Friday night's showdown between No. 5 Kansas (7-1) and No. 4 Connecticut (7-1) turned out to be everything many expected it to be when the final buzzer sounded. On a night when the Jayhawks handed the Huskies their first loss of the season, Bill Self’s squad led for 33:45, while Dan Hurley’s crew found itself on top for just 4:17 of game time.
Kansas, which led by 12 points with 4:31 left in the first half, completely outplayed Connecticut in the first half. The Huskies hit some timely threes that could have just as easily been missed, which resulted in UConn trailing by just seven points, 38-31, at the half.
Connecticut took its first lead of the game, 47-46 with 10:36 left in the second half on a made three-point field goal by Tristen Newton, who scored a game-high 31 points. With 9:35 left in the game, a made field goal by Hassan Diarra pushed the lead to five points in favor of UConn, but it would be the last time the Huskies found themselves on top.
Back-to-back threes from Kevin McCullar, Jr., turned a two-point defect into a four-point lead for Kansas. With 4:13 left in the game, Dickinson drilled his final three-pointer of the game, which increased KU’s lead over UConn to seven points, 61-54.
Trailing by two points late in the game, UConn guard Cam Spencer had a chance to give the Huskies a one-point lead, but his three-point attempt came up short and, after being fouled, KJ Adams, Jr., stepped to the free-throw line and drilled both attempts.
After Kansas struggled against Eastern Illinois earlier in the week, I really wasn’t sure what to expect against No. 4 Connecticut on Friday night, but the Jayhawks, with an absolutely unbelievable crowd in attendance, took care of business with a national audience watching.
On a night when Kansas handed UConn its first loss of the season, Kevin McCullar, Jr., led the way with 21 points, five rebounds, and one steal. In 36 minutes of action, he was 6-of-10 from the field, 3-of-4 from behind the arc, and 6-of-6 from the free-throw line.
McCullar, Jr., without question, made some big plays on Friday night, but his back-to-back threes when Kansas was trailing by one completely changed the outcome of the game. We all know McCullar, Jr., at times, has struggled to score from behind the arc, but he was on point against UConn on Friday night.
Playing with a heavy heart and a ton of emotion, KJ Adams, Jr., might have played the best game of his career against UConn. In 38 minutes of action, Adams, Jr., scored 18 points, pulled down five rebounds, dished out two assists, and blocked two shots.
Offensively, Adams, Jr., hit 6-of-10 field goals and was 6-of-9 from the free-throw line. Most of his damage was done around the paint and included a couple of rim-rocking dunks. His made free throws at the end of the game all but sealed the deal for Kansas.
After the game, Adams, Jr., made his way back to Texas in order to lay his mother to rest. Obviously, he was playing with a heavy heart on Friday night.
KU’s third and final double-digit scorer, Hunter Dickinson, had another big outing with a national audience watching. In all, Dickinson, in 38 minutes, scored 15 points, pulled down nine rebounds, and blocked for shots.
Against UConn, Dickinson was 6-of-12 from the field and 3-of-4 from behind the arc. This dude is such a confident player and, as many of you can clearly see, plays with a swagger that I’ve not seen in a long time. His three in the second half, which pushed KU’s lead over UConn to seven points, was such a huge shot. He’s playing at such a high level right now and I don’t expect him to slow down.
Aside from McCullar (21), Adams (18), and Dickinson (15), Elmarko Jackson (6), Johnny Furphy (6), and Dajuan Harris (3) rounded out the scoring for Kansas. Harris still struggled to score the ball, was just 1-of-7 from the field, and Jackson failed to hit a shot from behind the arc (0-of-2), while Furphy drilled a couple of big threes from deep on Friday night.
Harris did lead the way with six assists to just two turnovers and Jackson, who scored six points on 2-of-4 shooting from the field, also pulled down four rebounds, dished out two assists, and was credited with one steal.
