Kansas basketball showcases its potential in lopsided victory on road against UCF

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LAWRENCE — Kansas basketball recovered Sunday with a 99-48 win on the road during Big 12 Conference play against UCF.

The No. 7 Jayhawks (10-3, 1-1 in Big 12) just captured their first league win on the season. That came after a disappointing loss at home just days earlier against West Virginia. UCF (10-3, 1-1 in Big 12) never led or even came close to having the potential to rush the court at the end of this matchup.

Here are a few takeaways from this game:

RELATED: Kansas basketball vs UCF recap: Jayhawks rout UCF for 1st Big 12 victory this season

Kansas showcased the energy it lacked in previous road games

Kansas enjoyed its first true road win on Sunday, and for good reason. Not just because of how well the Jayhawks shot the ball or defended, but because of the extent to which they started the game with so much energy and sustained that over the course of 40 minutes. In the past two road games they played this season, at Creighton and Missouri, that wasn’t nearly the case.

Look at the way a starter like senior forward KJ Adams stepped up and rebounded after a disappointing performance against West Virginia. Look at the way players off the bench stepped up, like junior guards AJ Storr and Rylan Griffen, as they ensured offensively that just because head coach Bill Self played those beyond his starters for significant stretches didn’t mean UCF would be able to mount some sort of comeback. And, perhaps, freshman forward Flory Bidunga’s play overall proved that more than anyone else’s.

Flory Bidunga has chance to make Big 12’s all-freshman team

Regardless of how early it is to start to have the discussion of which freshman will be the Big 12’s best this season, Bidunga has earned the right to be in that conversation. After thriving in the loss against West Virginia, he might have played even better in the win against UCF. This time, he finished with 12 points, six blocks and five rebounds.

It could be easy to say Bidunga just took advantage of a blowout performance…

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/kansas-basketball-showcases-potential-lopsided-235434876.html

Author : The Topeka Capital-Journal

Publish date : 2025-01-05 23:54:00

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