Hawking Points: KU Lays Another Egg on the Road

The Kansas Jayhawks didn’t have much time to enjoy the Houston win because it had a quick turnaround on the road in Manhattan for the first edition of the Sunflower Showdown against Kansas State. And there wasn’t much to celebrate in a 76-70 overtime loss.

Key Plays

It was the start Kansas State wanted with Camryn Carter draining a three on the first possession and then Hunter Dickinson having his shot blocked on the other end of the floor. But after a missed KSU three, KJ Adams drew an and-one and tied the game at three. Carter made his second three as an answer. Dickinson got two free throws on a flagrant hook-and-hold penalty by Jerrell Colbert but he only made one.

After Adams a KSU turnover, great ball movement found Kevin McCullar open for a three to give Kansas the first lead of the game. Another turnover by the Wildcats and a McCullar layup gave Kansas momentum. KSU scored five straight and began three of six from deep. The teams traded baskets and then Dickinson scored and found a cutting McCullar for a 17-13 lead.

The first quarter of the game was a constant. The teams went through both the under-16 and under-12 media timeouts before there was a stop in play, which came with 10:58 left and KU leading 19-15. Another KSU three and then transition layup gave it another lead before Elmarko Jackson answered. KSU should have taken the lead but missed four straight free throws. Kansas gave up multiple offensive rebounds and eventually gave back the lead.

Tied at 23 and with Kansas not making a field goal for four minutes, Dickinson picked up his second foul, joining Adams with two (until it was ruled one of Adams went to McCullar). Another KSU turnover ended in a Johnny Furphy layup called for goaltending. The Wildcats answered before Dajuan Harris buried a three. Harris to Adams extended the lead to five. It should have been more but Parker Braun dropped the ball on an easy bucket and Tylor Perry knocked down a three on the other end. He would score again to tie the game.

KU led by two in the final minute and had multiple chances to take a bigger lead but squandered all of them, leading 32-30.

Harris took a charge and then found Dickinson for the first points of the second half. Then McCullar hit his second three to give KU its largest lead at 37-30. Another Wildcat miss and the fast break ended in a Furphy layup from McCullar. A near shot-clock violation and Dickinson got his own put-back on the offensive side to make it a 9-0 run to open the second half. Perry hit two threes and KSU answered with its own 8-0 run. Adams missed a bunny and Furphy fouled on an and-one to tie it at 41. Adams stopped the bleeding with a floater in the paint on a pick and roll but KSU immediately answered.

McCullar drew a goaltending on a fast break off a Kaluma missed three to break the stalemate but KSU answered again. McCullar missed three free throws in the second half before making his fourth. Dickinson put KU up three and then Furphy was fouled going for a loose ball.

Kansas had what felt like 14 points taken away on baskets that rolled in and out on the rim. Harris hit a floater late in the shot clock to go up four with six to play. A questionable call on Dickinson gave KSU two free throws. Then KSU got a free possession when Perry lost the ball out of bounds but it was somehow called off Kansas. Then the Jayahwks were called for a foul on a three pointer and KSU made all three free throws to go up three. Dickinson immediately answered to cut it to one. Carter then sank a three.

Adams hit a floater and then Harris took a rebound coast-to-coast to tie the game at 60 with just more than two minutes remaining. Harris then stole the ball and found McCullar for a layup and the lead. An accidental tip-in from Dickinson and a player tied the game and then McCullar turned it over with 50 seconds left. Then Kansas got beat on the offensive glass again and KSU put the ball in for the lead.

Harris and Adams connected on the pick-and-roll and Adams slammed it home to tie it. Perry had a final shot but missed and it went to overtime. KSU struck first with a free throw and then Harris hit a floater to go up one. Perry scored five straight to make it 70-66 K-State. Dickinson answered. A horrific call on Dickinson led to two more free throws and then McCullar stepped out of bounds. KU stole the ball after pressing and Harris was fouled on a layup, making both. Then McCullar was fouled on a rebound with 21.8 seconds left but he missed the front end of a one-and-one to seal it.

Eye-Catching Stat Lines

KU shot 44% from the field in the first half and made two of five threes, which was a far cry from the Houston performance but not an awful percentage. Meanwhile, KSU hit five of 15 threes. It got worse for most of the second half.

Dickinson played limited minutes in the first half but was able to put together a productive stat line, leading the way for the Jayhawks with 21 points, 12 rebounds, and two assists. Adams also dealt with foul trouble but put together a great line of 13 points, two rebounds, four assists, and five steals. Harris had one of his better games, scoring 15 points and dishing out eight assists.

McCullar did not shoot it well (6-18) and turned it over way too much at costly times, but still ended with 15. And this was not Furphy’s game. The freshman was held to four points on 2-7 shooting and 0-4 from three. His free-throw shooting was part of what cost KU the game, going 1-5. KU also got nothing from its bench, just two points from Jackson and six total rebounds.

Perry went off in the second half and in overtime, scoring 20 of his 25 in the final 25 minutes.

Areas of Improvement

K-State gives opponents plenty of chances by leading the conference in turnovers. But Kansas was content to give them the ball back. Each team had six turnovers in the first half. And it was the way they happened. Kansas struggled with entry passes into Dickinson and controlling the ball in the post.

One of the strengths of the KSU offense is offensive rebounding, and KU let the Wildcats grab four of them in the first 15 minutes. Though this was cleaned up much better in the second half, that is, until the final four minutes when they grabbed five more.

I’m not sure this is as much an area of improvement as just being on tired legs two days after a slugfest against a top-five team. But everything for KU looked off offensively. Shots rolled in and out and layups were missed over and over again to keep the game close.

Takeaways

That was a wildly frustrating game to watch. So many opportunities and such poor execution. The legs were clearly a factor but you have to find a way there. This takes some shine away from the celebration this weekend.