Furphy, who hit two threes, connected on one of the biggest shots of the game when his three-pointer with 8:09 left in the game put Kansas up by two points. He didn’t play a ton of minutes, just 14, but Furphy did connect on two big threes in the game.
Kansas, which led by 12 points with 4:31 left in the first half, completely outplayed Connecticut in the first half. The Huskies hit some timely threes that could have just as easily been missed, which resulted in UConn trailing by just seven points, 38-31, at the half.
Connecticut took its first lead of the game, 47-46 with 10:36 left in the second half on a made three-point field goal by Tristen Newton, who scored a game-high 31 points. With 9:35 left in the game, a made field goal by Hassan Diarra pushed the lead to five points in favor of UConn, but it would be the last time the Huskies found themselves on top.
Back-to-back threes from Kevin McCullar, Jr., turned a two-point defect into a four-point lead for Kansas. With 4:13 left in the game, Dickinson drilled his final three-pointer of the game, which increased KU’s lead over UConn to seven points, 61-54.
Trailing by two points late in the game, UConn guard Cam Spencer had a chance to give the Huskies a one-point lead, but his three-point attempt came up short and, after being fouled, KJ Adams, Jr., stepped to the free-throw line and drilled both attempts.
After Kansas struggled against Eastern Illinois earlier in the week, I really wasn’t sure what to expect against No. 4 Connecticut on Friday night, but the Jayhawks, with an absolutely unbelievable crowd in attendance, took care of business with a national audience watching.
On a night when Kansas handed UConn its first loss of the season, Kevin McCullar, Jr., led the way with 21 points, five rebounds, and one steal. In 36 minutes of action, he was 6-of-10 from the field, 3-of-4 from behind the arc, and 6-of-6 from the free-throw line.
McCullar, Jr., without question, made some big plays on Friday night, but his back-to-back threes when Kansas was trailing by one completely changed the outcome of the game. We all know McCullar, Jr., at times, has struggled to score from behind the arc, but he was on point against UConn on Friday night.
Playing with a heavy heart and a ton of emotion, KJ Adams, Jr., might have played the best game of his career against UConn. In 38 minutes of action, Adams, Jr., scored 18 points, pulled down five rebounds, dished out two assists, and blocked two shots.
Offensively, Adams, Jr., hit 6-of-10 field goals and was 6-of-9 from the free-throw line. Most of his damage was done around the paint and included a couple of rim-rocking dunks. His made free throws at the end of the game all but sealed the deal for Kansas.
After the game, Adams, Jr., made his way back to Texas in order to lay his mother to rest. Obviously, he was playing with a heavy heart on Friday night.
KU’s third and final double-digit scorer, Hunter Dickinson, had another big outing with a national audience watching. In all, Dickinson, in 38 minutes, scored 15 points, pulled down nine rebounds, and blocked for shots.
Against UConn, Dickinson was 6-of-12 from the field and 3-of-4 from behind the arc. This dude is such a confident player and, as many of you can clearly see, plays with a swagger that I’ve not seen in a long time. His three in the second half, which pushed KU’s lead over UConn to seven points, was such a huge shot. He’s playing at such a high level right now and I don’t expect him to slow down.
Aside from McCullar (21), Adams (18), and Dickinson (15), Elmarko Jackson (6), Johnny Furphy (6), and Dajuan Harris (3) rounded out the scoring for Kansas. Harris still struggled to score the ball, was just 1-of-7 from the field, and Jackson failed to hit a shot from behind the arc (0-of-2), while Furphy drilled a couple of big threes from deep on Friday night.
Harris did lead the way with six assists to just two turnovers and Jackson, who scored six points on 2-of-4 shooting from the field, also pulled down four rebounds, dished out two assists, and was credited with one steal.
Furphy, who hit two threes, connected on one of the biggest shots of the game when his three-pointer with 8:09 left in the game put Kansas up by two points. He didn’t play a ton of minutes, just 14, but Furphy did connect on two big threes in the game.
