Jayhawks

LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) &mdash; Dajuan Harris Jr. was willing to acknowledge that Kansas was facing something rare when fifth-ranked and Big 12-leading Texas arrived at Allen Fieldhouse on Monday night: a must-win game.
The defending national champs played like it.
Gradey Dick scored 21 points, Harris had 17 points, six rebounds and five assists, and the ninth-ranked Jayhawks held on after blowing a 14-point first-half lead to beat the Longhorns 88-80 and tighten the league race.
Kevin McCullar Jr. added 16 points, Joseph Yesufu scored 14 off the bench and KJ Adams finished with 10, helping the Jayhawks (19-5, 7-4) overcome an off night from Jalen Wilson. The league&rsquo;s leading scorer at 21.5 points per game battled foul trouble and was held to just two, ending his streak of 25 straight double-figure games.
&ldquo;We knew we had to come in here and get a win,&rdquo; said Dick, who had the Jayhawks&rsquo; only two 3-pointers. &ldquo;The big thing, just in preparation for the week, was coming out with energy. When we do that, we&rsquo;re a scary team.&rdquo;
The Jayhawks needed everyone&rsquo;s help holding off the Longhorns&rsquo; Marcus Carr.
The Minnesota transfer, who had a game-high 29 points, kept answering Kansas baskets down the stretch. His 3-pointer got the Longhorns within 77-68 with 2:25 left, three free throws made it 78-71 with 1:31 to go, and his three-point play got the Longhorns (19-5, 8-3) within 86-80 with 23.5 seconds remaining.
Texas quickly fouled Dick at the other end, and his free throw with 18 seconds left helped to put the game away.
&ldquo;It was as close to a must-win as you could have this early in the season to win the league,&rdquo; Kansas coach Bill Self said. &ldquo;You go down three games with seven left, you&rsquo;d have to win out and get a lot of help from others. Now, we still have as hard a schedule as everybody, but we can kind of control our own destiny where if we play well, we have a shot.&rdquo;
Timmy Allen finished with 18 points for the Longhorns. Sir&rsquo;Jabari Rice had 12 before fouling out.
&ldquo;It was their night tonight in terms of what they got done,&rdquo; Texas interim coach Rodney Terry said.
The Longhorns have made a habit of overcoming double-digit deficits: 18 down to beat TCU, 12 down to beat Texas Tech and 14 down to beat No. 12 Kansas State last Saturday in a game played just down the road.
So it wasn&rsquo;t that surprising when Texas dug another 14-point hole Monday night.
Just like the Longhorns did in Manhattan, though, they began to rally. Texas shook off 10 first-half turnovers to get within 42-35 by the break, then kept coming in the second half. Hunter hit a 3-pointer, Carr added a couple of buckets and it was 43-all when Self called a timeout to slow Texas&rsquo; momentum.
Unlike the Horned Frogs, Red Raiders and Wildcats, the Jayhawks rose to the challenge.
McCullar&rsquo;s three-point play while they were clinging to a 49-48 lead gave them a boost, and Dick added a couple of free throws. But it was back-to-back buckets by Harris, who is known more as a distributor than as a scorer, that pushed the lead to 58-50 with about 12 minutes to go.
Texas closed within 66-60 but, after the Jayhawks pulled down two offensive boards, Dick hit another 3-pointer. And when Yesufu bookended a couple of free throws by Harris, the lead had stretched to 75-62 with 3 minutes to go.
The Jayhawks were able to fend off Carr and the Longhorns from there.
&ldquo;Give those guys credit. They came in and played at a very high level,&rdquo; Terry said, &ldquo;and we knew that would be the case.&rdquo;
BANGED-UP BIRDS
The Jayhawks were missing several backups. Zack Clemence has a hurt knee, Bobby Pettiford Jr. is dealing with a hamstring injury and Zuby Ejiofor a foot injury. Kyle Cuffe Jr. (knee) and Cam Martin (shoulder) also were out.
&ldquo;I thought the bench was great. As good as they&rsquo;ve been all year,&rdquo; Self said. &ldquo;We had nine guys we could put in the game.&rdquo;
BIG PICTURE
Texas has struggled to get off to good starts this season, and it seemed the energy the Longhorns expended climbing back into Monday night&rsquo;s game was missing by the end. Carr tried to carry them but he needed more help.
Kansas got the production it needed from the bench. Yesufu provided the scoring pop but big man Ernest Udeh Jr. and guard MJ Rice, both seldom-used freshmen, also provided important minutes for the Jayhawks.
UP NEXT
Texas heads home after its Sunflower State swing to play West Virginia on Saturday.
Kansas has a two-game trip next with Oklahoma on Saturday and Oklahoma State on Tuesday.

