The Kansas basketball team played one of their worst halves of the season on Saturday when they allowed West Virginia to bury them with a second-half, 22-2 run. The Jayhawks fell out of the Top 25 for the second time this season, and things weren't looking very optimistic.
To make things worse, the undefeated Iowa State Cyclones were next up on the schedule. Iowa State was ranked second in the nation for just the second time in school history, and their 16-game winning streak was the longest ever for the program. Things looked grim for the Jayhawks.
A funny thing happened on Tuesday in the Phog. The Jayhawks played up to their full potential as a team for the first time all year, at least since Darryn Peterson rejoined the starting lineup four games ago.
The box score showed a balanced scoring attack for Kansas against Iowa State
In the eight games Darryn Peterson has played this season, the offense has often looked disjointed and lost. Players have stood around at times, watched Peterson, and seemed content to let him do his thing. This team has looked its most cohesive when Peterson wasn't playing.
Not against Iowa State. Outside the first five or six minutes of the second half against the Cyclones, when the ball was sticking too much in Peterson's hands, KU's offense looked terrific. They had fantastic side-to-side ball movement, and the rest of the players weren't deferring too often to Peterson.
As has been his habit over the years, head coach Bill Self stuck to a short, seven-man rotation. Not counting the last 25 minutes when Self emptied the bench, seven guys played all the minutes. The great part is that those seven players were productive.
Kansas did it with a balanced scoring attack. Four players scored in double digits, and none of the seven scored less than eight. And it wasn't just scoring. Take a look at these numbers:
- Tre White - 19 pts, 10 reb, 3 ast, 1 blk
- Darryn Peterson - 16 pts, 5 reb, 1 ast, 2 stl, 1 blk
- Melvin Council Jr. - 15 pts, 7 reb, 3 ast
- Flory Bidunga - 10 pts, 7 reb, 1 ast, 2 stl, 4 blk
- Bryson Tiller - 8 pts, 4 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl
- Jamari McDowell - 8 pts, 2 reb, 6 ast, 1 blk
- Elmarko Jackson - 8 pts, 1 reb, 2 ast, 4 stl
That is a well-balanced box score! As a team, the Jayhawks had 17 assists and only 9 turnovers. They shot 50 percent from three-range (12-24), and they outrebounded the Cyclones, though only by one.
Jamari McDowell played his best game as a Jayhawk, Elmarko Jackson made several hustle plays, and Tre White was his usual steady self. Peterson, Melvin Council Jr., and Flory Bidunga didn't have their best individual games of the year, but the team did.
This performance is the one KU fans have been waiting for all season. This version looked like a well-oiled machine. If the Jayhawks can continue that level of play, they can be the team everyone hoped they could be.
One interesting aspect of the game is that Kohl Rosario, Jayden Dawson, and Paul Mbiya did not get in the game. Once conference play starts, Self tends to trim his rotation down to seven or eight, based on his trust level.
It's becoming obvious that Rosario, Dawson, and Mbiya aren't in that circle of trust. They all three played a few minutes against West Virginia, but that was mostly because of foul trouble and horrible performances from the other seven.
There are still fourteen Big 12 games left, plus the tournament. It is difficult to play with that few number of players for that long. Hopefully, at least one of those three guys can work their way back into the rotation and take some pressure off those seven.
Still, KU was outstanding against Iowa State, and hopefully they can continue at that level of play and elevate themselves back into the picture for another Big 12 championship.