Dickinson says ‘Phog Allen magic’ helped KU at end of Jayhawks’ 92-89 win vs. UNC
Kansas Jayhawks 7-footer Hunter Dickinson, who had just missed a critical free throw with 12 seconds left, hustled back on defense in time to thrust a hand in the face of North Carolina’s Elliot Cadeau.
The Tar Heels sharpshooter launched a potential game-tying 3-pointer in front of the UNC bench with two seconds left in a blueblood basketball battle Friday night at Allen Fieldhouse.
Thanks in part to Dickinson’s length, however, the 6-foot-1 Cadeau misfired badly, assuring the No. 1-ranked Jayhawks a 92-89 victory over the No. 9 Tar Heels.
“I knew there was going to be some type of ball screen,” Dickinson said after KU improved to 2-0 while UNC fell to 1-1. “They set the ball screen. I was like, ‘Man I’ve got to give it my all on this play. I cant let my teammates down.’
“Fortunate for us, he missed the open look and we came out with the win. I felt there was some ‘Phog Allen magic’ with that one.”
Cadeau’s miss prevented overtime on a night when Kansas coach Bill Self tied the legendary Phog Allen for most coaching victories in KU history. Self is 590-143 in 22 seasons in Lawrence; Allen went 590-219 in 39 seasons.
Self, after giving credit to senior guard Dajuan Harris for preventing first-team All-American RJ Davis from getting the ball on the Tar Heels’ final possession, praised Dickinson for his defense on the last-second shot.
“We were switching 5 on the ball screens and ‘Hunt’ did a really good job on Cadeau,” Self said with a smile. “Hunt on that last possession actually screwed up, because he showed us he can actually get out there and guard. We should probably expect that moving forward.”
Dickinson, who scored 20 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in 29 minutes, was one of KU’s heroes on offense, too. He hit a layup off a pass from Zeke Mayo with 1:17 left, giving KU a 91-89 lead.
Then he hit the first of two free throws with 12 seconds left to ice it.
“It’s kind of a coaching dilemma,” Self said. “He (Dickinson) makes the first free throw to go up three. Do you call timeout to ice the shooter? Or do you let him shoot it and then sub?
“I believe in letting him shoot it (because) he just made one. He missed (the second try). We were in switching 5, but that puts kind of a different pressure on Hunt to be able to guard a guard out there. But he did a good job.”
Mayo, by the way, led all scorers with 21 points. He also grabbed five rebounds and dished four assists in 29 minutes.
Mayo, who starred at Lawrence High, was making his KU debut after transferring home from South Dakota State in the offseason.
And to think, it almost was an historic night for the wrong reasons.
The Jayhawks blew a 20-point lead and trailed 87-83 with 3:30 remaining. KU’s biggest blown lead in a loss is 20 points, against Arizona in 2003 at Allen Fieldhouse.
Instead, this night produced a historic victory for Self, who tied the great Phog Allen for most coaching wins all-time at tradition-rich Kansas.
A number of former KU players were in attendance for Friday’s home opener, including Sasha Kaun, Brandon Rush, Tyrel Reed, Devonte Graham and Nick Collison. They got to see Self, 61, add another milestone to his Hall of Fame career.
“I feel good,” Self said. “I’ll be honest. I hadn’t thought about it (the record) today until Brian Hanni (KU’s radio voice) asked about it.
“We tied him last year, then we got 15 (wins) taken from us (as part of an NCAA penalty). The whole thing is, I’m proud, but he’s still the greatest coach and the best innovator this school will ever know.
“We don’t need to get carried away. We played more games. If he played more games and coached 39 years, he’d have won 2,000 games. It’s great. But the reality of it is all we are is we won a big game in November that you guys will make a bigger deal out of than whatever.”
It was a crazy game of sorts, in that it was the polar opposite of the NCAA title game between the two teams in 2022. KU trailed by 15 points at halftime of that game and rallied to win, 72-69.
On Friday, North Carolina trailed by 15 at halftime and then came up just short. KU led 53-38 at the break.
“They were great. We were awful for a stretch,” Self said of the second half. “Our bad shot selection led to transition for them. They played lights-out. Those guards are as fast a group as we’ll ever face. That was a heck of a team we faced tonight.”
UNC, led by Seth Trimble’s 10-for-10 showing, hit 28 of 31 free throws to KU’s 12 of 17. KU was 6-of-21 from 3-point range while Carolina went 7-of-23.
The Tar Heels had six players in double figures to KU’s five. Davis, the UNC All-American, finished with 16 points but shot just 3-of-15.
KU’s KJ Adams, who sprained his ankle in the second half but continued to play on it, had 14 points. AJ Storr added 13, Harris 10 and Flory Bidunga eight.
“It was a fun game. All the credit goes to our student section,” Harris said. “The crowd ... they were lit tonight. They gave us juice the first half and the last four, five minutes.”
KU’s next game is against Michigan State at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday in Atlanta as part of the Champions Classic.
This story was originally published November 8, 2024 at 10:37 PM with the headline "Dickinson says ‘Phog Allen magic’ helped KU at end of Jayhawks’ 92-89 win vs. UNC."
