In another gut-wrenching home loss highlighted by KU’s inability to finish down the stretch, the Kansas men’s basketball team fell to No. 10 Texas Tech, 78-73 on Saturday at Allen Fieldhouse.
The Jayhawks trailed by 11 at halftime, played a strong second half for 18+ minutes to get back into it and even took a lead, but, with the game tied 73 with 1:47 to play, it was Texas Tech that made all the plays late.
A couple of shots. A couple of stops. And two free throws to ice it.
All of the good effort and energy the Jayhawks put into the second-half comeback was erased by their inability to make plays down the stretch, something that has plagued them for much of the season.
The Jayhawks played well enough to win in a lot of ways and several players really delivered. But the bench gave KU nearly nothing and the defensive effort on the 3-point line and late in the game proved costly and led to the Jayhawks’ third home loss of the season.
It marks the first time since the 2017-18 season that Kansas has dropped three games at Allen Fieldhouse in the same season.
So, now, with two games to play against the top two teams in the Big 12 standings, — Texas Tech (22-7, 13-5) currently sits at No. 3 the Jayhawks will need to regroup quickly, once again, and put this one behind them to try to find a path forward.
KJ Adams called that the blessing and curse of life in the Big 12. And Hunter Dickinson said the Jayhawks would be foolish to dwell too much on this one because of what they have coming up in a little more than 48 hours.
Next up, KU (19-10 overall, 10-8 Big 12) will head out on the road to take on No. 4 Houston on ESPN’s Big Monday. Tipoff is slated for 8 p.m., and there’s no doubt that the Jayhawks will spend a lot of time thinking about and reflecting back on that double-OT loss to Houston in Lawrence a few weeks back.
Here’s a look back at some of the highlights from Saturday’s clash with the Red Raiders.
LIKES
• Rylan Griffen’s mindset – A couple of days ago, KU wing Rylan Griffen talked about why his assists numbers are up in recent games (10 in his last 2) after being nearly non-existent for most of the season. His answer was that he has been attacking hard close-outs off the bounce with much greater intent lately, making opponents pay for running at him on the 3-point line. While that has made him an effective play-maker for others, it also has injected a little confidence into his all-around game, which was on full display in this one. Midway through the second half, Griffen attacked a closeout with a hard drive right that got all the way to the rim for two to tie the game at 63. Prior to that, after pulling and missing a transition 3-pointer during KU’s second-half comeback attempt, Griffen found himself with the ball in his hands at the top of the key on the very next possession and didn’t hesitate to pull the trigger again. He hit that one, to pull the Jayhawks within five, 51-46, with 17:03 to play.
• Big board by Bidunga – Everyone knows that the Jayhawks struggled on the glass in their recent win over Colorad, getting out-rebounded by 17 overall and 18-5 on the offensive glass. So, it makes sense that it would be a point of emphasis for the Jayhawks in this game and any future games they play, as well. But the reason it’s so important goes well beyond just holding your own on the stat sheet. Take freshman forward Flory Bidunga’s offensive rebound midway through the 2nd half as a great example of why. After Griffen misfired on a 3-pointer with KU trailing 58-54, Bidunga got on the glass and came down with the rebound, falling to the floor in the process. Officials said he was fouled on the play and when the dust settled, the foul was given to Texas Tech star JT Toppin, who had 21 points to that point in the game. He sat after the timeout and KU caught a break with him off the floor.
• KJ Adams shines – Even though there was still all kinds of KJ Adams hate on social media after the game, we have to point out that the Jayhawks would’ve lost by 20+ without him on Saturday. Adams was great in this one, finishing with 21 points and 13 rebounds (5 offensive) while giving great effort on both ends for all 37:29 he was on the floor. Adams was 10-for-12 shooting the ball and also hit his only free throw attempt while dishing 3 assists to just one turnover.
• Another strong start – As expected, being back in front of their home fans, the Jayhawks were pretty turned up to open this one. And the production on the court in the game’s first 5 minutes certainly reflected that. KU hit 5 of its first 7 shots, with 2 of those coming off of KJ Adams dunks and another from the first 3-point look that Rylan Griffen saw. One of those misses led directly to an Adams dunk, so just one empty trip on the first 7 for the Jayhawks, who built an 11-5 lead early off of that start.
• Pollard love – During the first media timeout of this one, KU paid tribute to former Jayhawk Scot Pollard, who was in the building Saturday with his wife, just one year after receiving a heart transplant that saved his life. The tribute included a video that explained Pollard’s health scare and why he needed the new heart, complete with photos and videos of his hospital stay and info about the donor who saved Pollard’s life and the lives of four others. After the video, Pollard was introduced to the Allen Fieldhouse crowd, and, after sitting for a minute, he rose to his feet and tipped his cap to the crowd while receiving a standing ovation and loud cheer. Pollard also spun around slowly while on his feet, bowing adoringly to the people cheering for him.
DISLIKES
• 3-point defense – The Red Raiders knocked in 15 3-pointers during Saturday’s victory, including a clip of 10-for-24 in the first half and a much less impressive 5-of-19 mark in the final 20 minutes. But a couple of those five were absolutely massive in the second half and KU coach Bill Self said he thought his team’s 3-point defense was bad throughout, even though the numbers show that it improved in the second half. On the stat sheet, the Jayhawks’ have not shown to be a poor defensive team against the 3-point shot — teams are shooting at or below 30% for the year in both overall games and conference play — but when the wheels have fallen off, they have fallen off four at a time. Saturday was one of those days and the Jayhawks just could not figure out how to guard Tech behind the arc, which led to the Red Raiders outscoring Kansas 45-12 from behind the 3-point line in a game decided by 5 points.
• Starting back-court struggles — Zeke Mayo and Dajuan Harris Jr. combined to shoot 4-for-14 on the day and also turned it over 6 times, with 5 of those coming from Mayo, 6 if you count the airball 3-pointer he shot in the game’s final seconds with KU down three and looking for the tie. Easy enough to say it just wasn’t there day. And maybe Texas Tech had more than a little to do with that. Self said after the loss that he wasn’t worried about either player missing shots. But Mayo’s 1-for-7 clip from the floor on Saturday, including an 0-for-5 mark from 3-point range, certainly was crippling for Kansas in this one.
• Dickinson dinged up? – Midway through the second half, KU big man Hunter Dickinson could be seen holding his right hand/wrist area during timeouts, one time even talking to KU’s trainers while trying to work on the wrist. It didn’t keep him off the floor and it might be nothing, but after the way last season ended, with so many injuries plaguing different Jayhawks, nobody in crimson and blue wants to see anyone on this roster dealing with the same thing again.
WHAT THE?
• Land of the lost lobs – They had it set up perfectly and ran it even better. The only thing that didn’t happen was the finish. Again. This time, however, it was Rylan Griffen and not AJ Storr missed the easy lob finish. The hiccup, which kept Kansas from cutting the Texas Tech lead to three (51-48 with 16 minutes to play) drew an audible groan from the home fans, many of whom have seen that play run and finished with authority for years. It’s been a staple of Bill Self basketball and, while it was just one play in one game, Griffen’s inability to finish the lob — just like Storr’s in the recent past — is a reminder of what Self is working with during this trying and challenging season.
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