Kansas basketball picked up a close victory yesterday over Texas Tech, thanks in part to the efforts of Devon Dotson.
In a thrilling 78-75 win over Texas Tech, Kansas basketball picked up their sixth win in a row. Sitting at 7-1 in the Big 12 standings, the Jayhawks still have a great chance to compete for a conference title, especially if Devon Dotson can keep leading Kansas to wins.
Dotson played a full 40 minutes, and he racked up the stats to justify it. The sophomore totaled 21 points, six rebounds, three assists, three steals, and just one turnover against the Red Raiders. It’s arguably his second-best game of the season, only behind his incredible 31 point performance against Dayton in the Maui Invitational.
Sports Illustrated named Dotson as one of its 10 preseason candidates for National Player of the Year, and so far he’s living up to the honor. He’s averaging 18 points per game so far this season, and he also ranks second as of now in the KenPom player of the year ratings (Luke Garza of Iowa is currently in the lead).
The bottom line is that Kansas basketball relies heavily on Dotson and most of the time, he delivers. The Texas Tech game, in particular, showed how Dotson can propel the Jayhawks to victory.
Against the Red Raiders, Udoka Azubuike got in foul trouble fairly early in the game, forcing David McCormack to get quite a few minutes. Azubuike ended up scoring only five points, which easily could have derailed Kansas. If the second-best (arguably the best, in Azubiuke’s case) offensive option on the team has an off night, it normally spells doom for that team. Not Kansas though.
Granted, Dotson had help. Isaiah Moss had a good night scoring 12 points, and Marcus Garrett stepped up too, dropping 15. Let’s keep things real though: this was the Devon Dotson show. If he doesn’t come to play, Kansas easily drops that game and the Jayhawks fall further behind Baylor.
This is an important win for the Jayhawks. They needed a win over one of the better teams in the league, and now we have to hope Baylor hits a snag soon.
It’s a quick turnaround for Kansas basketball this week. They’ll take on Texas in Allen Fieldhouse tomorrow night at 8:00 PM (CT) on ESPN. The Jayhawks have already beaten Texas once this season 66-57, and now they’ll go for the sweep.