Quick Recap: Kansas overcomes Kansas State late 78-75
After a second-half resurgence, Kansas (16-2, 5-1 Big 12) edged past Kansas State in the final minute, 78-75, after trailing for nearly the entire game.
Senior Ochai Agbaji led the Jayhawks’ scoring with 29 points, going 2-8 from the three-point line. Following up the KU scoring was redshirt sophomore Jalen Wilson with 16 points and a three-point make of his own in the near loss in Manhattan, KS.
First Half:
Exchanging back-to-back threes less than 2:00 into the game, Kansas played a tight ballgame from the jump. The Wildcats found success out of the gate pressuring senior David McCormack inside, grabbing an 11-7 lead after forcing an early timeout from KU.
Kansas struggled to slow down the KSU offense, falling behind 25-18 after Nijel Pack spelled trouble with his fourth three-pointer midway through the first half. The Wildcats fed off a pair of KU turnovers to grab a 31-22 lead with 9:47 to go in the half, forcing another Jayhawk timeout.
Agbaji looked to shift the momentum after burying a three to bring KU within 5 but Kansas State continued hitting its stride from behind the arc, as both Pack and Luke Kasubke drained back-to-back three-pointers to keep the Jayhawks in check 38-27 with 6:18 before the break.
Pack drained his sixth three-pointer to send KSU up 41-29 with a little over 4:00 left in the first half. A 6-0 run in transition from the Wildcats silenced any sign of a late push from Kansas heading into halftime, as the Jayhawks went into the locker room down 50-34 at the half.
Second Half:
Getting physical inside, Kansas attempted to shrink the number of KSU points coming inside the paint. Matching up McCormack with Kaosi Ezeagu under the hoop, the Jayhawks broke through their 10-point deficit (55-47) on a quick jumper from junior Christian Braun to force a KSU timeout with 15:10 to go.
The Jayhawks looked to round the corner on an “and-one” basket from Jalen Wilson to cutdown KSU’s lead to 60-53 midway through the second half. A turnover from Pack set up an 8-2 scoring run from Kansas, bringing the Jayhawks within 4 (65-61) with little under 7:00 left on the clock.
A late three from Nowell challenged Kansas’ late push, but free throws became the name of the game for KU in the final 3:00 as they trailed 75-69. A vital trip to the free-throw line from Agbaji brought the score to 75-74 (KSU) with 0:38 to play.
Denying Pack at the basket with 0:26 to play, Braun allowed for a quick Agbaji layup to hand KU the lead (76-75) with 0:09 left. Fouling Agbaji with 0:01 remaining, the senior Jayhawk nailed both free throws to escape Kansas State on the road.
We will have much more to come in our postgame coverage