After being in a lull for much of the second half, Kansas cut the deficit to three with an Elmarko Jackson layup. However the Jayhawks, like they did for most of the second half, failed to score and UConn secured a 61-56 win at Allen Fieldhouse on Tuesday night.
Kansas made just five field goals in the second half. Its best offense came from the free-throw line, with 12 of 23 points in the second half coming from the line. The Jayhawks endured multiple extended droughts without field goals, struggling to generate offense without
Darryn Peterson
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Melvin Council Jr., Elmarko Jackson, and Flory Bidunga all finished in double figures, but none of them scored more than 12. The Jayhawks shot 35% from the floor and made just five of 18 threes.
Despite a rough day from behind the arc, Alex Karaban came up clutch down the stretch. He scored nine of his 11 points in the second half, including a layup to put the Huskies up five with under two minutes left. Solo Ball and freshman Braylon Mullins each scored 17 to pace UConn’s offense.
First half: Kansas takes lead into halftime after sloppy start
Kansas got out to a sloppy start offensively, but it hung with UConn thanks to a strong defensive effort. The Jayhawks switched everything against the Huskies’ motion and pressured the ball well. However, they turned it over three times, and Solo Ball hit a second chance three.
Ball scored the first seven points for UConn. Kansas scored its first three buckets in the paint, with things tied at 7-7 at the game’s first media timeout.
The Jayhawks built on their hot start as Jamari McDowell got hot from three. He knocked his first triple down in rhythm, then made a third-chance three after Flory Bidunga missed twice but kept the ball alive. Tre White created space for a mid-range, then got to the line as Kansas took a 17-13 lead.
Braylon Mullins hit a three to cut Kansas’ lead to one, but then Elmarko Jackson caught fire. He scored eight straight for the Jayhawks, hitting two threes and driving to the rim for a layup. Jackson’s second three put the Jayhawks’ lead at 27-19, then they forced a shot clock violation to ignite the crowd.
Mullins sparked UConn as the Huskies came right back. He scored a second-chance layup, then made his second three as part of a 7-0 run to draw UConn within one, 27-26.
Eric Reibe picked up his second foul with 4:57 to play, testing the Huskies’ front court depth without Tarris Reed Jr. UConn had two 6-foot-8 players on Bidunga and Bryson Tiller, and Melvin Council Jr. went right to Bidunga for a lob.
UConn went scoreless for over 3:30 before Ball broke the drought with a three. Kansas failed to capitalize, missing six straight shots and heading into halftime with a 33-29 lead.
Second half: Jayhawks’ offense hits lull throughout second half
Reibe was impactful when he returned to the floor, scoring a pair of layups. Council knocked down two free throws after a steal, while Kansas held UConn scoreless for two minutes. The Jayhawks led 39-33 at the under-16 in the second half.
The Huskies hung around as Kansas struggled to generate offense. Mullins cut the deficit to four with a three, while the Jayhawks’ best offense was forcing turnovers and getting to the free-throw line.
Kansas didn’t make a field goal for over six minutes, and Alex Karaban made his first three of the game to cut UConn’s defcit to three. Karaban scored four more to give the Huskies a 45-44 lead, their first since it was 9-7.
The Jayhawks went on another long field-goal drought, going over four minutes without a bucket. They played good first-shot defense, but Silas Demary Jr. got on the glass for a second-chance bucket. Ball hit back-to-back tough buckets, including a heavily contested three to push UConn’s lead to 55-49 with 5:33 to play.
Kansas and the Jayhawk faithful finally broke out of their lull. Bidunga threw down a monster lob, then Council rattled home a three to bring Kansas within one. The crowd came back to life as Dan Hurley called a timeout with 4:28 to play.
Both defenses locked in, but Reibe and Karaban got free for layups to push UConn’s lead to 59-54 with 1:52 to play. Kansas struggled to get over the hump after Council’s three, going scoreless for nearly three minutes.
Jackson pulled the Jayhawks within three with a minute to play, converting a tough layup through contact. Kansas got the stop it needed, giving it a chance at a tie with 23.2 seconds left. However, McDowell missed a look at the rim, and UConn iced the game from the free throw line.
