-- What a night it was for Bill Self and No. 9 Kansas. After losing to Iowa State in Ames, Iowa on Saturday, the Jayhawks looked like a completely different team against No. 5 Texas on Monday night. In defeating the Longhorns, 88-80, five players scored in double-figures for Kansas. Against Iowa State, just one player, Jalen Wilson (26), scored in double-figures. Against Texas, Gradey Dick (21), Dajuan Harris (17), Kevin McCullar (16), Joseph Yesfuf (14), and KJ Adams (10) led the way for Kansas.
Earlier in the day, I said Kansas was going to need a balanced scoring attack to emerge victorious on Monday night, and that’s exactly what took place. What’s even more impressive is the fact that Jalen Wilson tallied just two points against the Longhorns. Had Kansas lost to Texas on Monday night, winning the Big 12 regular season championship outright would have been a nearly impossible task. Now, the Jayhawks find themselves right back in the race for the Big 12 title.
-- Late on Monday night, Dajuan Harris called KU’s game against Texas a “must-win” and he certainly played like it. In 34 minutes of action, Harris scored 17 points, pulled down six rebounds, dished out five assists, committed three turnovers, and was credited with four steals. Offensively, Harris was 8-of-16 from the field, 0-of-2 from behind the arc, and 1-of-2 from the free-throw line. Kansas simply doesn’t win this game without the play of Harris. I know that Kansas fans have mixed emotions about him, especially with some of his struggles this season.
However, Harris was about as good as advertised on Monday night. Self was able to buy him some minutes off the bench tonight, but with only 8 scholarship players available, Harris played a ton of minutes and made a huge impact on the game.
-- During the second half of tonight’s game, I was thinking to myself that this is the type of game where Gradey Dick could really make an impact late in the contest. He just hasn’t been scoring the ball lately, but when you’ve got an 8-10 point lead, especially at home, and you’ve got the opportunity to deliver the knockout blow, Dick is the type of player to make those types of shots. On the night, Dick scored 21 points, pulled down four rebounds, dished out one assist, and was credited with two steals. For the game, he was 7-of-11 from the field, 2-of-3 from behind the arc, and 5-of-6 from the free-throw line.
The great thing about Dick, and he’s made this perfectly clear in the past, is he’s got short-term memory. If he’s open and has a good look from behind the arc, he’s going to shoot it. Also, I love how he’s continued to expand his game. That baseline jump shot is something he’s worked on and it’s paying off for sure.
-- Let’s talk about the play of freshman guard MJ Rice for a few minutes here. In 15 minutes of action, Rice scored just 2 points, pulled down three rebounds, dished out one assist, and was credited with one steal. Sure, he was just 1-of-5 from the field and didn’t attempt a shot from behind the arc or from the free-throw line. Still, I thought Rice provided Kansas with some big minutes off the bench and played with a great deal of energy. He battled for a couple of rebounds and, on at least one occasion, tussled with a Texas player for a loose ball, which ended up being a jump ball.
I know that I mentioned this earlier, but Kansas had just 8 scholarship players available tonight. Some guys on the bench absolutely had to step up and Rice was one of them. He couldn’t get any shots to fall, but he did play with a ton of energy and you could tell he was playing on fresh legs.
-- How about the play of guard Joe Yesufu tonight? Man, I really thought that he played one of the best games of his Kansas career. Aside from the heat check he tossed up in the first half, Yesufu played a huge roll off the bench for Kansas. Yesufu, against Texas, scored 14 points and pulled down five rebounds. Overall, he was 5-of-9 from the field, 0-of-2 from behind the arc, and 4-of-4 from the free-throw line. His ability to attack the basket and finish was big tonight.
His two-handed dunk electrified the crowd and he just played with confidence and a little bit of swagger.
-- When you look at the final score of tonight’s game, 88-80, it's crazy to think that Kansas scored 88 points and Wilson scored just two points for the entire game. The talk for much of the season has been about the lack of bench production KU receives, but the guys that came off the bench tonight came up big when Kansas needed them the most. After the game, Self said that Bobby Pettiford, Zach Clemence, and Zuby Ejiofor would likely miss a period of time, so now more than ever, Kansas will need those guys coming off the bench to produce.
It’s amazing how guys respond when they don’t have to look over at the bench and see if they’re being replaced after making a mistake. Self mentioned that after the game and made it clear that the guys that came off the bench tonight knew they’d play some extra minutes tonight.
-- Now that Kansas won a big-time game at home against No. 5 Texas, they need to play with the same energy and urgency the next two road games at Oklahoma and Oklahoma State. I know that life on the road in the Big 12 is hell and these next two games are going to be a dogfight. Winning in Stillwater has never been easy for Self and Oklahoma always gives Kansas fits in Norman. Hell, the Sooners had every opportunity to win the game in Lawrence, but simply couldn’t close the deal down the stretch.