Gradey Dick scored 21, Dajuan Harris Jr. added 17 and the Jayhawks held on after blowing a 14-point first-half lead.

No. 9 Kansas blows lead, then holds off No. 5 Texas, 88-80

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) &mdash; Marcus Carr scored 19 points and made two free throws with 10 seconds left as No. 2 Texas held off No. 7 Creighton&rsquo;s furious late-game rally and beat the Bluejays 72-67 on Thursday night.
Texas led by 11 points in the second half, but Creighton got within three points a few times in the final minutes.
Tyrese Hunter scored 15 points for Texas (6-0), which got its second win over a top 10 opponent in its new arena. The Longhorns beat then-No. 2 Gonzaga on Nov. 16.
Ryan Kalkbrenner had 20 points and 13 rebounds for Creighton (6-2), and Ryan Nembhard scored 17 points. The Bluejays were 4 of 27 on 3-pointers, but found a late shooting touch in the final seconds to stay close.
UTAH 81, NO. 4 ARIZONA 66
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) &mdash; Branden Carlson scored 22 points and Utah handed No. 4 Arizona its first loss of the season in the Pac-12 opener for both teams.
Carlson went 5 of 9 from 3-point range. Rollie Worster had 12 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists for the Utes (6-2), and Gabe Madsen and Ben Carlson scored 11 points apiece.
Oumar Ballo led Arizona (6-1) with 22 points and seven rebounds. Azuolas Tubelis added 20 points for the Wildcats, who trailed wire to wire and didn&rsquo;t resemble the high-flying team that won the Maui Invitational.
The Utes forced 11 turnovers in the first half that they converted into 15 points.
NO. 8 UCONN 74, OKLAHOMA STATE 64
STORRS, Conn. (AP) &mdash; Jordan Hawkins scored a career-high 26 points to lead UConn past Oklahoma State in the Big East-Big 12 Battle.
Adama Sanogo added 20 points and Andre Jackson scored 11 for the Huskies (9-0).
It was the smallest margin of victory for UConn so far this season. The Huskies&rsquo; next closest was an 82-67 win over then-No. 18 Alabama last Friday at the Phil Knight Invitational in Portland, Oregon.
Kalib Boone scored 15 points to lead the Cowboys (5-3). Avery Anderson III added 14.
NO. 9 KANSAS 91, SETON HALL 65
LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) &mdash; Kevin McCullar Jr. returned from an injury to score 17 points and grab 10 rebounds, Jalen Wilson added 15 points and 13 boards, and Kansas rolled past Seton Hall in the big East-Big 12 Battle.
KJ Adams had 11 points, DaJuan Harris Jr. had 10 with seven assists and Ernest Udeh Jr. also scored 10 for the Jayhawks (8-1), who now have more than a week off before visiting bitter rival Missouri for the first time in a decade next Saturday.
Kadary Richmond had 17 points but also turned the ball over seven times for the Pirates (4-4), who were 4 of 19 from the 3-point arc in losing their third straight game. Tyrese Samuel added 16 points.
NO. 21 UCLA 80, STANFORD 66
STANFORD, Calif. (AP) &mdash; Jaime Jaquez Jr. scored 27 points to help UCLA open up Pac-12 play with a win over Stanford.
The Bruins (6-2, 1-0 Pac-12) have won three straight after dropping back-to-back games to No. 6 Baylor and No. 16 Illinois in Las Vegas.
Tyger Campbell had 17 points and was two assists shy of a double-double, while Amari Bailey scored a season high-tying 19 points.
The Cardinal (3-5, 0-1) outscored the Bruins 37-30 in the second half, starting with three straight baskets within 90 seconds from Spencer Jones, who set a season high and led the team with 18 points.&nbsp;

