KJ Adams missed his first game in a Kansas uniform since his freshman season in 2022, where he didn’t appear against Providence in the Sweet 16. He had become integral to the Jayhawks’ rotation over the past two years but will miss time with a separated shoulder.

In Kansas’ first game without Adams, the Jayhawks beat Kansas State 84-74. They got out to a 20-4 lead but essentially traded baskets for the rest of the game. Bill Self said Adams’ presence was missed over the last 30 minutes.

“I think a lot of it was our confusion on how we wanted to guard a ball screen and then when we couldn’t guard it, trying to play soft, and when you play soft, you don’t really create pace or energy or turnovers,” Self said. “We were just trying, to be honest with you, get through the game as much as we were trying to be in attack mode defensively.”

Adams plays a big role in establishing Kansas’ energy and intensity. He’s also strong on the defensive end and has the ability to erase mistakes.

“It seems like today when we made a mistake, K-State did a good job of making us pay for it,” Self said. “A lot of times, when KJ is out there, you make a mistake, and the other team didn’t realize you made a mistake.”

With Adams out of the starting lineup, Self opted to start Flory Bidunga. He got into some foul trouble but finished with six points, nine rebounds, and a block. Bidunga and Hunter Dickinson have created a strong combination in the Kansas backcourt.

“If you look at it statistically, our best team analytically, regardless of who’s in the game, the best combination is Flory and Hunter,” Self said. “It wasn’t a hard decision.”

Adams can still have an impact off the court. Self said on Friday he could play the role of an assistant coach and help mentor Bidunga.

“I’m sure he was talking to him the whole time, but I didn’t go down there and really try to get him to have a role,” Self said. “Even though his role is to make sure that Flory is as good as he can be for himself. I’m sure he did that.”

Kansas’ frontcourt was thin with Adams and Zach Clemence out. Bidunga and Dickinson played together some, but the Jayhawks also opted for a four-guard lineup. Overall, some things were opened up on the offensive end.

Zeke Mayo got good looks from outside, finishing with 24 points on 4/7 shooting from three. Dajuan Harris had open lanes to drive, scoring 15 points. Hunter Dickinson had enough space to operate in the paint.

However, where the lineup did struggle was defensively. Guys like AJ Storr and Rylan Griffen struggled to guard Kansas State’s bigs, but Dickinson complimented Storr’s ability to persevere through a tough season. Storr played 17 minutes, the most since conference play had started, and he will likely play a bigger role while Adams is hurt.

“I know it’s been a lot of ups and downs, but he’s had such a great attitude through it all,” Dickinson said. “I really commend him for that. It could have been easy for him to jump off ship early on, but he stayed with it… The role is starting to expand slowly and slowly since KJ’s out and I think he had, ups and downs like everybody, but he went out there and played hard and played good today.”