Federico Moreno | @f3demoreno
The No. 2 Kansas Jayhawks took on the Missouri Tigers in Allen Fieldhouse Saturday afternoon. A Kansas-Missouri matchup is always a treat, and just to make it a bit sweeter, Thomas Robinson would have his jersey retired at half-time.
Nick Honor gave the Tigers their first ever lead with a deep three pointer that marked Missouri’s first points of the game. Aidan Shaw would follow up with a putback dunk to extend the lead to 5-2.
Kansas struggled on the offensive end, despite the chants from another sold out crowd inside Allen Fieldhouse.
Kevin McCullar missed a couple early layups, and finally got on the board after a putback from his fourth missed shot.
Missouri continued to score early and take advantage of the Jayhawk’s scoring struggles. With constant substitutions, the Tigers were getting a balanced attack on both ends of the floor.
A three-pointer from Tamar Bates gave Mizzouri a 15-6 lead with 12:43 to go in the first half.
Kansas head coach Bill Self called a time-out right after the shot, with his team struggling to find rythym. The Jayhawks had only made one shot in their previous seven attempts when the timeout was called.
Great defensive rotations from Missouri held Kansas to eight points with 10:32 remaining in the first half.
A concerned Allen Fieldhouse watched as the bitter rival held control of the game.
An alley-oop from DaJuan Harris to Kevin McCullar started to get the crown engaged again. On the following possessions, Sean East and Nick Timberlake exchanged three-pointers, cutting the Missouri lead to 20-15.
Just as the Jayhawks cut the lead to three, a three pointer from Nick Honor doubled it back up to 25-19. For every shot Kansas threw, Missouri had a response, and more.
Back-to-back baskets from within the paint from KJ Adams and Kevin McCullar cut the Missouri lead to 27-25
A couple of plays later, McCullar drove into the paint from the left and found Elmarko Jackson for a three pointer on the opposite corner. Jackson connected on the three with a foul, giving the Jayhawks their first lead of the game since the 18:57 mark. Kansas earned a 31-29 advantage.
Kansas finished scoring the final 14 points of the first half. A foul on Kevin McCullar’s three point shot with time expiring in the half sent him to the charity strike for three free throws. McCullar sunk all three and but Kansas ahead 41-29 by the end of the half.
During the half, former KJHK sports director and current voice of the Jayhawks, Brian Hanni commenced the ceremony honoring Thomas Robinson
Kansas carried their hot streak into the second half, where it was clear that they had found their rhythm on both the offensive and defensive ends.
An emphatic KJ Adams chasedown block on Anthony Robinson stepped up the intensity inside Allen Fieldhouse as the crowd reached one of its peak roars.
The Jayhawks built a 54-36 lead midway through the second half.
Sustained Missouri rams began to close in on Kansas’ lead. Back to back Connor Vanover buckets, a Nick Honor three, along with some team efforts brought the Tigers to within single-digits.
Dajuan Harris fed Hunter Dickinson for back-to-back paint buckets to give Kansas a 63-50 lead with 4:27 left in the second half.
Kansas kept a comfortable lead throuhgtout the rest of the game. Missouri guard Nick Honor found a cutting Sean East II to cut the lead back to eight with less than two minutes to go in the game.
The Tigers resorted to fouling during Kansas’ offensive possessions the rest of the game, hoping some misses for a possibly comeback.
Kansas would go on to shoot ten free throws in the final 2:13 on the game, connecting on nine.
The Jayhawks secured a 73-64 victory against the Missouri Tigers and will look ahead to their matchup against Indiana next Saturday.
Federico Moreno and Gabe Daniel will be on the call for KJHK 90.7 FM from Bloomington. Coverage begins at 11:00.
Photo courtesy of Dylan Shah, UDK