A recap of Thursday night men's college hoops includes a close battle between two top-10 teams in Texas and Creighton.

Carr scores 19 as No. 2 Texas outlasts No. 7 Creighton 72-67

LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) &mdash; Jalen Wilson had 21 points and nine rebounds, Gradey Dick added 12 points, and No. 5 Kansas tuned up for the Champions Classic next week by routing perennial Summit League contender North Dakota State 82-59 on Thursday night.
MJ Rice added 10 points in his college debut, and the Jayhawks (2-0) ramped up the defensive pressure against the Bison (0-2), building a 48-19 lead by halftime and coasting to their Division I-leading 13th consecutive victory.
They did so without coach Bill Self, who along with assistant Kurtis Townsend served the second game of school-imposed four-game suspensions. The penalty, part of the fallout of an FBI investigation into college basketball, also will keep Self from the bench for the Jayhawks&rsquo; showdown against No. 5 Duke on Tuesday night in Indianapolis.
Grant Nelson had 11 points and Boden Skunberg scored 10 for the Bison (0-2).
North Dakota State gave the Jayhawks all they could handle when they met in December 2020 in Allen Fieldhouse, leading for more than 28 minutes only for the Jayhawks to score the final seven points and eke out a four-point win.
It wasn&rsquo;t nearly as close Thursday night.
Wilson got off to a hot start, scoring 17 points in the first half, and Rice provided some additional energy with a high-flying dunk after missing the Jayhawks&rsquo; opening win over Omaha with a back injury earlier in the week.
But it wasn&rsquo;t until Wilson&rsquo;s bucket with about 12 minutes to go that the game got out of hand.
Kansas proceeded to score 10 straight points, highlighted by Rice&rsquo;s ally-oop dunk, and the run stretched to 13-2 on a 3-pointer by Joseph Yesufu. And when the Bison finally got a bucket, Yesufu answered with another 3, triggering another 11-0 run that gave the Jayhawks a 40-16 lead by the under-4 minute media timeout.
The Jayhawks shot 56% from the field in the half, helped along by four ally-oop dunks, while the Bison resorted to shooting desperation 3-pointers late in the shot clock. Twenty of their 28 shots in the first half came from beyond the arc.
The Bison never threatened Kansas in the second half.
THE TAKEAWAY
The Jayhawks were brutally efficient on offense, but they really shined on defense. Texas Tech transfer Kevin McCullar Jr. has lived up to his billing as a perimeter stopper, and KJ Adams Jr. and Ernest Udeh Jr. dominated the paint. On nights when shots aren&rsquo;t falling, the Jayhawks will be able to lean on their defense to keep them in games.
UP NEXT
While the Jayhawks head to Indianapolis to face the Blue Devils in one of the marquee nonconference games of the season, the Bison travel back to Fargo for their home opener against Pacific on Sunday.

Jalen Wilson had 21 points and nine rebounds, Gradey Dick added 12 points, and No. 5 Kansas tuned up for the Champions Classic.

