After winning two of three games against Power Five competition in the Bahamas over Thanksgiving week, the Kansas Jayhawks made a triumphant return to Allen Fieldhouse on Monday, topping mid-major Texas Southern 87-55.
Senior forward Jalen Wilson scored 22 points on 8-of-16 shooting (5 of 10 threes), while freshman guard MJ Rice scored a career-high 19 points on 6-of-9 shooting (2 of 4 threes, 5 of 6 free throws). Freshman guard Gradey Dick had 15 points on 6-of-11 marksmanship (2 of 6 threes) as KU improved to 7-1 on the season. Texas Southern of the SWAC dropped to 1-7.
Sophomore forward KJ Adams also had a career high with 10 points. He dished four assists. And junior guard Joseph Yesufu scored 14 points, matching his high in points scored in a game as a Jayhawk. He had 14 versus Tennessee in the Bahamas.
The Jayhawks were shorthanded for this nonconference game.
Senior guard Kevin McCullar (groin injury), who could have played if necessary according to a source in KU’s program, did not suit up for the game.
Sophomore guard Bobby Pettiford (hamstring) also did not dress for the game. It was unknown at game time how long he’ll be out of action. Pettiford suffered an injury early in Friday’s Battle 4 Atlantis title game against Tennessee.
Junior guard Yesufu, who made the first start of his KU career, scored seven points in the first half on 2-of-3 shooting (1 of 2 from three) as KU led 40-25 at the break.
Yesufu hit 4 of 7 shots and finished 3 of 5 from three.
The Jayhawks were led in the first 20 minutes by Wilson and Dick, who had 14 and 12 points respectively. Wilson hit 5 of 11 shots (4 of 7 threes) while Dick hit 5 of 8 shots (1 of 4 threes) in the initial half.
Davon Barnes led Texas Southern with nine points on 4-of-8 shooting in the first half. He finished with 22 points for the game.
KU hit 6 of 15 threes in the first half to the Tigers’ 2 of 10. Texas Southern made 4 of 17 threes (23.5%) for the game, while Kansas made 13 of 29 (44.8%).
