KU’s Jamari McDowell responds when called upon: ‘DP. No DP. It’s still the Jayhawks’
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- McDowell learned he'd start 20-30 mins before tip, played 35 mins, scored 10 points.
- Jayhawks rallied from 11 down; Arizona shot 27.3% after 11:43 mark.
- KU used a six-man rotation, praised crowd, vowed same intensity in Tucson.
Kansas sophomore guard Jamari McDowell actually didn’t have time to get nervous — or overthink his role — after learning freshman sensation Darryn Peterson would miss Monday’s game against Arizona because of flu-like symptoms.
“Well, we didn’t find out until later. I mean it was pretty late when we found out (20-30 minutes before game). I didn’t know I was going to start,” McDowell said after the No. 9-ranked Jayhawks’ 82-78 victory over previously undefeated, No. 1-ranked Arizona.
He was speaking on the Jayhawk radio network’s postgame show after the win in front of 15,300 fans in Allen Fieldhouse.
“We played well without him … and we played bad without him as well,” added McDowell, who scored 10 points with four rebounds and three steals while starting and playing 18 1/2 minutes the initial half, one in which KU trailed 45-42 at the break.
“But we knew if we had him or not, either way, we were going to get the job done. DP, no DP, It’s still the Jayhawks. In the fieldhouse you’ve got to get it done regardless of what the circumstance is.”
McDowell, a 6-foot-5 Houston native, wound up playing 35 minutes. He matched his career high in scoring with those 10 early points on 4-of-8 shooting (2-of-5 from 3) and also set his career high in steals (four) and tied a career high in rebounds (six).
He, Melvin Council Jr. (23 points, six assists, six rebounds, 40 minutes) and Elmarko Jackson (four points, two assists, two steals, 22 minutes) attacked the paint all night to either fire up floaters or dish to teammates for assists.
“That’s the only way to do it, to attack it,” McDowell said of aggressive play against guards Brayden Burries (25 points, five rebounds, three steals, 34 minutes) and Jaden Bradley (six points, 2-of-8 shooting, four assists, three steals, 34 minutes).
“You can’t run from it. If you run from it, you’re going to get put in that ground. That’s not what we’re going do here. We had to go straight in there,” McDowell added.
About his four steals and his team’s nine thefts (Arizona also had nine steals), McDowell said: “That’s nothing but God and being in the right place at the right time. Everybody tries to credit defense to steals, but if you do your job and you’re in the right place … man, that stuff will happen for you. Just do what you are supposed to do. It’ll happen.”
The Jayhawks, who went basically with a six-man rotation (Kohl Rosario played five minutes and Paul Mbiya two minutes), trailed by 11 points (55-44) with 17:02 left.
McDowell said there was no panic at that point.
“We’re in the fieldhouse. That’s all I’m going to say. We’re in the fieldhouse. Get it done,” McDowell said.
KU certainly responded on the defensive end in crunch time.
Arizona was shooting 52% (26-of-50) with 11:43 left. The Wildcats shot 27.3% the rest of the way. Also, at the 11:43 media timeout, Arizona held a 34-25 rebound advantage. KU outboarded the Wildcats 16-11 the rest of the way.
“We’re a gritty team,” said sophomore guard Jackson. “We’re not scared to get dirty, get physical with other teams. These are games that we love, big-boy basketball as coach says. We’re going against strong, grown men and a battle of will.”
KU’s comeback from 11 down came against a top-ranked team that entered the game with a 23-0 record and 10-0 mark in the Big 12. KU is now 19-5, 9-2.
“They’re a really good team offensively. I mean, their bigs are giants, not just height-wise, but they’re huge. They are strong beings,” McDowell said.
He was referring to Motiejus Krivas, a 7-foot-2, 260-pound junior, who scored 14 points on 7-of-13 shooting with 15 rebounds and six blocks in 31 minutes as well as Tobe Awaka, a 6-8, 250 senior, who finished with six points and three rebounds in 17 minutes.
“They have great guards on the perimeter. They’re a tough team,” McDowell said. “I’m looking forward to playing them again (on Feb. 28 in Tucson), but they are really good and we’ve got to come out with the same intensity that we had here when we go there.”
KU of course will face a loud, sellout crowd in the rematch in Tucson. McDowell credited KU’s fans for their assistance Monday night.
“That sixth man was real,” McDowell said. “That was the loudest game I’ve ever had being here my whole three years. I really appreciate all the fans for giving their energy. People can show up, but it’s another thing to give your energy and your full effort and concentration into what’s going on the court with us. We all feel like we are all part of the same family. So we really appreciate that. We needed that as you can see for sure.”
Of the crowd, sophomore guard Jackson said: “There’s not too much I can say. You just really have to be here to experience it. It feels really good to get a win like that in like the cathedral of college basketball.
“That’s a testament to everybody within the program. We’ve got great people within the program that push the players to be better every day. We compete every day in practice. This is everything that we dreamed and envisioned for us. We’ve been on a really good journey over these past eight games on our (eight game) winning streak. We’re not slowing down. We’re going to keep going.”
KU will next meet No. 5-ranked Iowa State at 12 p.m. Saturday at Hilton Coliseum in Ames, Iowa. After that, the Jayhawks complete a two-game road trip to Oklahoma State a week from Wednesday in an 8 p.m. tip.
