Kansas basketball: Jayhawks sweep Sunflower Showdown
By Stan Unruh
Kansas basketball took a commanding lead in the Big 12 Conference race Monday. The Jayhawks swept the Sunflower Showdown with a 70-56 win.
The Kansas basketball team showed they can play with a lead again Monday night. They started round two of Monday’s Sunflower Showdown with a 12-zip run. They played with the lead Saturday and in the win over the ‘Cats on Big Monday. The win gives the Jayhawks (at 7-2) a nice cushion in the race for a 14th consecutive conference title.
As a matter of fact, the Jayhawks had many flaws in the first half but played tough. They missed too many free throws and gave up 18 points on 12 first half turnovers. Despite that, the Jayhawks won the rebound battle 23 to 12 to earn a double-digit lead at the break.
The Jayhawk second half started as badly as possible. After shooting 70 percent from the field in the first 20 minutes, they guys wearing those sharp blue trimmed in crimson uniforms couldn’t hit a basket. The ‘Cats made a mini run but just as they did Saturday in the Big 12-SEC Showdown, the purple guys shot poorly.
The Jayhawks didn’t score until Devonte hit a free throw at 14:03 of the second half. Their first field goal didn’t come until Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk hit a three at 12:53 of the half. Svi finished with a team high 22 points and 7 rebounds. Graham finished with a double-double of 16 points and 11 assists. His senior leadership down the stretch made a tremendous impact.
Hall of Fame Coach Bill Self used a zone defense to slow down the ‘Cats. In addition to the great defense effort, Malik Newman contributed in so many ways. He attacked the basket and hustled for a team leading 10 rebounds. Lagerald Vick scored in double figures. Udoka Azubuike only scored 6 points but hit a pair of big free throws.
Next: Jayhawks impressive in Power Index
Although he didn’t score, Mitch Lightfoot may have played the most important role. He provided a defensive spark, collected 5 rebounds, took charges and blocked three shots. Every member of the Jayhawks team contributed to this big win to quiet the fans in Manhattan for another year.