Locked On Jayhawks - Daily Podcast On Kansas Jayhawks Football & Basketball - RECAP: #2 Kansas Jayhawks Win Weird Game 88-69 Against UMKC Roos Behind Late Run

Starting point is 00:00:00 On today's Locked on Jayhawks, Kansas beats UMKC 88-69. We recap the action that got a little too close to comfort at the end, but a strong finish for KU on this episode of Locked on Jayhawks. You are Locked on Jayhawks, your daily podcast on the Kansas Jayhawks. Part of the Locked on Podcast Network, your team every day. Every day we are free and available anywhere that you get your podcasts. You can also find us on our YouTube page where you can like and subscribe to the show. On today's edition of Locked on Jayhawks, we're talking KU against Kansas City, UMKC, whatever you want to call them. Recap of the game is KU wins 88 to 69.

Starting point is 00:00:58 We'll get into our recap of the game, our goats of the game, good and bad, and what's next for KU men's basketball to finish things up. So the Jayhawks end up winning by 19. They did not cover the spread. It was a spread that they were favored by 26 and a half points. And it was an incredible close to the game to even win by 19 points. At one point, UMKC makes it 75 to 67. They go on a bit of a run.

Starting point is 00:01:24 You have a couple sloppy turnovers, which overall didn't have a ton of them for the game, but down the stretch, a little sloppy missing shots, not playing great defense. They hit some threes. Foss was really good for them from the outside. He hit five of them, and it ends up being 75-67, and it's like, oh, man, what's going on here? Is this a repeat of the Eastern Illinois game?

Starting point is 00:01:43 But that 13-2 run to finish it off, you saw what this team can look like and can do when they're completely locked in and focused at both ends of the floor and kind of, as Bill Self would say, turned up. So it was nice to see that finish and that they can do that to lesser opponents, but you didn't really have that over the majority of the game. Like you wish that you would not have needed that run, needed that spark at the end of the game to get done what you needed to get done. I don't know what it is about these games lately against teams

Starting point is 00:02:16 that you view to be lesser opponents that, you know, especially in the first two games against North Carolina Central and Manhattan, it was so easy for KU. But in the Chaminade game, it was a little too close. They kind of hung around 15. Eastern Illinois got close at the end there. And this one gets to an eight-point game at kind of the under four-minute mark. What is going on?

Starting point is 00:02:34 And I said this last week about the Eastern Illinois game. Like, everyone gets one. You look back to the KU games, and there's usually one game every year in the offseason where they play a team closer than would indicate. But as long as you're not doing it repeatedly, as long as it's just a one-off, it's fine because that just happens. You're bound to have a letdown here, there, look ahead, or whatever you want to call it. But when it continues to happen, eventually it becomes what you are. And at the end of the day, they're winning these bigger games.

Starting point is 00:03:05 They're beating these bigger opponents like UConn and Kentucky and Tennessee. So everything's okay and it's balancing out. But I don't know how much stock you do or don't put into this. You look at a Ken Palm, they're not a top 10 team right now. And part of the reason why is because of some of these games. Now, does that really matter at the end of the day? I don't know. But sometimes that can be one measurement among many of figuring out the best teams.

Starting point is 00:03:32 Like if you consistently are beating the breaks off teams, you're supposed to versus if you're not beating the breaks off teams, you're supposed to, maybe that's just where you are. So I don't know. There is some nuance in that conversation. Um. But obviously, you know, it's not like all negative. You still won by 19 points. Fortunately, you had that good run to finish things off. So I guess what is the big whoop? You still won by 19. And I guess there were certainly a lot of positives you can take away.

Starting point is 00:03:58 I mean, we saw Kevin McCuller really score the basketball well. K.J. Adams was really good. Johnny Furphy had that kind of exclamation point run at the end of the game with seven points among that final 13-2 run. So kind of a weird game when you look at it. I mean, beyond just the runs and how it finished, I mean, it was, I don't know, almost like a boring, weird game in some way. Like weird things happened throughout.

