Kansas basketball won their second straight exciting Champions Classic game Tuesday. The Jayhawks started fast and found a way to knock off Kentucky 65-61.
Kansas basketball received bad news before the game with # 7 Kentucky. They would play without freshman big man Billy Preston for the second straight regular season game. It didn’t seem to matter early.
The Jayhawks shot the lights out in the season opener on Friday in Allen Fieldhouse and seemed to pick up right where they left off against the ‘Cats. As a matter of fact, I thought they might run away from Kentucky in this one. I was very wrong.
The Jayhawks’ 11-point lead didn’t last long. After some sloppy passes the ‘Cats tied the game at 28 with just over 6 minutes remaining in the first half. They took the lead 33-32 with just over 2 minutes in the opening period. The Jayhawks suffered a significant scoring drought. However, thanks to a big first half rebounding advantage and 7 first half ‘Cat turnovers, KU led at the break..
The Wildcats decided to go after some rebounds to start the second half. They outrebounded the Jayhawks 8-1 in the first 4 minutes of the period. The game went back and forth as different members of Bill Self’s 4th ranked team stepped up to make plays.
Each Jayhawk found a way to contribute
Malik Newman, Marcus Garrett and Svi Mykhailiuk hit big three point shots and played great defense. Svi kept shooting and it paid off. He led the Jayhawks with 17 points and 9 rebounds. Udoka Azubuike crashed the boards and didn’t get his second foul until 7:37 left in the game. Mitch Lightfoot played tough defense and had active hands that kept balls alive.
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Lagerald Vick hustled his way to 6 rebounds that made a big difference in the outcome. Senior leader Devonte Graham struggled the entire game. In the end, the Preseason Big 12 Player of the Year found a way to will his team to victory. Graham’s two big free throws in the final seconds were critical to helping the Jayhawks beat Kentucky for the third straight time.