Kansas City, Mo. — For the second year in a row, the Kansas men’s basketball team will play in the Big 12 tournament title game. The Jayhawks will have a chance to defend their crown after they earned a 71-58 win over Iowa State during Friday’s semifinal showdown at T-Mobile Center.
But this year’s run to the championship game took plenty of adversity, something this team has become all too familiar with at this point. Not only was Norm Roberts still coaching for Bill Self, but the Jayhawks (27-6) lost their primary defender, Kevin McCullar Jr., in the early minutes of the second half.
The absence of McCullar, who has been dealing with back spasms, was most felt on the defensive end. Iowa State (19-13) got enough open shots to take its first lead of the night at the 14:21 mark following a turnover by Jalen Wilson.
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Box score: Kansas 71, Iowa State 58
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Kansas responded immediately with six unanswered points and went on a decisive 10-2 run to regain control of the game, a stretch that was highlighted by an improbable alley-oop between Dajuan Harris Jr. and Ernest Udeh Jr.
y’all be safe out there pic.twitter.com/QcwEXRQjs7
— Kansas Men’s Basketball (@KUHoops) March 11, 2023
While the second half took some guts, the first half completely belonged to the Jayhawks during an opening stint that wasn’t nearly as close as the 33-25 lead indicated.
Wilson, who was coming off a game-high 22 points against West Virginia after starting 1-for-7 from the floor, picked up right where he left off with a much better start offensively. He made his first four shots from the floor, including a trio of 3-pointers, to give Kansas the lead out of the gate.
In fact, each one of Wilson’s three early 3-pointers was more impressive than the last. He hit a shot from the left wing on the second possession and answered with an even deeper long ball from the right wing moments later.
After a measly mid-range jumper, Wilson canned a triple from the top of the key at the 15:57 mark for good measure.
NPOY type stuff from jwill ????#Re10aded x @thejalenwilson pic.twitter.com/SB5IJ5kzWx
— Kansas Men’s Basketball (@KUHoops) March 11, 2023
Iowa State adjusted its defensive philosophy a bit after that, and started throwing more double-teams at Wilson on ball-screens. His teammates stepped up to provide support, which was highlighted by an impressive stretch to close out the first half.
After a turnover by the Cyclones, the Jayhawks had a hot-potato play in transition to cap off the first stanza. Joseph Yesufu found Harris on a fastbreak, and the point guard fired the extra pass to K.J. Adams Jr., who flushed it home in transition for the eight-point cushion at the break.
now that’s sum beautiful ball right there ???? pic.twitter.com/N497WUMpVU
— Kansas Men’s Basketball (@KUHoops) March 11, 2023
Wilson led the Jayhawks with 25 points in the win.
Kansas will play second-seeded Texas (a 66-60 winner over TCU in Friday’s second semifinal) in the Big 12 championship game on Saturday. Tipoff is slated for 5 p.m. at T-Mobile Center.
