Kansas (7-0) dominated the inside en route to a 86-51 win over Furman (6-1) on Saturday night in Allen Fieldhouse. The Jayhawks scored 62 points in the paint while the Paladins let it fly from three. Furman shot just 24% from three on 38 attempts as Kansas shot 61% from the floor and got a lot of easy baskets.
Leading the way was another high-energy performance from KJ Adams. Adams followed his impactful performance against Duke by leading the Jayhawks with 22 points on 10/12 shooting against Furman, tying his career-high. He also added six rebounds which were a season-high.
The rest of the Jayhawks turned in a balanced performance, with Dajuan Harris tallying eight points and eight assists. Hunter Dickinson and Rylan Griffen each scored in double-figures as well.
First half
Kansas turned its defense into easy offense early. Hunter Dickinson got going with four early points while the Jayhawks forced long possessions. They also forced early turnovers which led to two straight transition baskets for KJ Adams.
Furman kept things close by letting it fly from beyond the air. PJay Smith and Garret Hien both knocked down two threes as seven of the first eight shots from the Paladins came from downtown. The two teams were tied at 14-14 with 13:01 to play in the first half as Kansas missed its first three attempts from outside.
Both teams were content to establish their playstyles, with Furman launching threes and Kansas getting work done inside. The Jayhawks went on a 13-2 run while the Paladins went cold, as Rylan Griffen and Adams did a good job of getting to the rim.
Eddrin Bronson hit two threes as part of a solo 8-0 run to help Furman cut into the deficit. The Paladins trailed by just one, 27-26, at the under-eight timeout after a two-minute scoreless stretch from Kansas.
Adams gave the Jayhawks some breathing room heading into the under-four, scoring four straight points. It was Furman's turn for a scoreless skid, lasting 2:43 as the Paladins missed four consecutive shots.
Kansas put together a strong final four minutes to give the Jayhawks a comfortable 39-28 lead heading into halftime. Furman's barrage of three-point attempts couldn't find the net as the Jayhawks closed on an 8-2 run. Kansas didn't make a three in the first half but had 34 of its 39 points coming from inside the paint.
Second half
The Jayhawks controlled the early minutes and built their lead after Nick Anderson opened the half with a three. Kansas then went on a 10-2 run as the Jayhawks continued to get easy baskets inside. Zeke Mayo made the first three of the night for Kansas to make the score 52-35 with 15:28 to play.
Adams continued to play with his hair on fire as Kansas took complete control of the game. He threw down an alley-oop and converted an and-one as part of a 13-3 run to extend the Jayhawks' lead to 62-38.
Kansas kept Furman at bay as Mayo found David Coit with a great pass on a backdoor cut. The Jayhawks held a firm 68-44 advantage at the under-eight timeout. Furman really struggled to put the ball on the ball in the basket, missing nine consecutive shots and going on prolonged scoring and field goal droughts.
Adams and Rakease Passmore threw down highlight-reel jams as Kansas put the finishing touches on a blowout win. Passmore added a three to put the Jayhawks lead at 30, 77-47, at the under-four timeout.
Griffen threw down two late dunks as Kansas closed the game strong, going on an 11-0 run before putting in the walk-ons.
- OLB
- PRO
- APB
- WR
- ATH
- RB
- WDE
- CB
- ATH
- WR