LAWRENCE, Kan. — As he sat near the court inside Allen Fieldhouse, Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce appeared impressed.
The scene: Kansas men’s basketball led by 10 late in the first half against in-state rival Kansas State on Tuesday night.
After three straight conference losses dating back to their first meeting against K-State, the Jayhawks appeared in complete control.
Jalen Wilson scored 20 points and Dajuan Harris added 18 as the No. 8 Jayhawks halted the conference losing streak, beating No. 7 K-State, 90-78, on Tuesday at Allen Fieldhouse.
KU (18-4, 6-3 Big 12) has now won 17 straight games against Kansas State at Allen Fieldhouse.
Earlier in January, the Jayhawks fell to the Wildcats (18-4, 6-3 Big 12) in an 83-82 overtime contest at Bramlage Coliseum. That result has been a rarity for coach Bill Self, who is now 40-7 against K-State.
Markquis Nowell scored 23 points and Keyontae Johnson added 22 more for the Wildcats, who have lost two straight conference games.
The Jayhawks played with a purpose from the start on Tuesday, a change from recent games that have seen the Jayhawks fall in early deficits.
After being tied early, KU went on a 21-10 run to take an 11-point lead (30-19) with 9:20 left in the first half. The Jayhawks went into the half with a 49-37 lead.
In the second half, the Wildcats would cut the lead to six points (54-48) with 15:53 to play but wouldn’t get closer.
After starting 5-0 in conference play and then losing three straight games, the Jayhawks will look to start another multi-game streak against Iowa State on Saturday at Hilton Coliseum. KU is tied with K-State and Iowa State for second in the conference.
Here are three takeaways from Tuesday’s game...
Kevin McCullar and Dajuan Harris play with aggression
The last time Kansas played K-State, KU guards Harris and Kevin McCullar were hesitant and struggled on offense — combining for three points on 1-for-9 shooting.
This time around, the duo made it a point of emphasis to play with aggression and take open shots from the start.
In the first half, Harris scored six points on 2-for-5 shooting, while McCullar added six points on 1-for-4 shooting. Though the pair only shot a combined 3 for 9 (33%), their willingness to shoot helped spread the floor for KU — the Jayhawks shot 8 for 16 on three-pointers in the half.
Harris and McCullar also put pressure on the Wildcats’ defense when they drove the ball. It led to three trips to the line for the pair. K-State finished with 12 fouls in the first half.
That assertiveness set the tone early for KU.
KU's bench shows signs of life
KU’s bench ranked 346th in the country in bench minutes percentage (21.9) heading into the game … for good reason.
In their last matchup with K-State, the Jayhawks’ bench scored eight total points compared to the Wildcats’ 31. On Tuesday, KU’s bench had 10 more bench points than the Wildcats. KU got 19 points from reserves, compared to nine for KSU.
KU guard Bobby Pettiford led the way with six points on 3-for-4 shooting. After going scoreless in the previous three games, guard Joseph Yesufu had five points, though he shot 1 for 7.
Seldom-used forward Zach Clemence even hit a 3 and finished with five points, while freshman big man Ernest Udeh added three points.
Balanced scoring effort leads the way for KU
At times throughout the season, Kansas has lacked a scorer to step up next to Wilson —including when Wilson dropped a career-high 38 points against K-State in the last meeting.
That wasn’t the case on Tuesday night. The Jayhawks had three scorers finish with double-digit points.
Wilson led the way with 20 points, but the rest of the starters did their part. Harris tied a season-high with 18 points on 7-for-12 shooting from the floor and McCullar added 16 points. Fellow starters Gradey Dick finished with nine points and KJ Adams added eight.
For KU to reach its highest ceiling, Wilson needs support from other players. Otherwise, the offense is too reliant on his play and becomes predictable.