Wilson leads No. 5 Kansas to 82-59 rout of North Dakota St

LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) &mdash; Kansas had a reputation in some corners of college basketball as being a great regular-season team, one that would dominate the Big 12 and win high-profile non-conference games, only to struggle in the postseason.
The Jayhawks squelched all that talk in April.
Leaning on one of the most experienced lineups in the country, Bill Self guided the Jayhawks to the Final Four in New Orleans, where a historic comeback against North Carolina in the championship game allowed them to raise a banner in Allen Fieldhouse for the first time since 2008.
&ldquo;We talk about this all the time, you know, it&rsquo;s much easier to have a great team than a great program,&rdquo; Self said this week, &ldquo;because it&rsquo;s just a snippet of time and things could fall just right for one year, and you want to do it where there&rsquo;s a foundation of consistency that you can, you know, be in the game. And I think we&rsquo;ve done that. But still, though, in order to validate the first one you have to get a second one.&rdquo;
Self paused, smiled, then added: &ldquo;Then maybe to validate a second, you got to get a third one. I don&rsquo;t know.&rdquo;
Whether Self needs another on a resume that has already landed him in the Hall of Fame is up for debate. But regardless, that&rsquo;s exactly what the fifth-ranked Jayhawks are chasing when they open the season in a couple of weeks as defending champs.
&ldquo;You don&rsquo;t remember the first-round losses if you win titles,&rdquo; Self said, &ldquo;so we needed to do that to validate the success that we&rsquo;ve had throughout the course of many, many seasons. ... It certainly felt like a burden was lifted after we won.&rdquo;
The Jayhawks look a whole lot different, and younger, than they did a year ago.
Gone are veterans Ochai Agbaji and Christian Braun, both of them first-round NBA draft picks, along with space-eating big man David McCormack, ballhandler Remy Martin and veteran sharpshooter Jalen Coleman-Lands.
In their place are a bunch of youngsters surrounding Texas Tech transfer Kevin McCullar Jr. and returning starters Dajuan Harris Jr. and Jalen Wilson, making the Jayhawks one of the youngest teams in the country.
As the saying goes at Kansas, though, names and faces may change but the expectations are always the same.
&ldquo;All I want to do is reach that moment again,&rdquo; Wilson said of the title game. &ldquo;Coach talked about how fun it will be, you know, but you don&rsquo;t really understand until you get there. But once you get there, it&rsquo;s like, man, it&rsquo;s the greatest moment of your life. And so I have an opportunity to do it again. Motivates me every single day.&rdquo;
MORE ON MCCULLAR
A handful of players transferred within the Big 12 this past offseason, but perhaps nobody&rsquo;s decision made a bigger impact on two programs than McCullar. The defensive dynamo left a big void at Texas Tech by filling one at Kansas.
&ldquo;This is just the best fit for me, you know? I knew it was time for me (to move on),&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;to grow as a player. The next step in my journey was to compete for Coach Self. It was the best decision for me.&rdquo;
FRESH FACES
The Jayhawks brought in two forwards and two posts in a four-man recruiting class, and Self said all of them will play. The highest profile belongs to Gradey Dick, a 6-foot-7 shooter, while MJ Rice will remind Kansas fans of Wayne Selden. Six-foot-10 center Ernest Udeh Jr. and 6-8 big man Zuby Ejiofor will provide size in the paint.
HEY, I KNOW YOU
Because of their experience last season, the Jayhawks didn&rsquo;t need to rely on their talented 2021 recruiting class. But all four are back after a year in the program. Point guard Bobby Pettiford Jr. and forwards Zach Clemence and K.J. Adams Jr. played sparingly last season while Kyle Cuffe Jr. spent the year as a redshirt.
HEADS UP
The Jayhawks often played through McCormack in the paint last season, but without an established post presence, there&rsquo;s a good chance they will be hoisting up a lot of 3s this season. Even forwards such as Dick and Clemence that have size to guard a center almost prefer to shoot from the outside, and they have the touch to do it consistently.
SCHEDULE SITUATION
Kansas opens Nov. 7 against Omaha and faces North Dakota State before an early showdown with No. 7 Duke in the Champions Classic. The Jayhawks also have nonconference games against No. 13 Indiana and Seton Hall, their first trip in more than a decade to bitter rival Missouri and a trip to No. 4 Kentucky for the Big 12-SEC Challenge.

