In what was widely considered the Jayhawks’ biggest game of the year, No. 8 Kansas led for 38-plus minutes in an emphatic 78-65 win over No. 4 Houston on Saturday in Allen Fieldhouse. The game was a reminder that the Big 12 Conference still runs through Lawrence until further notice.
Much like in the nonconference matchup against UConn in December, the Jayhawks fed off a fired-up crowd to jump out to a commanding lead. They knocked down multiple 3-pointers, often on open kick-out passes against Houston’s hard-hedge ball-screen defense.
On the defensive end, Kansas (18-4, 6-3 Big 12) collected nearly every miss and held Houston (19-3, 6-3) to just one rebound in the first nine minutes of action. The Cougars came into the matchup with the fifth-best offensive rebound rate in the country.
It all culminated in an early double-digit lead for the Jayhawks, who led by as many as 16 in the first half. The Cougars never cut it to single digits after that.
But the real story was how good KU’s offense looked against what is considered the top-ranked defense in the sport. Kansas attacked the rim as much as it wanted against Houston, or it got clean looks from long range off a double team.
Johnny Furphy sliced up Houston’s defense the most — especially early on — and even went on a solo 7-0 run at one point in the first half to help remove any doubt about the outcome. He finished with 17 points on 6-of-7 shooting, as Kansas improved to 5-2 since he was promoted to starter in January.
Hunter Dickinson led the Jayhawks with 20 points on 9-of-15 shooting to go along with eight rebounds and four assists. Kevin McCullar Jr. (17) and KJ Adams Jr. (10) both finished in double figures for Kansas as well.
KU’s total offensive output marked the most points Houston has given up all year. The only other time the Cougars have surrendered 70-plus points in a game was last time out against the Texas Longhorns, and overtime was needed for that performance.
Kansas will travel to Kansas State on Monday for the Sunflower Showdown. Tipoff is slated for 8 p.m.
