Following the disappointing upset loss to Dayton, Kansas basketball got back in the win column against Rick Pitino and the Iona Gaels in the ESPN Events Invitational.
The Jayhawks desperately needed this win to build back some positive momentum and were able to walk away with a 96-83 win, improving to 5-1 on the season.
Never trailing in the game, Kansas jumped out to a 23-point lead in the first half and led by 15 at half. However, the Jayhawks were never able to comfortably pull away, only maintaining a 10-15-point lead.
Defensively, Kansas did enough to win, forcing 18 turnovers and converting those into 33 points. Though, there is still concern as Iona shot 26-50 (52%) from the field and 11-22 (50%) from three to score 83 points, 52 of those coming in the second half.
In his postgame radio interview, Coach Bill Self said:
"“I don’t know if I’ve ever had a team defend worse since I’ve been here. This is a poor defensive team right now. Our defense plays to the score. That’s natural to do that, you have a big lead and your defense plays to the score.”"
KU has a long way to go on the defensive end if it wants to cut down the nets in April.
On the offensive end, Kansas looked strong shooting 39-71 (54.9%) in a 96-point performance. Christian Braun led the way with 18 points in a very solid showing from the junior guard.
11 different Jayhawks on the board to secure the dub today 👊 pic.twitter.com/5k9R6L6aBb
— Kansas Men’s Basketball (@KUHoops) November 28, 2021
Also reaching double figures were Ochai Agbaji (17), David McCormack (13), Remy Martin (11), and Mitch Lightfoot (10). Joseph Yesufu added a nice spark off the bench scoring nine points on 4-6 shooting in 12 minutes.
The most noticeable offensive weakness was once again the free throw line, shooting an abysmal 12-19 (63.2%) from the line. The Jayhawks must improve in that area if they want to compete with the best teams in college basketball.
Overall, Kansas played well enough to get this much needed win, but the Jayhawks are far from playing to their potential and to their lofty preseason expectations.
The Jayhawks resume play at 6 p.m. CST Friday, Dec. 3, on the road at St. John’s.