LAWRENCE, Kan. — The Kansas men’s basketball team has opened a difficult four-game stretch of nonconference games in the best possible way.
That is, with a blowout victory.
Senior guard Kevin McCullar scored 17 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in his return from a groin strain that forced him to miss one game, while junior forward Jalen Wilson contributed 15 points and 13 boards as the Jayhawks (8-1) downed unranked Seton Hall 91-65 in the Big 12/Big East Battle on Thursday night at Allen Fieldhouse.
Thursday’s game was KU’s first of four against widely respected programs. They are games that, except for the late-January Big 12/SEC Challenge contest versus Kentucky, conclude the Jayhawks’ nonconference campaign.
KU will travel to Missouri for a game a week from Saturday, then play host to Indiana on Dec. 17 and Harvard of on Dec. 22. Those games precede the Big 12 opener against Oklahoma State on Dec. 31.
“It’s hard going into the conference season with momentum unless you play well nonconference,” KU coach Bill Self said before the game. “This is a big stretch, a big stretch for all teams in our league, but certainly for us.”
Point guard Dajuan Harris scored 10 points and dished seven assists with three steals (he scored KU’s final eight points of the first half) for the Jayhawks, who improved to 3-1 in the Big 12/Big East Battle and also 3-1 all-time against Seton Hall.
Also, Gradey Dick had 15 points and four rebounds, while KJ Adams added 11 points and three assists. Freshman big Ernest Udeh was stellar with a career high 10 points and two boards.
Kadary Richmond had 17 points and Tyrese Samuel scored 16 for the Pirates, who fell to 4-4 on the season. Seton Hall was 4-of-19 from three and 19-of-32 from the line while making 21 of 48 shots overall for 43.8%. KU hit 56.9% of its shots, including hitting 18 of 21 from the line and 7 of 17 from three.
Harris scored eight points in the final 3:55 of the first half and the Jayhawks led 40-29 at the break. Harris also had five assists and two steals in the half.
Wilson scored nine points and grabbed seven rebounds in the first period, while McCullar had eight points and four boards. Adams had seven points and was 3-of-3 from the line the first 20 minutes. Richmond had 11 points and Samuel had eight for Seton Hall.
Udeh also had four early points but picked up two fouls in the first eight minutes.
McCullar, like Wilson, started fast on Thursday. He hit his first three shots, including going 2-for-2 from three as the Jayhawks held a 23-14 lead with 9:17 left in the half.
Seton Hall immediately cut the gap to 23-18 in the next two minutes, but the Jayhawks went on an 11-3 run to lead 34-21 at the 4:45 mark of the half. Adams flushed a lob from Harris and hit three free throws in that run.
KU led 46-31 with 16:02 left in the second half. At that point Seton Hall was 0-of-8 from three and 11-of-22 from the line. Four more points, including an Udeh dunk off a lob from Harris, made it 50-31 KU at 15:11. The Jayhawks were off and running to the finish.
