No. 1 Kansas Jayhawks beat No. 17 Kentucky Wildcats in Chicago. Here are the takeaways
.jpg "Hunter Dickinson had a double-double (27 points and 21 reounds, 15 on the defensive end) as the KU Jayhawks beat the Kentucky Wildcats 89-84 Tuesday night in the Champions Classic at Chicago’s United Center.")
For most of Tuesday night’s Champions Classic men’s basketball game, the No. 1-ranked Kansas Jayhawks looked lackadaisical.
Then, in a span of 5 minutes, 28 seconds of game time, KU went on a 21-4 run, turning a 14-point deficit into a three-point lead and eventual 89-84 victory over the 17th-ranked Kentucky Wildcats at the United Center.
The decisive run was something of utter dominance and illustrated why the Jayhawks should once again harbor championship aspirations.
Hunter Dickinson had a double-double, scoring 27 points and pulling down 21 rebounds — 15 on the defensive end. Dajuan Harris added a career-high 23 points for KU (3-0), which improved to 12-24 all-time against Kentucky.
Kansas led by three, 87-84, with 18.2 seconds left in the game. After Kentucky guard Reed Sheppard air-balled a 3-pointer, the Jayhawks got the rebound with 5.4 seconds left. Immediately fouled, freshman Jamari McDowell iced the game by making both free throws.
KU is now 6-2 against Kentucky in the bluebloods’ last eight meetings, including 3-2 in the Champions Classic.
The Jayhawks will play Chaminade in the Maui Invitational on Monday.
Here are some takeaways from Tuesday’s game:
Dajuan Harris, Hunter Dickinson kept KU afloat
Whenever Kansas needed a bucket to keep the game within reach, Dickinson or Harris answered the call.
While KU’s offense struggled early, the duo shouldered the load. Finally, midway through the second half, the rest of Kansas’ offense woke up. But KU wouldn’t have been able to come back without Harris and Dickinson’s timely buckets.
Dickinson registered a double-double of 27 points and a career-high 21 rebounds. Harris finished with 23 points on 7-for-12 shooting, with seven assists.
KJ Adams fuels comeback run
Kansas forward KJ Adams is still working on his jumper, so he doesn’t score much from outside the restricted area.
On Tuesday, the restricted circle was all he needed to assert his dominance over the Wildcats.
Adams hit multiple tough shots amid KU’s game-turning second-half run. He used his strength advantage to score timely layups and thunderous dunks.
He finished with 16 points on 8-for-11 shooting from the field.
KU couldn’t buy a bucket from deep
The Jayhawks struggled from long range against Fort Hays State and in their preseason scrimmage with Illinois.
Naturally, one of the biggest questions surrounding KU on Tuesday was its three-point shooting efficacy. And the Jayhawks perimeter shooting faltered against UK.
Kansas shot 3-for-11 (27.3%) from 3-point range in the first half of Tuesday night’s game. KU was 6-of-18 (33.3%) for the game.
Kentucky did a great job of limiting KU’s stellar 3-point shooters by closing out and forcing reluctant shooters to shoot the ball.
The only KU player to make the Wildcats pay was Harris, who went 4-for-5 beyond the arc.
KU struggles to contain UK’s athleticism
After taking an early lead, the Jayhawks let the Wildcats back into the game in the first half.
Why? Kentucky’s youth and athleticism posed problems for the Jayhawks. Time and again, KU failed to box out, leading to offensive rebounds for UK players crashing the boards.
More often than not, Kentucky converted those boards into second-chance points. The Wildcats had a 9-4 edge on the offensive glass in the first half, and a 13-6 advantage in second-chance points.
Those second-chance points enabled the Wildcats to flip the game’s late-first half momentum and take a seven-point lead into halftime.