Harris called tonight’s game a “must-win” and Kansas did that against a really good Texas team with 8 scholarship players. Now, the Jayhawks need to follow up tonight’s win with a solid showing on the road.
Earlier in the day, I said Kansas was going to need a balanced scoring attack to emerge victorious on Monday night, and that’s exactly what took place. What’s even more impressive is the fact that Jalen Wilson tallied just two points against the Longhorns. Had Kansas lost to Texas on Monday night, winning the Big 12 regular season championship outright would have been a nearly impossible task. Now, the Jayhawks find themselves right back in the race for the Big 12 title.
-- Late on Monday night, Dajuan Harris called KU’s game against Texas a “must-win” and he certainly played like it. In 34 minutes of action, Harris scored 17 points, pulled down six rebounds, dished out five assists, committed three turnovers, and was credited with four steals. Offensively, Harris was 8-of-16 from the field, 0-of-2 from behind the arc, and 1-of-2 from the free-throw line. Kansas simply doesn’t win this game without the play of Harris. I know that Kansas fans have mixed emotions about him, especially with some of his struggles this season.
However, Harris was about as good as advertised on Monday night. Self was able to buy him some minutes off the bench tonight, but with only 8 scholarship players available, Harris played a ton of minutes and made a huge impact on the game.
-- During the second half of tonight’s game, I was thinking to myself that this is the type of game where Gradey Dick could really make an impact late in the contest. He just hasn’t been scoring the ball lately, but when you’ve got an 8-10 point lead, especially at home, and you’ve got the opportunity to deliver the knockout blow, Dick is the type of player to make those types of shots. On the night, Dick scored 21 points, pulled down four rebounds, dished out one assist, and was credited with two steals. For the game, he was 7-of-11 from the field, 2-of-3 from behind the arc, and 5-of-6 from the free-throw line.
The great thing about Dick, and he’s made this perfectly clear in the past, is he’s got short-term memory. If he’s open and has a good look from behind the arc, he’s going to shoot it. Also, I love how he’s continued to expand his game. That baseline jump shot is something he’s worked on and it’s paying off for sure.
-- Let’s talk about the play of freshman guard MJ Rice for a few minutes here. In 15 minutes of action, Rice scored just 2 points, pulled down three rebounds, dished out one assist, and was credited with one steal. Sure, he was just 1-of-5 from the field and didn’t attempt a shot from behind the arc or from the free-throw line. Still, I thought Rice provided Kansas with some big minutes off the bench and played with a great deal of energy. He battled for a couple of rebounds and, on at least one occasion, tussled with a Texas player for a loose ball, which ended up being a jump ball.
I know that I mentioned this earlier, but Kansas had just 8 scholarship players available tonight. Some guys on the bench absolutely had to step up and Rice was one of them. He couldn’t get any shots to fall, but he did play with a ton of energy and you could tell he was playing on fresh legs.
-- How about the play of guard Joe Yesufu tonight? Man, I really thought that he played one of the best games of his Kansas career. Aside from the heat check he tossed up in the first half, Yesufu played a huge roll off the bench for Kansas. Yesufu, against Texas, scored 14 points and pulled down five rebounds. Overall, he was 5-of-9 from the field, 0-of-2 from behind the arc, and 4-of-4 from the free-throw line. His ability to attack the basket and finish was big tonight.
His two-handed dunk electrified the crowd and he just played with confidence and a little bit of swagger.
-- When you look at the final score of tonight’s game, 88-80, it's crazy to think that Kansas scored 88 points and Wilson scored just two points for the entire game. The talk for much of the season has been about the lack of bench production KU receives, but the guys that came off the bench tonight came up big when Kansas needed them the most. After the game, Self said that Bobby Pettiford, Zach Clemence, and Zuby Ejiofor would likely miss a period of time, so now more than ever, Kansas will need those guys coming off the bench to produce.
It’s amazing how guys respond when they don’t have to look over at the bench and see if they’re being replaced after making a mistake. Self mentioned that after the game and made it clear that the guys that came off the bench tonight knew they’d play some extra minutes tonight.
-- Now that Kansas won a big-time game at home against No. 5 Texas, they need to play with the same energy and urgency the next two road games at Oklahoma and Oklahoma State. I know that life on the road in the Big 12 is hell and these next two games are going to be a dogfight. Winning in Stillwater has never been easy for Self and Oklahoma always gives Kansas fits in Norman. Hell, the Sooners had every opportunity to win the game in Lawrence, but simply couldn’t close the deal down the stretch.
Harris called tonight’s game a “must-win” and Kansas did that against a really good Texas team with 8 scholarship players. Now, the Jayhawks need to follow up tonight’s win with a solid showing on the road.