Starting point is 00:04:22 You had the Hunter Dickinson technical. He was in foul trouble in the game. You hit a moment where KJ Adams was playing back at the five for a very brief stretch of play. It's kind of a sleepy game at halftime that was kind of sleepy through the second half. And then all of a sudden turned into a mode when they made it eight points and then kind of turned into a fun sprint to the finish over those last couple of minutes in that 13-2 run. So, you know, overall, KU stayed dominant on two-point shots. They were 25 of 41 on twos. That is 61% from the field. They can continue to do really well there. They shot it well overall because they shot it well from three, eight of 20, that's 40%.

Starting point is 00:05:00 They were solid at the free throw line, 74%. That'll work for this team. And they didn't turn it over much. I know there were a couple sloppy turnovers at the end, but they only ended with seven turnovers, so they did a good job avoiding those. They led 42-22 in points in the paint, right? They nabbed 11 steals for the game, so that's a good amount of steals,

Starting point is 00:05:19 obviously a couple of them down the stretch there. And they were 21-10 in fast break points. That was kind of apparent that KU was doing a really good job getting in those fast break opportunities and taking advantage when they were there they had a big big edge in this game in that area and those things were all good for KU you know you had a double double from Hunter Dickinson um you had KJ Adams was unbelievable and Kevin McCuller continues on his kind of rapid ascension as a scorer, as somebody who is taking that kind of Ocha Agbaje, Jalen Wilson jump we've seen from the last few years. That's happening right now with Kevin McCuller, specifically with his scoring ability,

Starting point is 00:05:57 because we knew some of the other stuff was already there. So certainly some head-scratching moments in this game, certainly some runs where you felt like, hey, you got to be more in tune. You got to be into it all the way through. You got to be more focused all the way through or that UMKC played well or hit some shots. But overall, it's a 19-point win. A lot of positives to take away too.

Starting point is 00:06:17 I don't know. I guess just go beat the teams you're supposed to. It's just kind of weird how this works. KU is winning all these games, but for a majority of them, they're not coming by as much as you think. Does that matter much? Should it matter much? I don't know. They're 8-1 and they have three quad one wins already. So I don't really seem to care that much. But when you continue to kind of play with fire, eventually you might get burned. And it feels like that's what KU has done in this game, in the Eastern Illinois game, a little bit in the Chaminade game.

Starting point is 00:06:47 So I don't know. Like I said, it is a nuanced conversation. Overall, take the win and run and just improve from it and get better. And hey, Missouri is coming to town on Saturday. Certainly you'd hope and think that that one has the attention of the students or the players, excuse me, because certainly it does with the fan base and the students. Looking forward to that game on Saturday.

Starting point is 00:07:06 All right, we're going to continue on for this episode of Locked on Jayhawks with our goats of the game, our good goats, our bad goats. What's next for KU men's basketball on Locked on Jayhawks? This episode of Locked on Jayhawks is brought to you by Jace Medical. I know we come to sports to escape from some of the crazy realities of life, but can we just talk for a minute about preparing for real life? According to the FDA, pharmacies are running out of antibiotics like amoxicillin right in the middle of the worst flu season in over a decade.

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Starting point is 00:08:06 at a fraction of the regular cost. It's never been more important to be prepared than today. Go to JaceMedical.com and use offer code LOCKEDON to get $20 off your order with Jace Medical today. On to our goats of the game, good goats, bad goats, for KU taking down UMKC 88 to 69 let's start with the good KJ Adams you know Kevin McCuller ended up leading Kansas in points with 25 of them for my money KJ Adams was KU's best player in this game and I think a big part of it was how good he was over maybe the last 10 minutes he had had a couple of those lob plays off the inbounds.

Starting point is 00:08:46 He had one-on-one opportunities. He was getting to the free throw line. He was so good passing the basketball, too. So he ended up with 18 points. He ended up with seven rebounds. And he ended up with six assists. All of those numbers are really good numbers from what you're getting from K.J. Adams. And as much as, you know,

Starting point is 00:09:05 we're about to talk about Kevin McCullough here and how much he's improved as I kind of talked about there a moment ago, like the improvement from KJ Adams from like, okay, think about this. KJ Adams won big 12 is most improved player from last year or from two years ago, moving to last year. Right. You could almost argue that I don't think it'll happen statistically because the stats might end up being similar to where they were last year. But you could argue that KJ Adams deserves to win that award if it were given out right now again because he's moving to a different position again.

