Postgame Report Card: Kansas 83, Iowa State 78

By Matt Tait     Jan 9, 2018

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Kansas center Udoka Azubuike (35) rejects a shot from Iowa State guard Lindell Wigginton (5) during the first half, Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2018 at Allen Fieldhouse.

Quick grades for five aspects of KU’s 83-78 victory over Iowa State Tuesday night at Allen Fieldhouse.

Offense: B+
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Eighty-three points and 14 3-pointers will get you an A grade on most nights. But the fact that the Jayhawks fell in love with the 3-point shot in this one brings this one down to the B range. Part of the heavy reliance on 3-point shooting is not the fault of the guards. Udoka Azubuike has to do a better job of getting position and being ready to catch and go to work. He’s still not there. And when that breaks down the Jayhawks have to find another way. Tonight it was via the 3-point shot. In the future it can be a better mix of 3-pointers and trips to the free throw line. KU made just 5-of-13 from the line in this one, with Azubuike finishing 1-of-4 by himself.

Defense: C-
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Iowa State does not shoot it well and is not a great rebounding team, but did both very well against the Jayhawks. ISU’s 40.7 clip from 3-point range was its best in eight games and the Cyclones out-rebounded their opponent (44-34) for just the fifth time in their last nine games.

Frontcourt: C-
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Udoka Azubuike attempted just five shots and only one was anything other than an easy dunk. Not the kind of night KU needs from its lone big man. On top of that, he added six rebounds and a much-improved block total of four to give KU just enough inside. He still must play better on both ends for this team to take another step forward.

Backcourt: A
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Devonte’ Graham’s 11 points, nine assist and four steals in 37 minutes brought me back to his early-season efforts, when scoring was not as important as getting others going. He was terrific in that area. And Malik Newman and Svi Mykhailiuk combined to hit 11 of 22 3-point attempts on a night when Kansas needed every one of them.

Bench: A
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Any time one player scores 27 points and adds eight rebounds in 34 productive and aggressive minutes, the bench grade is going to be pretty good. Even if Malik Newman did start the second half — Self said that was based more on Marcus Garrett’s struggles to plug in during the first half as opposed to anything Newman did — he still counts as bench points in this one because he did not start the game. And he gave the Jayhawks all they needed and then some. Mitch Lightfoot’s lone bright spot also proved important, as he picked up another well-time, off-the-ball block.

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Written By Matt Tait

A native of Colorado, Matt moved to Lawrence in 1988 and has been in town ever since. He graduated from Lawrence High in 1996 and the University of Kansas in 2000 with a degree in Journalism. After covering KU sports for the University Daily Kansan and Rivals.com, Matt joined the World Company (and later Ogden Publications) in 2001 and has held several positions with the paper and KUsports.com in the past 20+ years. He became the Journal-World Sports Editor in 2018. Throughout his career, Matt has won several local and national awards from both the Associated Press Sports Editors and the Kansas Press Association. In 2021, he was named the Kansas Sportswriter of the Year by the National Sports Media Association. Matt lives in Lawrence with his wife, Allison, and two daughters, Kate and Molly. When he's not covering KU sports, he likes to spend his time playing basketball and golf, listening to and writing music and traveling the world with friends and family.