Postgame Report Card: Kansas 64, K-State 49

By Staff     Feb 25, 2019

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Kansas guard Marcus Garrett (0) watches his three pointer behind Kansas State guard Barry Brown Jr. (5) during the first half, Monday, Feb. 25, 2019 at Allen Fieldhouse.

Grades for five aspects of the Kansas basketball team’s 64-49 win over Kansas State on Big Monday at Allen Fieldhouse.

Offense: B-
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Considering that K-State has one of the better defenses in the nation, the Jayhawks were highly unlikely to blow out their rivals in this Sunflower Showdown.

KU shot 39.6% from the floor overall and only made 8 of 24 3-pointers.

But the ball security (see: 10 Kansas turnovers) kept the Wildcats from feasting off takeaways.

Freshman David McCormack accounted for 2 of those mistakes, while the rest of KU’s rotations players combined for just 8. That may be the most important thing accomplished offensively for Kansas in this one.

Defense: A
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KU’s ability to switch defensively, Barry Brown said after shooting 1 for 8, turned the Wildcats’ offense stagnant.

Mitch Lightfoot (credited 3 blocks) defended the paint well, too, and with Dedric Lawson competing inside as well, the Wildcats couldn’t manage any more than 8 points in the paint.

K-State only connected on 31.6% of its shots in the loss and the Big 12’s first-place team hit 8 of 24 3-pointers.

Frontcourt: B-
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Lawson was back to his double-double ways, putting up 18 points and 14 rebounds. But he shot 6 for 20 from the floor and missed all 4 of his 3-point tries.

The big man’s passing proved useful, though, as Lawson dished 5 of KU’s 14 assists.

While McCormack started once again, he made little to no impact.

Backcourt: B-
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Devon Dotson attacked off the dribble, seeking out the paint whenever he could. Even when those ventures didn’t conclude with baskets or assists, his successful drives for paint touches forced the K-State defense to react, making the freshman point guard a critical cog for the offense.

Dotson produced 16 points on 5-for-12 shooting and hit 1 of his 5 3-pointers.

Fellow freshman Quentin Grimes was in catch-and-fire mode all night from beyond the arc, and shot 3 for 6 from deep on his way to 12 points.

Ochai Agbaji had a rare ineffective home game offensively, finishing scoreless in 16 minutes.

Bench: B+
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Lightfoot at points controlled the game while fueling a crucial KU victory. His energy and want-to were off the charts, making it easy for him to finish with the stat line: 9 points, 5 rebounds, 3 blocks and 2 assists in 31 minutes.

Marcus Garrett played 27 minutes in his second game back from his ankle injury and knocked in a couple of 3-pointers (one of them banked in).

KU’s bench outscored the K-State reserves 18-10.

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