckets like the one I got here tonight.”
Wilson thinks winning a crazy game — KU led by as many as 11 points and trailed by as many as six — will help the team as the season progresses.
“It was a great game, two teams battling it out, two blue bloods,” Wilson, who scored a career-high 25 points with 11 boards and five assists, said. “It’s supposed to be that close and supposed to be that intense. It’s why you come here, to play games like that. It’s a great experience for our team to be up, down, to be able to battle back, play our game and find a way to win.”
KU will next meet Southern Utah at 7 p.m. on Friday at Allen Fieldhouse.
This story was originally published November 17, 2022 at 5:00 AM.