Starting point is 00:09:33 He's shooting, at least coming into this game, over 70% from the floor, putting up 12 points, four rebounds, three assists per game at a different position again. And the number's not that much different than they were a season ago that I don't know if you would win it but because of what he's had to do and transform and be in a different role in everything like you could make that argument again but the 18 points now makes it two strike games that he scored 18 both of those tie his uh season high with the UConn game he had seven rebounds in this one that is the most he had of any game this season his

Starting point is 00:10:04 previous high was five which he did against UConn, and in the first two games of the season. And the sixth assist he had was a season high. I think that's a career high, too, for KJ. He also had four steals against Kansas City, so that was a season high. So literally in four categories, he had his season highs. He was unbelievable, six of nine from the floor. He was six of ten on free throws which makes it now over the

Starting point is 00:10:25 last three games this game the UConn game the Eastern Illinois game he has gone 14 of 22 on free throws which you know that's mid 60 which is kind of all you're asking for I think from KJ after he had that slow start from the free throw line so KJ Adams really good again in this one Kevin McCuller gets a good goat here. He had 25 points. That was his new career high. His previous high was 24, which he had against Marquette, six rebounds and five assists. So he also filled up the stat sheet and did a little bit of everything, grabbing some rebounds, getting you some assists. Kansas ended up with one more rebound than UMKC had. Kansas City ended up with, I think, three more offensive rebounds than KU had.

Starting point is 00:11:07 We talked about coming in on paper. Kansas City was the better rebounding team. Well, you kind of neutralized it in this game. Like, they technically won the rebound battle, if you're looking at, like, offensive rebound rate and some of those things. But it was pretty dead even along the way. And Kevin McCuller, KJ Adams, like, having one of his best rebounding games, those were reasons why.

Starting point is 00:11:24 It was an emphasis for KU and it paid off but uh Kevin McCuller you just saw the complete scoring package I mean the fact that he scored 25 points too like this wasn't a you know 25 point game on 20 shots where it was just like hey nobody else is scoring he has to drag you to the finish line shooting the basketball he uh was 9 of 13 from the floor shooting the basketball. And it seems like with Kevin, the three-point shot this year is going to be kind of a – he's going to hit some hot streaks and then he's going to hit some cold streaks. I think that was kind of the case with Jalen Wilson last year.

Starting point is 00:11:58 But now you look at it, the past two games, he's 5 of 6 from three-point range. His first game of the season, he was 4 for 7, and then he was obviously electric in the exhibition games from three. Then he went on a four of 20 spell and now he's five of his last six. So I think it's just going to be one of those things where Kevin is kind of up and down, but to have the ups, I think you're going to have more of those ups from him from three this season than he did last year. He also was 11 for 11 from the free throw line. Last two games, he added two steals. He added one block against UMKC. So he was doing a little bit of everything.

Starting point is 00:12:28 And Kevin McCullough, just really important. I mean, just having him come back, how critical was that for KU? I think we talked about that a little bit on one of our last shows. But for him to do what he's doing, scoring the basketball, and be a primary option on the outside,, and be a primary option on the outside, and not just a primary option on the outside, putting up like, to this point, all-American level scoring numbers on the outside is pretty incredible.

Starting point is 00:12:53 I don't know where you'd be without him. Hunter Dickinson gets a good goat. He had a double-double, not one of Hunter Dickinson's best games, 14 points, 12 rebounds. He had two assists. He played just 29 minutes, though. That's a big reason why. He got in foul trouble.

Starting point is 00:13:07 Part of it was because of the technical foul, so that caused him to miss a little bit of time in this game. Certainly, UMKC, they're a bit of an undersized team, but they play physically inside, and you can see why they're a good rebounding team because of that. But at times, you could see that was bothering Hunter Dickinson, and he was unhappy with the way it was being officiated. In the end, he still ended up with a double-double, 14 points, 12 rebounds.

