There were a hundred reasons why No. 9 Kansas got right back into the thick of the Big 12 Conference race with an 88-80 win over No. 5 Texas at Allen Fieldhouse on Monday night.
But the one that best summarized all of them came with four minutes to play in an every-possession-matters sprint to the finish of yet another classic Big 12 battle.
After a Texas miss in the paint, the Jayhawks came racing out in transition, with Dajuan Harris Jr. catching the ball just in front of the half-court line. With little room for error and absolutely no hesitation, Harris zipped a bounce-pass to a streaking Joe Yesufu, who caught it and rose to the rim all in one motion.
The two-handed flush put the Jayhawks up 71-60 and sent the crowd into a frenzy. But that wasn’t all. It also sent the usually reserved Yesufu into a celebration unlike many we’ve seen from the former Drake guard since he came to Kansas.
“That reminded me of the NCAA Tournament two years ago,” Kansas coach Bill Self said after the victory. “He was so aggressive and so good and so athletic. And I’m really happy for him, because he’s labored most of the year.”
Added Harris: “Joe’s one of the best scorers on our team,” Harris said. “And we tell him every day — coach tells him — to be aggressive. We need that out of him.”
After a quick pull-up on the rim to finish the play with added style, Yesufu pointed to the KU bench and screamed aloud as he landed.
KU freshman Gradey Dick insisted that the Jayhawks see those types of plays from Yesufu every day. Well, almost.
“I see the dunks,” Dick said. “But the extra? That was a little cherry on top.”
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PHOTO GALLERY: Kansas vs. Texas
Box score: Kansas 88, Texas 80
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It was that kind of energy, effort and intensity that allowed the Jayhawks to bounce back from a Saturday performance that was the polar opposite of Monday’s high-energy and wildly entertaining win that gave the Jayhawks their 40th consecutive Big Monday win at home.
Kansas scored 50 points in the paint and attempted 34 layups, while shooting just 2-of-10 from 3-point range and 22-of-28 at the free throw line.
Yesufu finished with 14 and five rebounds in 19 minutes and played a huge role in forcing the issue for the Jayhawks, who started in attack mode and stayed there for all but just a couple of minutes.
“That’s what I used to be,” Yesufu said of his aggressive and attacking style on Monday night. “I’m trying to be better.”
The fact that Monday’s victory came with Jalen Wilson, the Big 12’s leading scorer and by far this team’s leader, scoring just two points on 1-of-7 shooting in 27 foul-plagued minutes merely underscored how everyone in the Kansas lineup upped his game to pick up the biggest win of the season to date.
“The bench was great,” Self said. “As good as they’ve been all year.”
Asked after the victory if he would have thought Kansas could put up 88 with Wilson and his 21-points-per-game average netting just one basket, Self smile and said, “Probably not. You know, anything’s possible, but I would say probably not.”
Five of the eight Jayhawks who played reached double figures in scoring, with Gradey Dick (21), Harris (17) and Kevin McCullar Jr. (16) combining to shoot 18-of-34 in the victory. KJ Adams also added 10 points, including several key tone-setting buckets.
With seven games still to play, KU (19-5 overall, 7-4 Big 12) trails Texas (19-5, 8-3) by just a game in the standings. It may be worth noting that the two teams will play again in Austin, Texas on the final Saturday of the regular season.
The Jayhawks outscored UT 24-8 in fastbreak points, 19-10 in second-chance points and 50-42 in the paint.
There was no questioning Kansas’ effort and intensity in the opening minutes. KU stormed out to a 6-0 lead by simply playing harder and with more urgency than the five players in burnt orange.
That showed up in transition, whereAdams and Dick got easy baskets that ignited the crowd and had to feel pretty good after how difficult everything was on Saturday at Iowa State.
And junior point guard Harris started the parade of tough takes to the rim on the game’s first possession, dusting UT guard Tyrese Hunter on his way to an easy layup. Harris got another one a few minutes later, after watching teammates Dick and McCullar drive with their heads up and won’t-be-stopped demeanor, determined to get their shoulders by their defenders before even thinking about slowing down.
That led to several easy baskets and a handful of old-fashioned three-point plays, as well.
Both Harris and Dick said after the game that the early signs of life were simply a byproduct of the Jayhawks bringing energy to the floor.
“Everybody knew this was a must-win,” Harris said.
Added Dick: “We knew that we had to come in here and get a win. I think the biggest thing was just coming out with energy. Because, when we do that, we’re a scary team. We showed that tonight.”
Despite everything going against the Longhorns in the early going, a 3-pointer by Sir’Jabari Rice with just over 15 minutes to play in the first half cut the Kansas lead that once seemed like 50-0 to a single point at 10-9.
Rice later tied the game at 12 with an and-one basket with 14:30 to play in the first half and the game essentially started over from there. That worked out for the Jayhawks, who responded to that stretch with one that was nearly as impressive as the one they opened the game with.
At first, KU pushed out a 13-2 run, with five different Jayhawks scoring during the stretch. That run later turned into an 18-4 surge after Ernest Udeh Jr.’s offensive rebound and put-back and a silky-smooth step-back 3-pointer by Dick on the left wing that gave Kansas a 30-16 lead. Timeout Texas.
Kansas outscored Texas 11-0 in fastbreak points in the first half and 28-18 in points in the paint during the first 20 minutes.
The Longhorns finished with a 19-12 edge the rest of the half and trailed by just seven (42-35) at halftime after falling behind by as many as 14 at one point in the first half.
From there, it took the Longhorns just 2:44 of game time to tie the game in the second half. Texas opened the second half with the same kind of surge that Kansas opened the game with, ripping off an 8-1 run to tie things at 43 and force Kansas to call timeout.
“After that, it became a game again and we were pretty good,” said Self, whose Kansas teams are now 22-9 all-time against opponents ranked in the Top 5 of the Associated Press poll.
That stretch, coupled with the end of the first half, pushed Texas’ run to 27-13 since Dick’s 3-pointer that put the Jayhawks ahead by 14 with 8:54 to play in the first half.
Even with McCullar and Wilson on the bench with three fouls, the Jayhawks responded, first with six straight KU points by Adams and then with a 6-0 run that featured back-to-back layups in transition by Harris.
The second, which came after one of his four steals, pushed the Jayhawks’ lead to 58-50 and forced UT to call timeout with 12:14 to play.
KU twice had a chance to go up 10, but a lob intended for MJ Rice sailed a hair high and Wilson’s turnover in transition led to a layup by Texas’ Dillon Mitchell on the other end.
Dick’s 3-pointer from the deep corner after two offensive rebounds by Kansas put the Jayhawks up 69-60 with 5:30 to play and appeared to give the home crowd that final jolt and the belief that this team, flaws and all, still can accomplish all of its goals in the next couple of months.
“(Monday’s game) was as close to a must-win as you can have this early in the season to win the league,” Self said. “If you go down three games with seven left, you’d have to win out and get a lot of help from others. Now, at least we can kind of control our own destiny. But there’s still so much ball left to be played.”
Kansas returns to action at noon on Saturday, when the Jayhawks will take on Oklahoma in Norman before returning to the Sooner State next Tuesday for a road game at Oklahoma State.