Kansas basketball picks up a great win against the Tennessee Volunteers
Kansas basketball won a hard-fought game today over the Tennessee Volunteers in a wild Allen Fieldhouse environment.
Since the brawl, the Jayhawks have been getting almost nonstop media coverage. The game today almost seemed to take a back seat to what happened last Tuesday, but the Jayhawks showed up and played their game. With no David McCormack or Silvio De Sousa, Kansas basketball picked up a great win today over the Tennessee Volunteers.
Udoka Azubuike, while not the high scorer, took over and led the Jayhawks to a victory. The big man scored 18 points on 86 percent shooting, pulled down 11 rebounds, and also blocked four shots. Azubuike was limited due to picking up two early fouls, but he still made the difference late in the game.
After the game, Tennessee head coach Rick Barnes commented on Azubuike:
"“He’ll put you and the ball through the rim.” – Rick Barnes via Wes Rucker"
Devon Dotson dazzled as usual scoring a team-high 22 points on 8-of-16 shooting. He also made plays today as a distributor, picking up seven assists. A lot of those dimes went to Ochai Agbaji, who dropped in 16 points of his own.
Despite holding the Vols under 70 points, Kansas struggled to stop Yves Pons. The junior scored 24 points and also grabbed seven boards. It was an incredible performance, and it was witnessed by some Kansas legends, and one Tennessee legend too.
To everyone’s surprise, former Tennessee quarterback and NFL great Peyton Manning was in attendance cheering on his alma mater. Also in attendance were three Kansas basketball greats, Sherron Collins, Sasha Kaun, and Tyrel Reed. All three were on the 2008 national championship squad.
Too bad the game was dominated by the officials, rather than the players.
Maybe it had something to do with the brawl last week, or maybe it was just a coincidence, but this crew wasn’t the best. The game had no flow, and things that weren’t fouls were fouls and plays that were obviously fouls were ignored. That goes for both teams too, and the flagrant foul on Olivier Nkamhoua in particular.
Hoops recruiting. Bryce Thompson chosen as McDonald’s All American. light
Kansas basketball will only have one more game until they get David McCormack back from suspension. The return of McCormack will be huge in allowing Azubuike to get more breaks, and also not play so cautious on defense to avoid fouling out.
The Jayhawks will face the Oklahoma State Cowboys this Monday on the road. The game is set to tip at 8:00 PM (CT) on ESPN.