Lexington, Kentucky — With sophomore forward KJ Adams picking up his second foul with eight minutes still to play in the first half of Saturday’s 77-68 Kansas win over Kentucky at Rupp Arena, the Jayhawks were forced to go to young big men Zuby Ejiofor and Ernest Udeh Jr. off the bench.
The two freshmen did not disappoint.
In 11 minutes combined, the two biggest bodies on KU’s roster made all three shot attempts, grabbed three rebounds and combined for six points.
More than that, they played hard and without overthinking anything.
Some of that might have been attributed to the challenge they were facing, with UK big man Oscar Tshiebwe leaning on them on both ends of the floor and providing Kentucky with a nearly immovable force in the paint.
But the Wildcats struggled to make Tshiebwe’s presence count. He finished the half with just three shot attempts, two fouls and one turnover. More importantly, neither he nor any of his teammates grabbed a single offensive rebound in the first half.
Competing on the glass was a huge point of emphasis for the Jayhawks coming into this one, and Kansas out-rebounded the Wildcats 21-13 in the first 20 minutes of play. For the game, KU out-rebounded Kentucky 34-29, including 8-4 on the offensive glass.
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JALEN WILSON TOPS KUSPORTS RATINGS
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On offense, Udeh provided the Jayhawks something they had been missing since early in the season. Twice he caught and dunked a lob from Dajuan Harris Jr. after a high ball screen at the top of the key. It was the same action that the Jayhawks had used Adams in for many of his most successful offensive games, but Udeh provided a much bigger target for Harris to throw to.
Ejiofor exited after picking up his second foul and was not on KU’s bench for the rest of the half or to start the second half. A KU spokesperson said at halftime that Ejiofor turned his ankle. A couple of minutes into the second half, he returned to the bench to watch with his teammates.
Udeh checked into the game for Adams six minutes into the second half. He played just five minutes and did not score, but his first-half impact played a huge role in Kansas pulling out the victory.
— Pregame heckle fest —
In their seats nearly two full hours before tipoff, the Kentucky student section had more than a little fun during Saturday’s pregame shoot-around.
Jalen Wilson was the first Jayhawk to hear their wrath. He was the first KU player onto the floor before this one, and he was all alone for about two minutes. That gave the UK students time to track and react to his every shot. He didn’t give them much, draining five 8-footers in a row from the baseline right in front of them. But after his first miss, they roared like Kentucky had just won the game. Wilson couldn’t help but smile.
Eventually, Wilson’s teammates joined him and the Wildcat fans were all over them, too. Particularly freshman Gradey Dick, who faced taunts like “You’re terrible,” “Why do you look like that?” “You look worse in person,” “Comb your hair,” and, of course, more than a few chants involving his last name.
KJ Adams, Dajuan Harris Jr., Ernest Udeh Jr. and even walk-on Dillon Wilhite also were called out individually.
The final pregame shot at the Jayhawks came when they took the floor for the second time and the Wildcats blared George Michael’s “Careless Whisper” love ballad over the loud speakers followed by Mariah Carey’s “Always Be My Baby,” as opposed to the hip-hop and rap hype tracks that played while the Wildcats were on the floor.
— The final SEC/Big 12 Challenge —
Saturday marked the final appearance for Kansas and Kentucky in the 10-year-old SEC/Big 12 Challenge.
This season’s challenge marked the seventh consecutive year in which all 10 matchups between Big 12 and SEC teams took place on the same day.
The Big 12 entered Saturday with a 4-3-2 edge in the nine previous showdowns, with an overall winning percentage of 53.9%. The Big 12 won better than half of the 10 matchups in 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2019.
KU and Kentucky faced off against each other during five of those 10 games, with KU also playing Florida twice (1-1), Tennessee twice (1-1) and Texas A&M once (1-0). Dating back to 2007, KU had won 11 of 17 games in conference challenges entering Saturday’s KU-UK clash.
While this marks the end of the challenge matchup between these two college basketball powerhouses, it’s hardly the end of their head-to-head matchups.
In fact, Kansas and Kentucky will meet again next season, on Nov. 14, 2023, in Chicago, at the Champions Classic.
— This and that… —
Saturday’s win snapped KU’s three-game losing streak, keeping the longest single skid in Self’s 20 years in Lawrence at three. It also was KU’s third win in Lexington, with all three wins coming under Self… Kentucky now leads the series 24-11 overall, but the Jayhawks have won five of the last seven meetings… KU is now 4-2 in true road games this season and 7-3 in games played outside of Allen Fieldhouse… The Kansas coaches donned suits again on Saturday night as part of the final day of Suits And Sneakers Week to benefit Coaches vs. Cancer. KU’s coaching staff also wore white, low-top Adidas shoes that featured a Jayhawk on the heel.
