Kansas basketball crushes K-State Wildcats for a special Senior Night send-off
For much of the season, Kansas guard Nick Timberlake has drawn the ire of KU fans.
He hasn’t exactly met expectations — the sharpshooter had shot just 26.7% from deep heading into Tuesday’s game against rival K-State. He was brought in as a 3-point marksman, having shot better than 40% from 3 for two straight seasons, and his defense had also faltered at times.
But on Senior Night, in another iteration of the Sunflower Showdown, Timberlake finally provided what Kansas fans have yearned for all season.
Timberlake, one of the seven KU seniors honored pregame, hit back-to-back 3-pointers in the second half to put Kansas up big over rival Kansas State. Naturally, the Allen Fieldhouse crowd rewarded him with the loudest cheer he’s received all season.
Often the scapegoat, Timberlake was finally the hero as No. 14 Kansas dominated K-State 90-68 on Senior Night. The super-senior guard finished with 18 points on 4-for-5 3-point shooting.
KU coach Bill Self was impressed by Timberlake, but also the play of the Jayhawks following Tuesday’s rivalry game, which even featured an apparent “fly by” in the handshake line.
“I thought (we) played great,” Kansas coach Bill Self said. “I thought we got the ball exactly where we wanted to get it and played well.
It wasn’t much of a game after halftime, with the Jayhawks leading for nearly 35 minutes — and by as many as 28 points — after falling in an early five-point hole.
Kevin McCullar scored 19 points and Hunter Dickinson added 15 points, 20 rebounds and five blocks. KU (22-8, 10-7 Big 12) won its 40th consecutive Senior Night game.
Will McNair led Kansas State (17-13, 7-10 Big 12) in scoring with 17 points.
Up next: Kansas travels to Houston to play the Cougars on Saturday. It’s another big test for Self’s KU team as the postseason nears.
“We’ve had a good year, but we haven’t had a special year,” Self said. “It’s not like the sky is falling just because KU fell out of the top 10 this week. In order to have a great year or a special year, we’ve got to play good from this point forward.”
Here are three takeaways from KU’s win over Kansas State...
KU’s defense holds K-State’s Tylor Perry in Check
The Wildcats took nearly four minutes to score a bucket in the second half.
KU’s defense was as locked in as it has been all season in those four minutes. The Jayhawks did an excellent job of packing the paint, getting into shooters’ airspace and pressuring K-State’s stars anytime they had the ball.
When KU’s defense is playing at this level, the Jayhawks are one of the best teams in the country.
The Jayhawks even forced 11 K-State turnovers that turned into 15 KU points.
Perhaps the most impressive part? Kansas limited K-State star Tylor Perry to two points on 0-of-6 shooting. Perry’s only points came on two free throws.
Perry, by the way, played 35 minutes.
“Dajuan (Harris.) did a great job fighting through ball screens,” McCullar said. “Hunter and KJ (Adams) showed hard on ball screens. It was a collective effort. Every time somebody switched on him, we all took it personal.”
Kevin McCullar looks like his usual self ... mostly
It’s been a while, but KU guard McCullar is back to playing at the All-America level he’s been at for much of the season.
His shot chart on Tuesday featured layups, mid-range jumpers and even 3s. He’d have more points if he didn’t miss several bunnies at the rim — a reason his shooting percentage (35.7%) wasn’t great,
Still, he did an excellent job of drawing fouls and converting, shooting, 7-for-7 from the free throw line.
Throw in his usual excellent defense and it’s clear how vital McCullar’s health is for the Jayhawks’ postseason hopes. He added three assists, three rebounds, three steals and a block in 29 minutes, even while it wasn’t his most efficient game.
Up big, the Jayhawks were even able to pull him early and rest him late. That’s a good sign for KU.
Too many missed layups
It’s not often you see the Jayhawks struggle to score points in the paint, but Tuesday’s game might have been one of the worst showings all season.
Kansas missed several open layups that killed the momentum early on. The Jayhawks went an abysmal 5-for-14 (35.7%) on layups in the first half alone.
Instead of going into halftime with a 15- or 20-point lead, Kansas only led by eight, largely due to the struggles at the rim. Instead, Kansas State hung around until the Jayhawks delivered the knockout punch early in the second half.
Kansas finished the game 11-for-28 (39.3%) on layups.
“We missed probably 12 layups,” Self said. “If you make eight of those it’s a totally different situation.”
This story was originally published March 5, 2024 at 10:44 PM.
