Nick KrugIt was a game the Kansas men’s basketball team waited two weeks for and it did not come away disappointed.
After suffering their first loss of Big 12 play a little more than two weeks ago in Ames, Iowa, the Jayhawks returned the favor on Monday night at Allen Fieldhouse, topping the Cyclones 89-76 in a wild and crazy atmosphere.
The game was not without its struggles for Kansas, but, when it counted most, KU’s defense and outside shooting were lights out.
Kansas (19-3 overall, 8-1 Big 12) also did a much better job of getting back on defense and limiting Iowa State’s easy transition buckets. KU actually outscored ISU, 14-12, in fast-break points.
Wayne Selden Jr. hit 7 of 12 shots (5-of-7 from three-point range) and helped KU get the revenge it was looking for by scoring 20 points.
Perry Ellis added 17 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists and Kelly Oubre Jr. scored 16 for the Jayhawks, who shot 51 percent for the game. ISU, meanwhile was led by Georges Niang, who scored 24, but shot just 42 percent from the floor as a team.
Here’s a quick look back at some of the action:
• The game turned when: Selden got red hot. After a bad turnover and lazy run after it during the early moments of the second half, Selden scored eight straight points for KU to help the Jayhawks open up a 49-34 lead five minutes into the second half. That’s where the lead stayed for most of the rest of the way and KU got its revenge.
• Offensive highlight: After trailing for much of the night, the Jayhawks took their first lead since early on behind the strength of a big-time play by freshman point guard Devonté Graham. After picking up an outlet pass following another ISU miss, Graham pushed the ball right to the rim, drew two Iowa State defenders, took a dive after a little bit of contact and kicked a perfect pass to sharp-shooter Brannen Greene on the wing. Greene did the rest by calmly knocking in the open look and KU led 21-20. Seven minutes later, Kansas led 35-28 at halftime.
• Defensive highlight: In terms of the play that drew the biggest response from the crazy Fieldhouse crowd, you’d have to go with Cliff Alexander’s volleyball spike block of a Monte’ Morris layup attempt early in the second half. The block was with full palm and went straight down to the floor and bounced almost to the student section. As far as the most incredible defensive play of the night, we’ll go with a steal by Frank Mason III at the 17:50 mark of the first half. Mason launched himself into the air, stretched out completely and contorted his body to intercept a cross-court pass that ultimately started a KU fast break.
• Key stat: Three-point shooting. KU beat Iowa State at its own game by knocking in 10 of 21 three-pointers (48 percent) compared to 7 of 21 (33 percent) for the Cyclones. Many of ISU’s made threes came in the final few minutes when the Cyclones were desperately trying to catch up.
• Up next: The Jayhawks head back out on the road for a match-up with Oklahoma State at 1 p.m. in Stillwater, Oklahoma. The game will be shown on either ESPN or ESPN2. The last time these two met the Jayhawks topped the Cowboys 67-57 Jan. 13 in Allen Fieldhouse.
— See what people were saying about the Big Monday clash during the KUsports.com live blog.
