By AJ Neargarder
A 27-7 run in the final 7:27 was the difference in the first leg of the Dillons Sunflower Showdown in Manhattan. In the absence of Darryn Peterson, multiple Jayhawks stepped up, scoring in the double digits.
The rivalry is one of the longest tenures in the country, but nowadays, the transfer portal dampens them.
“It’s hard for in-state rivalries to mean as much to players in today’s world than it did in the past,” said Kansas head coach Bill Self.
The Jayhawks were able to capture their first win in Manhattan since 2022, when they bested the Wildcats 78-75.
Early on, Kansas poured on pressure with multiple paint points behind different scorers. Despite holding a steady lead, the Jayhawks were losing the rebound battle 7-4.
Going into the first media break, Kansas was leading 9-6, but still struggling on the glass. Offensive rebounds were a problem the Jayhawks were having trouble correcting. 7 ‘2 ” junior Dorin Buca was a threat, creating tons of second-chance points for the Wildcats.
The lead began to slip when the three-point defense began to falter. Andrej Kostic drained three straight from beyond the arc for the Wildcats, tying the game at 19, before Elmarko Jackson drilled a short jumper to give the Jayhawks a two-point lead with 10:12 remaining in the half.
Jackson was commended by his head coach, not for his defense this time, but his efficiency.
“He had 19 points on seven shots and made all his free throws,” Self said. “He was great.”
Entering the final seven minutes of the game, Flory Bidunga went up for a dunk and landed hard on his back after being fouled. He was able to get up on his own power after a brief period on the floor. He missed both free throws to keep the score at 26-22.
After making his fourth triple of the night in only the first half, Kostic forced Self to call a timeout.
“Every time we were in the huddle, we needed three stops,” Jackson said.
Leading by two going into halftime, the Jayhawks looked to pull away to avoid losing for the fourth straight year in Manhattan.
After the first break of the second half, Kansas State head coach Jerome Tang was called for a technical foul. Tre White gave the Jayhawks a 10-point lead by making both free throws.
Jackson gave Kansas another offensive boost with a triple in transition that extended the lead to nine.
The Wildcats were not going away, though, coming within four points before Bidunga drew a foul with 7:26 to play. This led to an 8-0 run by the Jayhawks to give them a 67-55 lead with just five minutes remaining.
Jackson kept up his stellar three-point shooting with another connection from beyond the arc, moving the lead to 16, and iced the game.
The Jayhawks would continue to run down the clock and increase the lead to the final minute. An excited Council Jr. celebrated the win as time expired by doing the Kansas State signature “Wabash Cannonball” which drew a smirk from Self.
Kansas looks on to its next opponent, BYU, where the marquee matchup will be featured on ESPN College Gameday.
“Gameday will make it extra hype,” said Self.
Tipoff is set for 3:30 p.m. and can be watched on ESPN.
This article was edited by sports writing editor Eric Lucio. Contact him at ericlucio12@ku.edu for feedback or errors.