Well, despite leading by 22, Kansas had to hold off Samford down the stretch, 93-89. There was a time when it looked like Bill Self’s squad was going to run the Bulldogs out of the gym, but that simply wasn’t the case on Thursday night.
Kansas, with a matchup against Gonzaga coming up on Saturday, was led by KJ Adams (20), Hunter Dickinson (19), Nicolas Timberlake (19), Johnny Furphy (16), and Dajuan Harris (12). Elmarko Jackson scored 6 points off the bench for Kansas and was responsible for some big plays, including the final play of the game in which Jackson, while running out-of-bounds, threw the ball off a Samford player, which allowed Kansas to slam the door on the Bulldogs.
Adams, Jr., who led Kansas in scoring, was 10-of-13 from the field, pulled down four rebounds, and dished out six assists in 39 minutes of action. Offensively, Adams, Jr., did a majority of his damage around the paint, which is usually the case, but he clearly played with a different level of energy against Samford. Kansas, without question, doesn’t win this game without Adams, Jr.
I wasn’t sure what to expect from Hunter Dickinson on Thursday night, but he absolutely showed out against Samford. He went for 19 points 20 rebounds, 5 assists, and 4 blocks. In 37 minutes of action, Dickinson was 9-of-14 from the field, 0-of-1 from behind the arc, and 1-of-4 from the free-throw line.
Coming off a shoulder injury, I was interested to see how he would respond, and he did so with flying colors. He was active in the paint, on the glass, and blocking shots. With Dickinson leading the way, Kansas will be a tough out if he can continue to perform at such a high level. He was so good against Samford.
Nicolas Timberlake saved his best for the most important game of the year. In tying his Kansas career-high with 19 points, Timberlake was 5-of-8 from the field, 3-of-6 from behind the arc, and 6-of-7 from the free-throw line.
That breakaway near the end of the game, and Timberlake claims he was fouled, led to two big free-throws, and increased KU’s lead over Samford to three, 92-89. His three with 2:52 left in the game was also big for Kansas, as it gave the Jayhawks a lead of 86-79. Timberlake was huge on Thursday night.
Johnny Furphy started the game with a three and, in doing so, set the tone for Kansas against Samford. In scoring 16 points, Furphy was 5-of-9 from the field, 2-of-5 from behind the arc, and was 4-of-6 from the free-throw line.
Furphy also pulled down eight rebounds and dished out three assists. It was the type of performance that Kansas needed from Furphy in order to be successful.
KU’s final double-digit scorer was Dajuan Harris, Jr., who tallied 13 points on 3-of-8 shooting from the field, 1-of-5 shooting from behind the arc, and 1-of-4 shooting from the free-throw line. He also pulled down four rebounds, dished out seven assists, and committed four turnovers in 36 minutes of action.
Harris needs to continue to be a double-digit scorer for Kansas if they are going to make a run in the NCAA Tournament. He’ll certainly need to be his best against Gonzaga on Saturday.
As a team, Kansas won the battle on the glass, 44-35. The Jayhawks finished with 6 bench points, 54 points in the paint, 7 points off turnovers, 10-second chance points, 8 offensive rebounds, 24 fastbreak points, went 11-16 on layups, 8-8 on dunks, had 78 possessions, 44, scores, scored 1.192 points per possession, had a scoring percentage of 54.6%, a turnover percentage of 23.1 percent and led for nearly the entire game.
Kansas, with a matchup against Gonzaga coming up on Saturday, was led by KJ Adams (20), Hunter Dickinson (19), Nicolas Timberlake (19), Johnny Furphy (16), and Dajuan Harris (12). Elmarko Jackson scored 6 points off the bench for Kansas and was responsible for some big plays, including the final play of the game in which Jackson, while running out-of-bounds, threw the ball off a Samford player, which allowed Kansas to slam the door on the Bulldogs.
Adams, Jr., who led Kansas in scoring, was 10-of-13 from the field, pulled down four rebounds, and dished out six assists in 39 minutes of action. Offensively, Adams, Jr., did a majority of his damage around the paint, which is usually the case, but he clearly played with a different level of energy against Samford. Kansas, without question, doesn’t win this game without Adams, Jr.
I wasn’t sure what to expect from Hunter Dickinson on Thursday night, but he absolutely showed out against Samford. He went for 19 points 20 rebounds, 5 assists, and 4 blocks. In 37 minutes of action, Dickinson was 9-of-14 from the field, 0-of-1 from behind the arc, and 1-of-4 from the free-throw line.
Coming off a shoulder injury, I was interested to see how he would respond, and he did so with flying colors. He was active in the paint, on the glass, and blocking shots. With Dickinson leading the way, Kansas will be a tough out if he can continue to perform at such a high level. He was so good against Samford.
Nicolas Timberlake saved his best for the most important game of the year. In tying his Kansas career-high with 19 points, Timberlake was 5-of-8 from the field, 3-of-6 from behind the arc, and 6-of-7 from the free-throw line.
That breakaway near the end of the game, and Timberlake claims he was fouled, led to two big free-throws, and increased KU’s lead over Samford to three, 92-89. His three with 2:52 left in the game was also big for Kansas, as it gave the Jayhawks a lead of 86-79. Timberlake was huge on Thursday night.
Johnny Furphy started the game with a three and, in doing so, set the tone for Kansas against Samford. In scoring 16 points, Furphy was 5-of-9 from the field, 2-of-5 from behind the arc, and was 4-of-6 from the free-throw line.
Furphy also pulled down eight rebounds and dished out three assists. It was the type of performance that Kansas needed from Furphy in order to be successful.
KU’s final double-digit scorer was Dajuan Harris, Jr., who tallied 13 points on 3-of-8 shooting from the field, 1-of-5 shooting from behind the arc, and 1-of-4 shooting from the free-throw line. He also pulled down four rebounds, dished out seven assists, and committed four turnovers in 36 minutes of action.
Harris needs to continue to be a double-digit scorer for Kansas if they are going to make a run in the NCAA Tournament. He’ll certainly need to be his best against Gonzaga on Saturday.
As a team, Kansas won the battle on the glass, 44-35. The Jayhawks finished with 6 bench points, 54 points in the paint, 7 points off turnovers, 10-second chance points, 8 offensive rebounds, 24 fastbreak points, went 11-16 on layups, 8-8 on dunks, had 78 possessions, 44, scores, scored 1.192 points per possession, had a scoring percentage of 54.6%, a turnover percentage of 23.1 percent and led for nearly the entire game.
