Kansas basketball: Jalen Wilson shines in win over Kentucky

Kansas basketball pulled out a gritty win over Kentucky last night, and Jalen Wilson was a big reason why.

Last night’s matchup between Kansas basketball and Kentucky wasn’t a shooting clinic. The Jayhawks shot less than 30 percent on the night, while the Wildcats came in at 36 percent. Still, Kansas got the win 65-62, and redshirt freshman Jalen Wilson was a big reason why.

Wilson was 8-16 from the field with 23 points and 10 rebounds. He stepped up big-time in the second half, and it’s safe to say that the Jayhawks would not have won without his performance. The rest of the Kansas roster struggled from the field, going a combined 12-51, or 24 percent.

The bottom line is that Kansas can’t go cold from the field the way they did at the beginning of the game. It took the Jayhawks 12 minutes and 35 seconds to amass double-digit points in the first half, and luckily, Kentucky didn’t put the game out of reach right then and there.

Hopefully, the cold start was an isolated incident and not something that’s going to be a regular occurrence for this team. The Jayhawks will not win games this season shooting less than 30 percent from the field, but the good news is that Kansas will get some “buy games” in the coming days to correct the issues.

The Jayhawks will take on the Washburn Ichabods on Thursday and then face the North Dakota State Bison on Saturday.  Kansas basketball’s next big game will be vs. Creighton on Tuesday, December 8th in the Big 12-Big East challenge. The Bluejays are currently ranked No. 9 in the AP Poll, and they will likely move up after this week. Grabbing a win over Creighton would be a great resume booster for Kansas, especially if the Bluejays go on to win the Big East.

As we continue to delve into this season, it’s exciting to think about how Jalen Wilson will continue to improve. He’s arguably our best pro prospect, and he’s playing like a potential pick in the 2021 NBA Draft.