Four takeaways from KU basketball’s overtime loss to Kansas State
The Kansas men’s basketball team has perfected the art of an entertaining finish.
All season long, the Jayhawks have made a habit of playing — and winning — close games. That finally caught up to them on Tuesday at Bramlage Coliseum.
Keyontae Johnson scored 24 points and Desi Sills added 24 as first-year Kansas State coach Jerome Tang and his Wildcats upset the No. 2-ranked Jayhawks 83-82 in an overtime thriller. The Jayhawks had not lost in Bramlage since Feb. 5, 2019.
No. 13-ranked K-State (16-2, 5-1 Big 12) snapped its three-game home losing streak against KU (16-2, 5-1).
Jalen Wilson scored a career-high 38 points and KJ Adams added 17 for the Jayhawks. With 25 seconds left in overtime, K-State’s Johnson scored a game-winning dunk to put K-State up 83-82.
Kansas got the ball with 11 seconds left. Eventually, the Jayhawks lost the ball and couldn’t get a shot off.
Likewise, the last few minutes of regulation were a chaotic affair.
With four seconds left in the game, Kansas guard Dajuan Harris got stripped and had the ball stolen by K-State’s Nae’Qwan Tomlin. However, Johnson missed the fastbreak layup and Wilson rebounded the ball with one second left and didn’t get a shot off.
Before the last sequence in regulation, the game was tied at 72-all with 12.5 seconds left.
KU will try to bounce back against TCU on Saturday at Allen Fieldhouse. Kansas is now tied with K-State for first in the conference.
Here are four takeaways from Tuesday’s game...
Jalen Wilson left it all on the floor
Kansas forward Jalen Wilson did everything in his power to make sure his team won, but it wasn’t enough. Nearly every time KU needed a bucket, Wilson answered the call.
When offensive possessions seemed hopeless, the forward would sacrifice his body and earn contact to go to the line.
Wilson scored a career-high 38 points, shooting 12-for-25 from the floor while grabbing nine rebounds and posting two blocks in 45 minutes. He also hit a late three that was waved off after a timeout from KU coach Bill Self. The shot would’ve put the Jayhawks up four with under a minute to play in overtime.
After three straight rough scoring games, Wilson bounced back in a big way.
KJ Adams steps up again
Kansas forward KJ Adams has turned into Mr. Reliable. Whenever KU struggles to score, they turn to Adams in the short pick-and-roll. More often than not, Adams delivers ... and he did Tuesday night.
Adams extended his double-digit points streak to 11 games. Adams scored 17 points on 6-for-6 shooting from the floor. He also tallied four assists.
When the Jayhawks found themselves down big early, Adams hit timely buckets to keep the game within striking distance. The Jayhawks cut the lead to five points at the half (44-39) largely due to Adams’ 15 first-half points.
Adams was the only KU big on the defensive end that provided some semblance of rim protection. When he sat due to foul trouble — and eventually fouled out — the Jayhawks had far less resistance in the paint.
Kevin McCullar and Dajuan Harris struggle offensively
Kansas guard Dajuan Harris and forward Kevin McCullar made a minimal scoring impact for most of the game. The duo’s lackluster play emerged as an issue for the Jayhawks’ offense.
Until Harris hit a three with 13:12 left in the game, the duo had combined for zero points on 0-for-7 shooting from the floor with four turnovers.
Harris exited the game with 11:05 left due to injury but returned at the 8:40 mark. He finished with three points on 1-for-7 shooting from the floor and four turnovers.
McCullar scored 0 points on 0-for-2 shooting and finished with two turnovers.
Heading into the game, McCullar was in a major shooting slump, shooting 34% in his last five games. On his first shot attempt, he badly missed a three. Then he smoked an open fastbreak layup on his next shot and missed both free throws.
McCullar also struggled with foul trouble, so one of KU’s best defenders sat on the bench in pivotal minutes.
Threes, free throws not falling
Typically, Kansas excels from beyond the arc and on free throws. However, against K-State, the Jayhawks couldn’t convert many open threes and left points on the board at the line.
Kansas finished 6-for-29 (20.7%) from three while going 24-for-34 (70.6%) from the free-throw line.
It felt like every time Kansas got within a handful of points, they would either miss a three or a free throw. Typically a stout three-point shooter, Gradey Dick finished 1-for-8 from three.
At the line, Adams’ early-season free throw woes returned. After starting 0-for-8 from the line, Adams had shot better than 70% heading into Tuesday. However, in this game, he made just five free throws on 10 attempts.
This story was originally published January 17, 2023 at 9:21 PM with the headline "Four takeaways from KU basketball’s overtime loss to Kansas State."
