In a game where the Kansas Jayhawks were rare home underdogs, the Jayhawks proved Vegas wrong, defeating the Houston Cougars 78-63.
It was all Jayhawks from the start trailing for just 13 seconds the entire game. They played terrific on both ends of the floor and looked as good as they have all season. Read below for the three takeaways from the game.
Takeaway #1: Kansas Jayhawks shoot the lights out
Houston came into this game as the #1 defense in the country, according to KenPom. In fact, the gap between Houston and the next closest team is the same gap as that team and the #35 defense in the country. The most Houston allowed in a game all season was 68 points, and Kansas demolished that scoring 78.
The Kansas Jayhawks shot an outstanding 68.9% from the field and 46.2% from the three-point line. The starters shot a combined 29/39 (74%), and the combo of Harris, Adams, Furphy, and McCullar shot 20/24 (83.3%). You can’t play a more perfect game than that, and as a result, Houston was never able to get back into this game.
Takeaway #2: Jamal Shead kept in check
While the defense is the obvious strength for the Houston Cougars, their guard play has been extremely important to their success. Most notably, Jamal Shead’s play. Shead is coming off a 25 point scoring performance against Texas and was key in their Kansas State victory as well. Tonight, he was held to just 7 points on 2-9 shooting and 0-3 from three.
LJ Cryer was following that same trajectory, scoring just 3 points on 1-4 shooting in the first half, but exploded for 21 in the second half and nearly got them back into this game. Houston needs both guards to be performing at a high level to beat the best of the best in the Big 12, and that wasn’t the case tonight, allowing Kansas to go up early and not have to fear a run by the Cougar guards.
Takeaway #3: Johnny Furphy continues to shine for the Jayhawks
Since entering the starting lineup, Johnny Furphy has been a difference-maker for the Kansas Jayhawks. Saturday night, he was arguably the best player on the floor, finishing with 17 points and 8 rebounds on 6-of-7 shooting and 3-of-4 three-point shooting. It feels like Furphy is growing before our eyes offensively, and with the increased minutes and experience, he is getting more and more of a feel for the game. Come March, we might see this and more every night, which makes the Jayhawks so dangerous considering there is already the threat of Hunter Dickinson, Kevin McCullar, and more.
Both teams are now 6-3 in conference play, one game back from first.
Next game for Kansas: at Kansas State (Mon., Feb. 5 – 9 p.m.)
Next game for Houston: vs. Oklahoma State (Tues., Feb. 6 – 7 p.m.)