Why Elmarko Jackson says KU Jayhawks can ‘go toe-to-toe with any team in the NCAA’
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Kansas went 3-0 in Las Vegas, improving to 6-2 and developing depth without starters.
- Elmarko Jackson scored a career-high 17 points and said KU can match any NCAA team.
- Coach Bill Self praised rotation and defense while key reserves logged heavy minutes.
Kansas men’s basketball players and coaches arrived in Las Vegas for the Thanksgiving-week Players Era tournament unranked and owners of a 3-2 record.
The Jayhawks now leave Nevada 6-2 after defeating Tennessee 81-76 in Wednesday’s third-place game at MGM Grand Garden Arena. That victory followed Tuesday’s 71-60 win over unranked Syracuse and Monday’s 71-61 conquest of unrated Notre Dame.
“It was very important,” sophomore guard Elmarko Jackson said of the Jayhawks going undefeated in Vegas. “I feel like having these games without some key players that we have is good for our team development. I feel like as a team this is really no surprise.
“I feel like as basketball players, especially as a team, you’re supposed to be delusional about how (good) you are, and it feels good to know that we’re good about the delusion that we have about this team. I feel like we fight hard, and I feel like we can go toe-to-toe with any team in the NCAA.”
Jackson scored a career-high 17 points on 4-of-7 shooting (2-of-3 from 3 and 7-of-7 from the line) versus Tennessee. He stepped up in the absence of Darryn Peterson (hamstring strain) and Jayden Dawson (hand).
Coach Bill Self was pleased with KU’s play in all three games.
“The bottom line is we came out here shorthanded. The guys have done well,” Self said. ”We did a lot of good things. Really proud of our guys. Gosh dang, they’re hanging in there and fighting and playing a ton of minutes. Everybody plays a ton of minutes, but I don’t know if anybody’s playing more than Bryce (Tiller) and Flory (Bidunga). Tre (White) and Melvin (Council Jr.) are playing tons of minutes.
“We’ve been able to kind of piece it together and make them (opponents) play bad, which is a big key for us. Until we get our full complement of guys, we’ve got to make opponents not play as well as they’re capable of.”
KU senior Tre White, who scored 14 points against Tennessee before fouling out with 8:23 left, had six rebounds against the Vols, 15 points and 10 rebounds against Syracuse, and 16 points and nine rebounds against Notre Dame.
“You know what he does? He makes some hard layups and gets fouled,” Self said of the transfer from Illinois. “He’s also good at shot faking, getting people off their feet. You know, he’s done that. He’s playing really well.”
Here’s a recap of KU’s three victories in Vegas …
KU 81, Tennessee 76
Council and Jackson each scored 17 points, while White and Bidunga added 14 and 13 respectively. KU outscored Tennessee 47-35 in the second half after trailing by seven at the break.
Freshman Nate Ament led the Vols (7-1) with 20 points. Jaylen Carey and Ja’Kobe Gillespie each scored 11 points and J.P. Estrella added 10.
Kansas, which trailed most of the second half, took the lead with 5:36 remaining on Paul Mbiya’s layup and extended the lead to four points at 68-64 on a driving layup by Jackson with 5:08 left. Freshman center Mbiya played three minutes Wednesday with KU needing some height inside after White was in foul trouble.
The Jayhawks extended the lead to seven points at 75-68 with 2:02 left before Tennessee cut the lead to 75-73 with 56 seconds left. Bidunga made two free throws and stole a pass with 20 seconds left.
The Jayhawks, who hit 42.1% of their shots, held Tennessee to 31.3% shooting in storming back from a 12-point deficit with 15:49 to play.
Jackson, who had a career high 17 points with four rebounds in 27 minutes, scored 11 straight points for KU in a stretch in which the Jayhawks erased a 53-41 deficit courtesy of a 15-3 run.
Kansas 71, Syracuse 60
White scored 15 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, while Bidunga added 13 points and 14 rebounds. Kansas, sparked by those double-doubles, beat Syracuse 71-60 on Tuesday.
Syracuse, which trailed by as many as 13 points the first half, pulled within 52-50 before KU scored 11 straight points on layups and free throws to assure victory. White completed a 3-point play with 4:49 remaining and the senior guard added three free throws on Kansas’ next possession for a 60-50 KU lead. Council drove into the lane and made a contested shot to cap the run.
Council scored 14 points on chilly 3-of-15 shooting (1-of-4 from 3) and Tiller had 11 points and eight rebounds as KU (5-2) outrebound the Orange 49-29. The Jayhawks committed 15 turnovers to the Orange’s two. Syracuse scored nine points off the KU mistakes.
Tyler Betsey scored 12 points off the bench and J.J. Starling added 10 points for Syracuse (4-2). Kiyan Anthony, the son of former NBA player Carmelo Anthony, scored six points on 2-of-12 shooting.
KU hit 18 of 20 free throws to Syracuse’s 13 of 23.
Kansas led 34-25 at halftime after holding Syracuse to 31% shooting. The Orange finished 20-of-63 (32%) from the field, including 7-of-30 shooting from beyond the arc.
Jamari McDowell was a surprise starter in place of Kohl Rosario.
McDowell responded with a career high nine points on 3-of-7 shooting with four rebounds, two assists and no turnovers in a career high 34 minutes.
“I didn’t change my approach at all. I just stayed consistent in what I was doing, the same thing over and over every day,” McDowell said of his reaction to being told by Self he’d be starting.
McDowell added. “So I just thank the Lord for what he’s giving me — the opportunity. (He) knocked on it and I opened the door. Just be faithful in yours.”
“Jamari was rock solid for us. He was steady,” Self said.
Kansas 71, Notre Dame 61
Kansas forwards Bidunga and Tiller combined for 35 points and 18 rebounds, while 6-7 guard White chipped in 16 points and nine rebounds as KU claimed a convincing win in Game 1. The Jayhawks did see a 13-point lead dip to four points in the second half, but never appeared in danger of losing.
Bidunga dished five assists and also had five blocked shots for KU, which improved to 4-2 on the day it fell out of the AP Top 25 poll.
“We were pretty good defensively and offensively we didn’t turn it over a lot,” Self said.
KU had nine turnovers, while Notre Dame had just five miscues.
Council hit two 3s and scored 12 points. Rosario didn’t score in 20 minutes. McDowell and Jackson each hit a 3 on a day KU went 6-of-20 from beyond the arc. Notre Dame made just 4 of 25 3s.
“We’ve got to knock down some shots,” Self said.
Markus Burton had 24 points and Jalen Haralson 13 for the Irish, who fell to 4-2.
Bidunga, who hit 8 of 15 shots and was 2-of-3 from the line, was the big story. After being banished to the bench by Self before the first TV timeout, he returned to have one of the most productive sequences of the season.
First, he blocked a jump shot of guard Burton, then dribbled all the way down the court, scored and was fouled by Burton, a foul deemed a flagrant one. Bidunga hit two free throws, then after KU was awarded possession after the foul shots converted another basket, scoring six straight to give KU a 19-15 advantage.
“I need to be ready,” Bidunga said. “I feel like I started pretty cold. I was cold. I wasn’t ready. But, you know, (Self) got me out, challenged me and then I got right back to it.”
