KU notes: Jamari Traylor comes back with strong performance for Jayhawks

Kansas junior forward Jamari Traylor, who missed one game after being arrested on suspicion of interfering with the duties of a police officer, returned to the floor with his best performance of the season Saturday at the Sprint Center.

Traylor finished with 13 points, five rebounds and made all five of his free-throw attempts in the Jayhawks’ 63-60 win over Utah.

“It’s never good when you’re in that position,” Traylor said of his suspension. “I made a mistake, so I just wanted to come out and do better this time around and this game. I wanted to impact the game.”

▪ KU freshman wing Kelly Oubre also continued his upward trend, finishing with nine points while playing a career-high 17 minutes. He also made his only three-point attempt.

After playing sparingly in November, Oubre has averaged 8.0 points in 16.5 minutes per game during the Jayhawks’ last two games. He could be called upon to play even more while freshman Devonte’ Graham sits because of a toe injury.

“He’s going to be really good,” KU coach Bill Self said. “You can see it; it just hasn’t quite gotten there yet. I think these last two games have done wonders for his confidence.”

▪ The Jayhawks improved to 25-5 at the Sprint Center, which announced a crowd of 17,627 on Saturday. The building holds 18,756. Kansas is also 210-79 all-time in Kansas City.

First half

▪ Key play: Sophomore Brannen Greene hit a jumper that pushed Kansas’ lead to 39-19 with 1:49 left in the first half.

▪ Key stat: KU shot five of eight from three-point range.

Second half

▪ Key play: Junior forward Perry Ellis drove into the lane and finished with his right hand, giving KU a 57-55 lead with 2:01 left in the game.

▪ Key stat: KU shot 21 of 23 from the line.

This story was originally published December 13, 2014 at 11:03 PM with the headline "KU notes: Jamari Traylor comes back with strong performance for Jayhawks."