Starting point is 00:13:29 You're not going to sniff at that, and good numbers once again for Hunter. DeJuan Harris, I think, gets a good go here. Eight points, seven assists. He was three of six from the floor. He was two of five from a three-point range. And when Bill Self and the other players and people are saying they want DeJuan Harris to be more aggressive, to be aggressive scoring the basketball and getting his own shot,

Starting point is 00:13:56 like, yeah, that's great if you can have what happened in the Kentucky game where he scores 23 points and hits five three-pointers. But that's not exactly what they're asking. Bill Self isn't saying, hey, we need you to score 20 a night. He's saying, can you be more aggressive where you're doing this, scoring eight points a night in addition to your assists? So you look at it on the season, this is the second most points he's scored in a game this year. This is just the third time this season he's had seven or more points in a game. It was good to see him be at least a little bit aggressive, right?

Starting point is 00:14:25 You don't need him to be aggressive where he's taking 12 shots in a game. Again, if he's hitting them, then sure, go for it. But it's just being aggressive to looking for your shot, to driving into lane, to being willing to take those threes. And beyond that, you know, you have the seven assists, the one rebound, the one steal. DeJuan, I think, was in control in this game, played a high amount of minutes, and I thought he was good for ku johnny furphy gets a good goat here mainly because of

Starting point is 00:14:48 that last stretch he scored seven points in the last like two minutes that certainly uh adds to it but you saw the athleticism on display in transition hitting those couple of layups you saw the corner three ability he finished with 10 points and two rebounds in just 14 minutes of play so that'll be great for the per 40 numbers, close to 30 points per game if you're looking at a per 40 basis. So I thought Furphy, that was good for him to kind of finish out and electrify things at the very end there and what he was able to do. Now, as far as the bad goats of the game for KU,

Starting point is 00:15:19 the first eight minutes of the second half, that was not ideal for Kansas. They let it get to, I think, 55-45 as a 10-point game. I like the under-12 timeout. So at that point, you had been outscored by like four points in the first eight minutes of the second half. And that's kind of been a trend for them the last three games. You look at the Eastern Illinois game, and this one extends out.

Starting point is 00:15:40 I think they were outscored by like four or six points in the first 10 minutes of the second half. And then against UConn, they were outscored by like four or six points in the first 10 minutes of the second half. And then against UConn, they were outscored by, I want to say, 10 points in the first 10 minutes of the second half because they were up by seven and a half and they were down 50 to 47 at like the 10 minute mark. So you're looking at it now where Kansas is, I think it was minus six in the Eastern Illinois in the first 10. And again, this isn't the first 10. This was the first eight of this game. But I mean, that's, they got to figure out a way to come out of the halftime locker room with more juice, with more offensive impact, with more, you know, giddy up.

Starting point is 00:16:16 Because that almost cost them the UConn game. That almost cost you the Eastern Illinois game. And it let UMKC get back in this game because of kind of lethargic play at the start of the second half. Now, there were also a couple other stretches which weren't great for KU again, like kind of the last minute or two of the first half, like maybe more meat on the bone or meat was left on the bone there, which was kind of the case in the UConn game and the Eastern Illinois game too, and that stretch toward the enemy.

Starting point is 00:16:44 Prior to that 13-2 run, they cut it down to eight, and they were on a big run of their own. So there were a couple other runs that certainly stick out, but that first eight minutes of the second half allowed them to just kind of hang around. And it wasn't you going out there and stepping on their throat, so to speak, which has kind of been, like I said, the theme over the last three games. And then the last bad goat here I have is just five through nine play until Furphy at the end so obviously Johnny Furphy got a good

Starting point is 00:17:10 goat here finished with 10 points in 14 that's great production off the bench he had seven points in the final minute or two until that point prior to Johnny Furphy doing that and having that nice run of play that nice spurt of play the through nine, so we're talking the four bench guys plus El Marco, had 16 points up until then. So for the first, what, 37 minutes of the game that would make it? 16 points on six of 18 shooting. And that's combined for a lot of players. And I will say, I actually thought Parker Brown did fine. I thought Parker Brown did his job and what you're asking him to do in spelling Hunter Dickinson. I thought El Marco struggled in the first half, but I thought El Marco was actually really good in the second half. It was nice to see him be aggressive.

