No. 9 Jayhawks Win on a Last-Second Shot against No. 15 Iowa State

A college basketball game between the No. 9 Kansas Jayhawks and the No.15 Iowa State Cyclones was worthy of your viewership. KU was coming off of a 75-67 loss to the Texas Tech Red Raiders.  The 12-2 Jayhawks would battle the entire game against the 13-2 Cyclones. Allen Fieldhouse was rocking, and former head coach Roy Williams returned to watch a classic Big 12 matchup. Kansas would win 62-61, improving their win streak against Iowa State to five straight. Even though KU would win, it always seemed like the Cyclones were in the game. According to kuathletics.com, Bill Self said this about his thoughts of the game,

"“We did not play very well. The first half we did not play very well, we were lucky to only be down 2. We missed a lot of shots. We turned it over so much. Our guards were dominated early in the first half. Then second half we took better care of the ball. We only had 6 turnovers, most of them were forced but some were unforced. I really felt like it was a bad game not to have Remy because you got Juan and Remy both back there each playing 28 to 32 minutes it’s a whole different deal as far as being able to pressure. We only have one ball handler. Juan did a good job for the most part. He turned it over some, but it was a great win. We shouldn’t put we won but, we should not talk like that today. Hey Baylor, is thinking hey we had that game and let it get away, fortunately for us, we did not let it get away. I thought KJ played well. He didn’t screw up and I thought Mitch played well. There’s just no scoring from those guys. The thing is and I said this to our guys after the game, the only way you really can only determine if you can get by people by the bounce or what your offensive skill set is, is when people constantly trap you or play underneath you. That’s how the best teams guard and the last four days we’ve gone against two of the best defensive teams in the country and we haven’t handled it very well. In practice, you can pass it where you want it or shoot threes in transition at will, that ain’t happening in big boy games. So hopefully that’s an eye-opener to guys. The way that we get our shots in practice isn’t the way you score in real games. We feel fortunate but we’ll take it.”"

KJ Adams Jr. Gets a Start for the Kansas Jayhawks

Head coach Bill Self has been experimenting with the rotation of the big men. In the first part of the season, David McCormack would get the start, and against Oklahoma State, Mitch Lightfoot got the start. Bill Self made another adjustment and started freshman KJ Adams Jr.  Adams would log 10 minutes scoring three points, two rebounds, and two blocks. He is a hustle-type player who crashes the boards and goes after loose balls.

Ochai Agbaji Does It Again for the Kansas Jayhawks

Ochai Agbaji played a big role in the win over the Cyclones. He would contribute 39 minutes, scoring a game-high 22 points. Agbaji also added seven rebounds, one block, and 2-out-of-2 from the free-throw line. He is just a leader on the court, and if you watch Kansas basketball you can see the importance of Agbaji being on the court. According to kuathletics.com, Ochai Agbaji talked about KJ Adams making his first start,

"“It was really special to see him get the start and play those minutes in the first and second half. Bring energy right from the jump. He did really well. Freshmen coming in starting and third conference game of the season. A lot going on. Maybe too fast. He handled it well. I’m proud of him.”"

The Jayhawks Would Win with Seven Seconds Remaining

Dajuan Harris drove the lane with seven seconds remaining, putting up a shot that would kiss the backboard and go into the basket. Iowa State would make a last-ditch effort to score but failed as the Jayhawks would ideally walk it off. Harris is known for his defense sent Iowa State home with another Big 12 loss. According to kuathletics.com, Dajuan Harris talked about his game-winner saying,

"“I think I haven’t hit a game-winner for so long. I saw Ochai dribbling the ball, I thought he was going to take the shot. I saw him dribbling my way, and it opened a little crease for me, and I heard coach say ‘Give him a lane’, so I just drove it. I just made the play and made the layup.”"

https://twitter.com/KUHoops/status/1481102708820123649?s=20

What Is Next for the Kansas Jayhawks?

Kansas will play another significant Big 12 matchup at home inside Allen Fieldhouse against West Virginia on January 15th. Tip-off is anticipated for 1 P.M. CT and aired on CBS.