Kansas basketball closes exhibition play with convincing victory over Washburn

The No. 1 ranked Kansas basketball team didn’t display many positive signs during last week’s scrimmage loss against Arkansas. Bill Self knew the Jayhawks had to flip the script heading into their season opener, and they did just that vs. Washburn on Tuesday night.

Despite missing two key players — including All-American center Hunter Dickinson — for the contest, KU still got the job done against the Ichabods. Some big buckets from unexpected contributors propelled Kansas to a decisive 84-53 win. 

Kansas basketball was a much-improved team against Washburn

The Jayhawks took an early lead and never looked back. They ended the first half up 38-22, having made eight 3-pointers and nine assists up to that point. Aside from 10 turnovers, it was a clean 20 minutes of play.

Kansas continued to come out firing in the second half. The defense took its foot off the gas pedal late and gave up some easy buckets, but they still managed a 31-point triumph. 

Coach Self rolled out the same starting lineup as the first scrimmage, with one exception. Northern Illinois transfer David "Diggy" Coit took the place of Zeke Mayo, who struggled on both ends of the floor in his KU debut. The Jayhawk newcomer was a welcome surprise for a team that direly needed an offensive spark last time out.

Coit, who was scoreless and missed all of his shot attempts against the Razorbacks, was KU’s leading scorer on Tuesday. He dropped a game-high 19 points to go along with five 3-point makes.

Alabama transfer Rylan Griffen had missed the previous contest due to a hip flexor strain. However, he made his presence felt in limited action, sinking four threes and scoring 14 points in just 16 minutes. Mayo (16 points) and freshman Flory Bidunga (10 points) were the other Jayhawks to score in double figures. 

Even without Dickinson, Kansas displayed some of its versatility by throwing out unique lineups in its scrimmages. Additionally, the loss to Arkansas gave the newcomers invaluable experience ahead of the regular season. Dickinson and Co. now have a week to heal up until the Jayhawks partake in their first game of the 2024-25 campaign vs. the Howard Bison on Monday.