Starting point is 00:17:49 He hit a three, which was good to see. He had that one mid-run shot, which he looked very confident in taking. So he had a couple of really good passes, a couple of drop-offs, transition plays. I thought El Marco looked really good in the second half. I will say that. But still, overall, with everything from those five through nine, you just didn't get a ton of production until that last spurt of play from Johnny Furphy, which just kind of continues to be a theme this year.

Starting point is 00:18:10 And, you know, Nick Timberlake, I think he hit a three in this game. I think he won a four. Jamari McDowell played a little bit too. Timberlake and McDowell combined for 22 minutes. How many of those minutes do you remember? Because I certainly don't seem to remember a lot of those, which I don't know if – I mean, that can't be a good thing, right? You want to be a little bit more noticeable than that.

Starting point is 00:18:30 All right, we're going to finish up with what's next for KU men's basketball after this 19-point victory over UMKC. This episode of Locked on Jayhawks is brought to you by FanDuel Sportsbook. As the weather gets colder, the NFL offers stay hot on FanDuel. Right now, new customers get $150 in bonus bets with any winning $5 Moneyline bet. That's $150 if your team wins. If you've been thinking about joining FanDuel, there's no better time to get in on the action. The app is so easy to use.

Starting point is 00:19:02 There's a wide range of betting options, including spreads, player props, over-unders, and more. You could have got in on some of this action. Kevin McCullers over-under with 16 and a half points. That was an easy over. KJ Adams was like 12 and a half. That was an easy over. DeJuan Harris was right on the number, seven and a half. So you can have fun with this.

Starting point is 00:19:19 Make your own same game parlays. Visit fanduel.com slash locked on and kick off the NFL season. Fanduel, an official partner of the NFL. Finishing things up, what is next for KU? So they actually are only going to have two games over the next, what, like, what is that, 11 days, something like that? They play a game this Saturday against Missouri.

Starting point is 00:19:43 That one will be at 415 in Allen Fieldhouse and certainly should be a, you know, Missouri's had some ups and downs early in the non-con, but I'd imagine they're going to be revved up to play after you blew them out on their home court last year and also because of the rivalry. But you would think Kansas should be up for it too, should be a great crowd in front of Allen Fieldhouse.

Starting point is 00:20:04 Then you'll have a week off, which Missouri just had. So Missouri's had extra time to prepare for you and won't have to worry about is everybody rested or anything like that, which maybe makes the Saturday game even more difficult for KU in one way. But then you get a week off, and you get to get some extra practice time and rest and everything before you go at Indiana. So a couple of big ones. And then you almost have a full week off after that.

Starting point is 00:20:25 You have like five, six days before the Yale game the following Friday before you have Christmas off. So all three teams who are ranked in like the top 100 in that like 70 to 90 range on Ken Palm. So all teams that are decent, but all teams you should be able to handle if you bring your A or B game. But as we saw in this UMKC game, there were times like at the end where we saw that A or B game, 13-2 run.

Starting point is 00:20:46 Other times where we didn't. So, you know, you're dealing with a bunch of 18- to 23-year-old athletes. You never know what's going to happen. All right, we'll be back later in the week to preview the KU Missouri game. Nick Schwartz is going to join us later in the week too. This has been Locked on Jayhawks. Find us anywhere you get your podcasts. Like and subscribe to our show on our YouTube page.

Starting point is 00:21:03 Have a good one. Later.

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Locked On Jayhawks - Daily Podcast On Kansas Jayhawks Football & Basketball - RECAP: #2 Kansas Jayhawks Win Weird Game 88-69 Against UMKC Roos Behind Late Run

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