Three takeaways from KU basketball’s dominant win over the Wichita State Shockers
Well, that was easy.
The University of Kansas men’s basketball team hasn’t had many dominant showings this season, but that changed Saturday afternoon against in-state foe Wichita State.
The No. 2 Jayhawks dominated the Shockers 86-67 at T-Mobile Center.
Hunter Dickinson scored 22 points and Kevin McCullar added 20 more, as Kansas capped off a 7-0 mark in December games. The Jayhawks (12-1) improved to 13-3 all-time against the Shockers, who last defeated KU in the second round of the 2015 NCAA Tournament.
Xavier Bell scored 11 points for the Shockers, while Dalen Ridgnal led the team with 13 points and seven rebounds off the bench.
After a slow start, the Jayhawks found their footing, entering halftime with a 43-27 lead. After an 8-0 KU spurt to begin the second period, the Shockers got no closer than 16 points.
Kansas will have a little break in play before starting conference play against TCU at Allen Fieldhouse on Jan. 6.
Here are some takeaways from Saturday’s game:
KU freshmen sparked the team early
KU’s offense struggled mightily to start the game, including a six-minute scoreless stretch in the first half.
Kansas freshmen Elmarko Jackson and Johnny Furphy helped turn the slow offensive start around. First, Jackson went on a 7-0 run by himself to put the Jayhawks up 21-14.
Meanwhile, Furphy hit a 3-pointer while getting fouled and converted the four-point play. The pair had 12 points combined on 4-for-9 (44.4%) shooting in the first half.
It was a welcome sight for the Jayhawk faithful, as KU’s freshmen have had inconsistent seasons so far. Rarely have multiple freshmen played well in the same game.
Jackson finished with a career-high 12 points. Furphy had seven points with three rebounds.
Jayhawks owned the paint
The Jayhawks were dominant inside against the Shockers.
It didn’t matter who it was: KU players found their spots inside and converted them into easy buckets.
KU had 44 paint points to Wichita State’s 36. The Jayhawks also held a seven-point advantage in fast-break points (14-7).
The Jayhawks did not shoot well for the game (41.9% from the field, 25.9% from 3), but they shot 24-for-47 (51.1%) from 2-point range and drew 19 free-throw attempts, converting 17 (89.5%).
KJ Adams did it all
Kansas forward KJ Adams was everywhere on the court Saturday.
He did a little of everything — scoring, assisting and even getting rebounds. He finished with nine points, 11 rebounds and five assists.
The most impressive part for Adams was his rebounding against a tall Wichita State team. He came into the game averaging 3.7 rebounds a game. He had nine rebounds in the second half alone.
This Kansas team can struggle on the boards, so Adams having games like this is huge.
KU is at its best when Adams is involved heavily on both ends. He played 32 minutes on Saturday, and the Jayhawks won those minutes by 32 points, the best of any player on the team.
This story was originally published December 30, 2023 at 5:19 PM.
