Hawking Points: Kansas Defeats UCONN 69-65 in Epic Matchup

The Jayhawks now have three wins against top 12 teams in KenPom.

Anticipation was building all week and paid off in a big way Friday night. Allen Fieldhouse was as electric as it's been in recent years as the Kansas Jayhawks secured a massive victory over No. 4 UCONN 69-65, snapping the Huskies’ win streak that went back to the NCAA Tournament last year.

Key Plays

Kansas made it a priority early to attack the boards and get to the line. The first four points of the game came on four Kevin McCullar free-throws. The Kansas defense hounded the Huskies, forcing late shot-clock attempts over and over again, never letting UCONN look comfortable. Dajun Harris hit a three to go up 9-5 and then got a steal and a Hunter Dickinson layup forced Dan Hurley to call a timeout down 11-5.

The timeout didn’t help the huskies. They did not look ready for pressure. McCullar finished over Donovan Clingan and then Dickinson drained a three to go up 16-5. Trieren Newton was the only one keeping it close, scoring all eight points on tough shots. Dickinson answered with his second three (and eighth point) to go up 19-8.

UCONN got incredibly fortunate with hot three-point shooting late in the shot clock to keep it within single digits. Then a missed switch left Alex Karajan wide open for three to cut the Jayhawk lead to five. But Johnny Furphy immediately answered with a three of his own. Kansas played its best offense of the year in the first half, moving the ball, not turning it over, and getting good looks at the basket.

Newton’s three-point heroics and some questionable fouls on UCONN threes made this competitive as McCullar, Dickinson, and Adams dominated down low. The struggle came with Harris’ finishing at the basket. Kansas had the final shot of the half and Harris missed a floater to keep it at 38-31 going into the break.

Kansas was cold to start the half as UCONN got the first five points. Meanwhile, the whistles grew more frequent as the chippiness intensified. Dickinson got the scoring started three minutes into the half with a shot in the paint and McCullar hit two free throws to get KU back up six. It was back and forth for the first eight minutes or so. Two Huskies layups cut it to two, but then Adams slammed a dunk home, before Cam Spencer hit a floater. Elmarko Jackson hit a jumper as Hurley threw a fit on the sideline and then Newton got to the basket to go down 46-44 with 12 to play.

Newton hit a fadeaway three at the shot-clock buzzer to give UCONN its first lead of the game at 47-46. Adams then went to the line on the next possession and sunk one to tie it. Newton then hit another three. The Huskies lead got to five when Furphy hit another three with eight to play.

Down four with 7:30, Jason Sudeikis – who was in attendance with UCONN legend Sue Bird for her show Sue’s Places – jumped on the drums with the Kansas pep band during the under-eight media timeout and it sparked a quick five points for KU on an Adams floater and Mcculalr three to go up 55-54. Then McCullar hit a second triple after a UCONN turnover to make it 58-54. Next, it was Dickinson who buried a three and nearly busted the roof off the Fieldhouse with the crowd reaction.

UCONN fought back and cut it to four when Alex Karaban fouled out. But Adams missed the front end and Dickinson fouled Clingan, who missed his first and made the second to make it 63-60 with 90 seconds left. The Huskies went zone and McCullar buried a three with a minute left to put KU up six. Newton drew McCullar into a foul on a three on the next possession and hit all three from the charity stripe. UCONN pressed and Jackson threw the ball away in a one-possession game, but then Jackson immediately made up for it by knocking the ball off a Husky to give KU the ball with 38 seconds left.

UConn fouled Adams with 28 seconds left and he made the second to put KU up four. Newton immediately drove coast to coast for a layup. Harris drew a foul with 16.8 and missed them both. Spencer got a good look from three but missed and Adams rebounded and went to the line with 1.4 and then buried two free throws to ice it.

Eye-Catching Stat Lines

Kansas didn’t take many threes, but when they did, good things usually happened. The Jayhawks went 9-14 from deep, led by Dickinson and McCullar, who each hit three. Overall, KU shot 50% from the field and held UCONN – one of the best two-point shooting teams in the nation – to just 39% from inside the arc. UCONN hit 11 threes on 28 attempts.

McCullar led all Jayhawks with 21 points to go with five rebounds, and Dickinson was a rebound away from a double-double with 15 points and nine boards (and four blocks). But it was Adams who stole the show with a stat line of18 points, five rebounds, two assists, one steal, and two blocks. And the big man who struggled from the line was clutch when it mattered and went 6-9 for the night in an emotional game with him flying to his mother’s funeral afterward.

Kansas also corrected its turnover woes for the most part, only turning it over eight times, while forcing eight UCONN turnovers. And KU was better from the line, hitting 14-20 while the Huskies went just 8-15.

Areas of Improvement

There really wasn’t that much to focus on this game. Yes, the first eight minutes of the second half were not great by any means, especially offensively, but the Huskies are one of the best teams KU will face all year. The Jayhawks rebounded, took care of the ball, and shot free throws better than it had most of the season.

If anything, it’s that the bench didn’t give KU anything outside of Furphy. Parker Braun and Nick TImberlake each played just two minutes and didn’t record a point.

Takeaways

What a difference from Tuesday. After a lackadaisical performance against Eastern Illinois that had fans questioning this team, KU played with an energy it hadn’t shown all year and really cleaned up some issues. This team is absolutely still a work in progress, but the Jayhawks now have three wins against teams in the top 12 in KenPom, which no one else can say.