Arkansas knocks Kansas Jayhawks from NCAA Tournament’s opening round: takeaways
Kansas Jayhawks men’s basketball coach Bill Self sat on his bench seat inside Amica Mutual Pavilion and stared directly at the ground for a few seconds.
This was during the second half of Thursday night’s NCAA Tournament first-round game against Arkansas in Providence, Rhode Island. Self’s furrowed brow and tightly closed mouth held a season’s worth of frustration.
He was watching another game in which his Jayhawks had erased a double-digit deficit only to melt down in the clutch.
And now KU’s season is over: No. 10-seeded Arkansas upset No. 7-seeded Kansas 79-72.
It’s the Jayhawks’ first opening-round defeat in the NCAA Tournament since a loss to Bradley in 2006.
KU’s lack of consistency caught up with the Jayhawks in the season’s most important game. Kansas had multiple turnovers, some of which led to a 7-0 run by Arkansas that put the Razorbacks ahead by four with 1 minute, 10 seconds remaining in the game.
From there, Kansas was playing catchup. And catch up the Jayhawks could not.
Forward KJ Adams exited with a leg injury with about three minutes left. And down the stretch, KU didn’t score a field goal for over 4 minutes.
KU’s Zeke Mayo finished with 18 points and six rebounds and guard AJ Storr added 15 points.
Kansas cut the Razorbacks’ lead to three (75-72) with 13 seconds left after Rylan Griffen hit a 3-pointer — his first in four tries. After taking two timeouts to get the ball inbounds, Arkansas finally got play restarted and KU fouled Arkansas’ Jonell Davis.
Davis made both free throws as the game’s final points with 10 seconds left. Mayo missed a 3 with five seconds remaining and that was that.
The Jayhawks trailed 47-44 at halftime. Arkansas shot 54% from the field and held a double-digit lead midway through the second half.
Here are three takeaways from KU’s loss to Arkansas …
Up next: Ranked No. 1 in the preseason and now out of the NCAA tourney in Round 1, KU begins an offseason with multiple players to replace. Arkansas, meanwhile, will play St. John’s or Omaha on Saturday.
AJ Storr comes up big
Kansas guard AJ Storr finished his first season at Kansas on a high note.
The former Wisconsin standout was expected to be KU’s transfer star. That didn’t happen, but he scored 19 points vs. UCF in the Big 12 Tournament, showing his potential.
Storr’s teammates and Kansas coach Bill Self believed that level of play could carry over into the NCAA Tournament. And they were correct.
Storr had a fantastic first half against the Razorbacks. He scored 11 points on 3-for-4 shooting in just 12 minutes. But that wasn’t the most impressive part.
He stopped an Arkansas fast break with a devastating block — one of KU’s best moments all season.
Storr had a quiet second half but still finished with a shooting clip of 57.1% from the field.
KU’s defense starts off slow
The Jayhawks’ defense left a lot to be desired this month.
Entering Thursday’s tournament game, the Jayhawks had allowed an average of 113.7 points per 100 possessions in March (five games). KU’s season average was 92.7 points allowed per 100 possessions, which ranked No. 11 in the nation.
Those struggles continued in the first half against Arkansas. The Razorbacks were missing leading scorer Adou Thiero but seemed to score at will at times.
Self first timeout came quickly as he was noticeably annoyed at his players for their lack of defensive effort. KU struggled to defend the paint, allowing 24 points in the area while scoring just 12 themselves.
On top of that, Arkansas — a mediocre jump-shooting team — was 9 of 15 on mid-range jumpers, primarily because KU kept leaving opposing shooters open. The Razorbacks also shot 36.4% from deep.
KU’s defense improved in the second half as the Jayhawks turned to zone. Arkansas shot 30%, 15.4% on 3-pointers.
For the game, the Razorbacks shot 43.1% from the field.
What happened to Hunter Dickinson?
KU star center Hunter Dickinson ended his college career with one of his worst games of the season.
After scoring 11 points in the first half, Dickinson disappeared in the second. The big man was a complete non-factor on offense, going scoreless after intermission.
He finished the night with 11 points on 4-of-13 shooting from the field with four turnovers. The Jayhawks desperately needed him in the second half, but he couldn’t convert from his usual spots.