The Jayhawks look a whole lot different, and younger, than they did a year ago.

No. 5 Kansas out to defend national title with new roster

When I was asked a few months ago about Dinos Trigonis and his Pangos events, I said that it is an absolute necessity for my scouting process, as it gives me the opportunity to get an up-close look at the top high school players in the country. Trigonis does a terrific job putting together showcase events and runs a ton of them now, with the Pangos All-American Camp being the best of them all. I&rsquo;ll be in attendance this year in Las Vegas, and I have the event penciled into my schedule every year.
Not only did I attend the Pangos All-American Camp in June, but I flew to Las Vegas last Sunday morning for the final day of the Pangos All-American Festival to check out Dinos&rsquo; latest showcase event.&nbsp;
It was a quick in-and-out trip for me, but it proved to be fruitful, nonetheless. I was able to get an updated look at some top-rated high school prospects that I already knew like Mookie Cook, Ernest Udeh, Jordan Walsh and Kijani Wright among others. I was also able to see some impressive players that I did not know very well, such as Fabio Basili, Sebastian Mack and Mark Mitchell, just to name a few.
But even though there was an abundance of talent, one player stole the show. Jaxon Kohler of the West team scored 53 points and grabbed 19 rebounds while leading his team to a championship win, and earned MVP honors as a result.
<iframe title="YouTube video player" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/QL067unMc-M" width="100%" height="325" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>
Prior to Sunday, I had seen Kohler play a number of times in the spring with Team Strive for Greatness, which featured Amari Bailey, arguably the top player in the class of 2022. As an NBA Draft Analyst, I naturally prioritized watching Bailey&rsquo;s team when putting together my scouting schedule. As a result, I was able to become familiar with Kohler, who has not been considered a sure-fire NBA player, like Bailey. My initial thoughts about Kohler were that as a 6-foot-9, 250-pound big man, he was a capable low-post scorer, but was slow and lacked overall athleticism. All in all, I thought he was a nice player &mdash; but from an NBA standpoint, he didn&rsquo;t show me anything to write home about. Not until Sunday, that is...
At the Pangos All-American Festival, I began to understand just how polished Kohler is on the offensive end. He showed an uncanny ability to score on the block, utilizing incredible footwork (an unstoppable drop-step spin move, specifically), great hands and a soft touch over either shoulder. When facing up, he regularly used a mechanical pump fake that worked like a charm nearly every time he used it. He also showed promise to be able to knock down an open shot from the outside. In addition to his scoring abilities, he also utilized his size, motor and physicality to rebound at a high rate.
Needless to say, I was impressed.
<iframe title="YouTube video player" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Fgeq42iXXN4" width="100%" height="325" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>
There&rsquo;s a lot to like about Jaxson Kohler as a prospect, but I do still have questions about him as a long-term pro.&nbsp;
The NBA has become increasingly faster and more spread out each year; traditional big men that lack speed and quickness are scrutinized heavily. If and when his time comes, there will undoubtedly be questions circulating among NBA talent evaluators about how well Kohler will translate to the modern-day NBA. The correlation between Kohler&rsquo;s physical development and his long-term success is significant, as strength and conditioning are the keys to him accomplishing his goals, in my opinion. I&rsquo;d suggest that Kohler use Kevin Love and his history with developing and maintaining his body as sources of motivation.
After making stops at Coronado High School in Henderson, Nevada and Wasatch Academy in Mt. Pleasant, Utah, Kohler is set to play at Southern California Academy, in Los Angeles, for his upcoming senior season.&nbsp;
After seeing Kohler&rsquo;s breakout game at the Pangos All-American Festival, one thing is certain, I&rsquo;ll be watching him closely moving forward.

Matt Babcock shares his insights of Jaxon Kohler's performance at the Pangos All-American Festival and his prospects as a pro.