Hawking Points: Kansas Clamps Down on Cincinnati

The Kansas Jayhawks’ game against the Cincinnati Bearcats game wasn’t the most satisfying game to watch, unless you’re a glutton for offensive pain. But it was fast at least (ending in 1:40) and KU got the job done thanks to another big second half, winning 54-40.

Key Plays

It was a rough start for Kansas the first four minutes but it was the outside shot that got them going. Dajuan Harris banked in a three from the top of the key and then after Hunter Dickinson nailed a baseline hook, Zeke Mayo knocked down his first three in transition for an 8-0 KU run.

AJ Storr had a much better start to this game, hitting a nice 15-foot jumper when Kansas desperately needed a bucket. Dickinson scored again and then Harris found KJ Adams for a wide-open alley-oop.

Cincinnati wasn’t called for a foul until 46 seconds left in the half when Storr went backdoor and was fouled at the rim. He hit both to cut the UC lead to one, 25-24. The Jayhawks got a stop and had the last shot, but Harris couldn’t finish a layup through contact.

A Mayo floater was the first basket of the second half and KU’s first lead since 12-10. Shak Moore then got a rare steal and finished at the rim. The offense was rough but the Jayhawks were much more aggressive on the offensive glass, with Adams in particular grabbing three offensive boards.

A quick spurt of offense showed up, with Dickinson and Rylan Griffen hitting back-to-back jumpers. Flory Bidunga drew a rare charge call and it led to Griffen finding Bidunga for a slam and a 36-33 KU lead.

The lack of whistles continued in a physical game but Adams and Moore made it happen with defense turning into offense. Moore got the steal on a tip from Adams and when he missed the layup, Adams was there for the put-back and foul but he missed the free throw.

The game giveth and the game taketh away. Arrinten Page made just his third three of the entire year to put UC up in the second half and a few minutes later he missed a wide-open dunk which turned into a Moore basket. The four-point swing went from KU leading by a single point to being up five. Aziz Bandaogo was called for an offensive foul on the next possession Mayo went hard to the rim, finishing through contact to put KU up 44-37.

Mayo continued making plays, stealing the ball and finding Moore for an alley-oop. Harris knocked down a jumper for the first double-digit lead of the game with 3:08 to go as Cinci called a timeout after a 10-0 run. Mayo was unstoppable down the stretch, scoring and leading the Kansas charge.

Eye-Catching Stat Lines

Kansas only shot 35% from the field in the first half and was just 2-9. The offense didn’t get much better throughout the game until the final five minutes, as Kansas only hit 35% as a team for the game and 9.5% from three (2-21).

But it didn’t matter because KU’s second-half defense is lights out. Cincinnati only scored 15 points in the entire second half, and now the Jayhawks have given up only 51 total points in the last three second halves.

Dickinson got another double-double with 14 points and 12 rebounds, and Mayo was huge late with nine points and six rebounds. Adams had seven rebounds (five offensive) to go with seven points, and Moore had another good game with eight points.

Eye-Covering Moments

What Kansas couldn’t do is turn the ball over and give up offensive rebounds. Cincinnati did both of those early to take a quick six-point lead 8-2. The Bearcats grabbed three offensive boards and forced four turnovers in the first nine minutes.

Kansas went ice cold and the refs didn’t call a single foul over 13 minutes as the Bearcats jumped out to a 21-14 lead.

If you like offense, this was not your game. Nine total points were scored in the first six minutes of the second half, and Cincinnati went more than seven minutes between both halves without a point. And KU was brutally cold from deep making just two of its first 20 attempts.

Takeaways

A friend of mine made a great point in the second half, pointing out that Kansas’ depth is a huge advantage at the end of the game because of freshness. It’s hard not to see this game as a prime example as to why Bill Self made depth such a priority this offseason. Last year’s team lost games like this because they either ran out of gas or didn’t have enough options to draw sparks when others struggled.

Cincinnati was 11th in defensive efficiency coming in, so this was a tough game, and KU did enough to win on the road. That’s what matters as of now.