In the first meeting between two of the nation’s most recognizable college basketball programs in more than 20 years, No. 3-ranked Kansas and No. 11 Indiana delivered an overtime thriller Friday night at the Armed Forces Classic, in Honolulu.
Though both teams entered overtime with a pair of key players — KU’s Devonté Graham and Carlton Bragg and IU’s Thomas Bryant and Robert Johnson — already fouled out, the Hoosiers survived the battle of attrition, winning 103-99 on the season’s opening night.
Indiana out-scored KU 14-10 in the extra five-minute period, with freshman guard Curtis Jones scoring seven of his team’s final nine points, including the game-sealing fast-break slam on a leak-out just after a Mitch Lightfoot tip-in cut the IU lead to two with five seconds to play.
IU junior James Blackmon looked to give the Hoosiers (1-0) the win in regulation, nailing two free throws with 13.1 seconds to play for a two-point advantage. But it only lasted a handful of seconds as Frank Mason III willed his way to the free-throw line with 2.3 seconds left to drain a pair of crucial free throws and tie it at 89.
KU’s veteran backcourt of Mason III and Devonté Graham carried the offensive load in the Jayhawks’ 2016-17 debut.
With less than three minutes left, Mason attacked IU big man Thomas Bryant off a pick-and-roll, got to the rim for an and-one and gave KU a one-point lead shortly after IU led by as many as five points. Just over a minute later, Mason sped through a fast break to foul out Johnson and convert another old-fashioned three-point play.
Shockingly, the next trip down the floor, Mason came through with his third layup-and-foul of the final minutes — though he missed the free throw to leave the game tied at 87 with 40 seconds to play.
The senior’s assertive approach often gave KU’s offense just the punch it needed, and the 5-foot-11 point guard finished with 30 points, nine assists and seven rebounds before fouling out in overtime.
Graham did most of his damage at the free-throw line, going 8-for-9, and contributed 16 points, four rebounds and three assists.
Here’s a quick look back at some of the action:
• The game turned when: Really, this one never went in either team’s favor for very long. Both Kansas and Indiana found ways to counter when their opponent tried to forge a game-changing run. Svi Mykhaiiuk knocked down a couple of three-pointers? Well, that just meant Bryant would dunk twice shortly thereafter and OG Anunoby would get to the free-throw line for some easy points. And so it went throughout the season-opener between two traditional blue blood programs. A Graham three-pointer answered by a Josh Newkirk basket from behind the arc. Johnson scores a layup on one end, Bragg does the same on the other.
For a couple of relatively untested groups, neither played sloppy nor balked when their opponent challenged. KU’s Bill Self and IU’s Tom Crean had their players in mid-December from for the battle between top-15 teams.
• Offensive highlight: Out of a timeout, in the midst of a one-possession game in the second half, Mason knew he could throw a lob up toward the rim for sophomore Lagerald Vick without worrying about the outcome. Coming off screens set by Landen Lucas and Mykhailiuk, the 6-foot-5 Vick soared above the rim with no defenders in sight to throw down an emphatic jam that gave Kansas a 63-60 lead with 11:47 to play.
• Defensive highlight: The swipe itself wasn’t breathtaking but the result made it special. When Anunoby tried to spin his way to the basket against Mason in transition, the smaller guard stayed low to the court to knock the ball loose and Bragg scooped it up. Before IU could retreat, Mason had the ball back with his eyes up and pitched a pass ahead for Mykhailiuk, who only had to take one dribble on his way to an uncontested two-handed jam. The easy hoop off the defensive stop put KU ahead 72-71 with a little more than seven minutes to play.?
• Key stat: Rebounding. Indiana won the battle of the boards, 50-39, and grabbed 18 offensive rebounds, leading to 12 second-chance points and plenty of long defensive possessions for the Jayhawks.
• Up next: The Jayhawks (0-1) travel to New York, where they’ll square off with another blue blood, top-ranked Duke, at Madison Square Garden, on Tuesday.