Kansas Basketball Postgame: Jayhawks take care of business against Stanford

The Kansas Jayhawks wrapped up their non-conference seasons by defeating a very solid Stanford Cardinal team on the road.

Before today’s game, if I would have told you that Devon Dotson and Udoka Azubuike would only combine for 16 points, you probably would be in fear of a Stanford Cardinal upset win. But despite the struggles from the sensational duo, the Jayhawks were able to take care of business in a dominant fashion.

In the first half, both teams struggled to get anything going offensively. For Stanford, it looked as if there were a literal lid on the rim for the first 10 minutes, and for Kansas, their efficiency scoring the basketball was very reminiscent of last week’s Villanova game.

Kansas jumped out to an early 15-2 lead by the 11:54 mark, but even with that lead, it was visually evident how frustrated Bill Self was with the lack of scoring on the offensive end.

The biggest issue came on the inside. As soon as Azubuike or David McCormack caught the ball on the low post, Stanford immediately doubled them down low. After the double-team came, one of two things would happen: one, the bigs would turn the ball over, or two, the Jayhawks would move the ball around the perimeter to eventually miss a wide-open three-pointer. Kansas got many of the shots that they wanted, but they were simply unable to put the ball through the basket.

This was especially frustrating because of how well the Jayhawks were playing on defense.

The Jayhawks were locked in on that end from the jump, as they held Stanford to just over 20% from the field and forced 10 turnovers.

By halftime, Kansas held a 28-18 lead. In that half, Dotson, Azubuike, and Ochai Agbaji only combined for just 9 points, 13 rebounds, and 7 turnovers. If it wasn’t for a couple of clutch three-pointers from Isaiah Moss and Christian Braun in the final minutes, Kansas could have very easily had only 22 points.

The second half, however, was an entirely different story for Kansas.

The Jayhawks finally found one of their most coveted offensive pieces: Isaiah Moss’s 3-point shot. The 6-5 senior caught fire in the second half, going 3 for 4 from beyond the arc.

Moss’s success from the three-point line really helped the Jayhawks improve their flow offensively. With shots finally going down from the outside, driving lines inevitably opened up. Dotson seized the opportunity and finally started to look like his normal self. Despite the awful start, Dotson finished with 14 points, 4 steals, 4 rebounds, and 2 turnovers.

With things finally going in their favor offensively, the Jayhawks jumped out to a double-digit lead that fluctuated from 15 to 20 points for almost the entirety of the second half.

Stanford flirted with a comeback by getting within 13 points at the nine-minute mark, but every time they found some momentum, Kansas responded with a clutch bucket of their own.

Kansas would go on to win the game by a score of 72-56. Moss led the way with 17 points, followed by Dotson and Ochai Agbaji with 14, and Marcus Garrett with 12.

This game was not pretty, to say the least. Stanford forced Kansas into another awful first-half performance offensively, and they also took Azubuike and McCormack completely out of the game. But at the end of the day, the Jayhawks defeated an NCAA Tournament Team on the road by double-digits. This was a win Bill Self and company desperately needed before Big 12 Conference play.