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Kansas defeats Emporia State, 109-56
- 7 p.m., Nov. 11, 2014
- Allen Fieldhouse, Lawrence, KS
Jayhawks roll in final exhibition game, 109-56
It was a slow and sluggish first half with a lot of free throw shooting, but it quickly turned into what you'd expect from an exhibition finale at Allen Fieldhouse.
The Kansas Jayhawks raced past visiting Emporia State, 109-56, to close out the exhibition portion of their schedule.
Eight Jayhawks reached double figures — Perry Ellis (13), Landen Lucas (13), Wayne Selden (12), Cliff Alexander (12), Frank Mason (11), Hunter Mickelson (11), Devonte' Graham (10) and Brannen Greene (10) — and Alexander, once again, led the way with a series of highlight-reel slam dunks that brought the fieldhouse faithful to their feet.
KU shot 68 percent in the second half.
These types of games don't always give a great indication of where the superior team is, but KU showed pretty sharp intensity and effort — especially on defense — from the opening tip and smothered ESU with size, speed and athleticism.
Here’s a quick look back at some of the action:
• The game turned when: Cliff Alexander's monster dunk, Devonte' Graham's steal lay-in and a free-throw-line bank shot from Alexander pushed the KU lead to 42-20 with 2:02 to play in the first half. The Jayhawks led by 21 at the break and never looked back, outscoring ESU 63-31 in the second half to cruise to the easy tune-up victory.
• Offensive highlight: It was subtle, but it showed two things about the transformation Jamari Traylor has made and continues to make as a player. With 6:43 to play in the first half, Traylor tracked down a loose ball on the offense end (go figure) and immediately attacked the rim. As he went up on the left side, he flashed great body control, took the foul and calmly ducked under the rim and laid the ball off the glass and in and picked up the three-point play after draining the free throw following the media timeout.
• Defensive highlight: Moments after a sweet lob from Wayne Selden to Perry Ellis energized the Allen Fieldhouse crowd, Jamari Traylor kept things elevated by rising up to swat a shot attempt from ESU's Tyler Jordan. The exchange pushed KU's lead to 57-28 and further showed that, despite completely overmatching the Hornets, KU still brought plenty of intensity to the building.
• Key stat: Gotta be the free throws. After hitting just 50 percent last week and feeling Bill Self's wrath because of it, the Jayhawks drained 25 of 32 charity shots on Tuesday night, good for 78 percent.
• Up next: The Jayhawks officially will open the 2014-15 season Friday night at 7 p.m. against UC-Santa Barbara at Allen Fieldhouse.
By the numbers: Kansas vs. Emporia State, Nov. 11, 2014
Titus Canby
Our perimeter defense is looking good. Nice to see after just relying on shot blocking the last couple of years.
| ESU | 25 |
|---|---|
| Kansas | 46 |
Bobby Nightengale
The Jayhawks are shooting 50 percent from the field (16-for-32), and are led offensively by DeVonte' Graham, who has eight points.
Bobby Nightengale
KU is +18 on the scoreboard with Graham on the floor, tied for the best on the team with Traylor so far.
Bobby Nightengale
KU shows good ball movement against a zone with Mickelson finding Alexander for a dunk.
Matt Tait KUsports.com staff
KU football OC Eric Kiesau just came down to the floor to say hey to his kid who's a ball boy tonight & told him where he and his wife were sitting... "50 yard line halfway up" Gotta love football coaches.
| ESU | 20 |
|---|---|
| Kansas | 36 |
Bobby Nightengale
Kansas calls a timeout after an Emporia State three-pointer. KU leading the rebounding battle, 20-14 with 7 offensive boards.
Rodney Crain
you know the two first halves, last week - tonight, on the scoreboard are about the same but they are about as different as you can get.
| ESU | 15 |
|---|---|
| Kansas | 35 |
Bobby Nightengale
Kansas pulling away with 7 points each from Brannen Greene, Jamari Traylor and Landen Lucas.
Joe Ross in reply to Matt Tait
...heard Self made them shoot tons of 'fros. Maybe he should have them shoot tons of threes this week.
Bobby Nightengale in reply to Rodney Crain
He can make quite the impact when he's playing with confidence.
Matt Tait KUsports.com staff
The Jayhawks are 8-for-9 from the FT line so far tonight after shooting just 50 percent from there during the exhibition opener. The lone miss belongs to Hunter Mickelson.
Bobby Nightengale in reply to Joe Ross
Definitely agree. They are a long way from a finished product, but have shown good flashes of potential, especially defensively.
Bobby Nightengale in reply to Rodney Crain
Nine minutes. 0-for-3 shooting with 1 rebound, 1 turnover and 1 steal.
Joe Ross in reply to Bobby Nightengale
I think it's mindset and lack of basketball maturity. These guys will settle in as the season gets going.
| ESU | 12 |
|---|---|
| Kansas | 24 |
Bobby Nightengale
Kansas is shooting 1-for-6 from 3 and has seven turnovers. Frank Mason and Jamari Traylor both have 6 points, while Wayne Selden leads with 3 assists.
Cshjhawk
All of these player changes seem to be affecting KU's rhythm. Price to pay for work in progress.
Bryce Landon
This game has no rhythm to it at all. The only redeeming part of it is that ESU sounds worse than we do.
Bobby Nightengale in reply to Crimsonorblue22
He's had trouble on entry passes to the post so far. Passes have been all over the place.
Brian Powell
I love that Lucas is putting up a good fight for minutes.. we're going to need him this year
Matt Tait KUsports.com staff
It's early, but I've seen a ton of improvement in Devonte' Graham and Kelly Oubre tonight compared to the other night.
Brian Powell
sloppy sloppy sloppy... at home, against this team. I'm going to have a hard time watching the UK game next week :o
I know, it's early. We'll be fine!
Crimsonorblue22 in reply to Joe Ross
Hope it doesn't take long! Think to much depth is causing a problem?
| ESU | 8 |
|---|---|
| Kansas | 15 |
Bobby Nightengale
KU is 6-for-13 from the field, led by four points each from Frank Mason and Jamari Traylor.
Joe Ross
Scary how good Kansas could be. Despite the score weve been playing somewhat disjointed. When we get it figured out we'll be dangerous...
