Kansas basketball’s win vs. Iowa State boosts postseason potential
By Dillon Davis
In what could be in many ways a season-changing win, the No. 10-ranked Kansas Jayhawks defeated the No. 20-ranked Iowa State Cyclones in Hilton Coliseum on Tuesday night by a score of 70-61.
Despite being without National Player of the Year candidate and the Big 12’s leading scorer Ochai Agbaji due to COVID protocols and Preseason Big 12 Player of the Year Remy Martin due to injury, the Jayhawks were able to pull out a crucial Big 12 road win to keep them atop the Big 12 standings.
KU came into the season boasting a lot of depth and that depth was put to the test on Tuesday night.
Jalen Coleman-Lands got the start in Agbaji’s absence and poured in two 3-pointers early in the game but didn’t play much at all in the second half.
Drake transfer Joseph Yesefu had his best game of the season as he came off the bench to contribute seven points, five rebounds, four assists, and three steals. It was his highest scoring game of the year since Nov. 28 when he scored nine points against Iona.
Head coach Bill Self called him the player of the game.
That’s a solid 𝙩𝙚𝙖𝙢 win 🙌 pic.twitter.com/6sHXXxMZiu
— Kansas Men’s Basketball (@KUHoops) February 2, 2022
David McCormack stepped up big with 14 points (7-7 from the field) and 14 rebounds, making that his fifth double-double of the season.
Another potential player of the game was Dajuan Harris, who had his best performance of the year as he scored 14 points and added eight assists and four steals.
The game wasn’t pretty as the Jayhawks turned the ball over 22 times, but this was the perfect opportunity for the team to learn how to play without their best player.
The Jayhawks needed other guys to step up with Agbaji out and that’s exactly what happened.
There will be times down the stretch of the season when they will need to again if Agbaji has an off night or an opposing defense tries to shut him down.
This game could also be eye-opening for Self and an important catalyst for the rest of the season as Yesefu made a strong case for more minutes. Perhaps an increase in playing time going forward helps give this team the spark it’s been missing.
This was a great team-building and confidence-building win the Jayhawks needed following their shocking loss to Kentucky and it could pay dividends as the team inches closer to March.