Kansas grinded out a win in one of its ugliest performances in recent memory, beating Cincinnati 54-40 on the road on Saturday afternoon. The Jayhawks closed the game on a 16-3 run to take control and win their third game conference game after losing the opener to West Virginia.
Both teams shot 35% or less from the floor as points were hard to come by with two of the best defenses in the country going at it. Kansas made just two threes, while Cincinnati only managed three makes from downtown.
Hunter Dickinson still managed a double-double with 14 points and 12 rebounds. He was inefficient like most of the players on the floor, shooting 7/16 from the floor. Zeke Mayo struggles hampered the rest of the offense as well, as he only scored nine points on 4/10 shooting.
First half
Dillon Mitchell gave the Bearcats early energy, throwing down a dunk to open the game as Cincinnati got out to an 8-2 lead. The Jayhawks got their offense going after a sluggish 1/5 start, with Dajuan Harris and Zeke Mayo hitting threes as part of an 8-0 spurt to put Kansas ahead.
Harris turned it over twice as the offense went cold again, going on a scoreless stretch of over three minutes. Cincinnati took the lead after a pair of buckets off the bench from Arrinten Page. The two defensive-minded teams were entrenched in a hard-fought battle, with the Bearcats leading 14-12 at the under-12 timeout.
Kansas' offense looked especially sloppy, making head-scratching passing decisions and enduring a 1/10 stretch from the floor. Dan Skillings scored five straight for the Bearcats, giving them a 21-14 lead.
KJ Adams cut the deficit to three after throwing down a lob in transition. However, Mitchell answered with a dunk of his own to take a 25-20 lead into the under-four timeout.
The Jayhawks held Cincinnati scoreless for the final 3:46 of the half but still trailed 25-24 heading into the break. Both teams shot less than 40% from the floor, struggling to put the ball in the basket.
Second half
The second half started equally ugly with the Jayhawks making just two of their first nine shots. Cincinnati missed its first four shots of the half, allowing Kansas to take a 28-26 lead at the under-16 timeout.
Kansas scored just one basket over the next four minutes. Cincinnati scored two, both coming from Page. He made his third three of the entire season late in the shot clock to put the Bearcats ahead, 31-30.
The Jayhawks caught some minimal momentum with a boost from Rylan Griffen. He made a layup then assisted on a dunk for Flory Bidunga. KJ Adams then converted a putback to give Kansas a 38-35 lead at the under-8 timeout.
Kansas scored four straight out of the break, forcing Wes Miller to call a timeout. The Jayhawks built their biggest lead of the half at five. The five points felt more like 15 with both team's inability to score the ball.
The Jayhawks did make it a double-digit lead, taking control of the game following a 10-0 run. Shakeel Moore finished a lob as Kansas took a commanding 48-37 advantage with 3:09 to play.
Cincinnati made a late three but did not have juice to complete the comeback as the Jayhawks won their third straight conference game.
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