Five Early Observations From Kansas Basketball’s Exhibition Loss to No. 2 Duke

In its final exhibition contest of the preseason, Kansas fell 90-84 to No. 2 Duke for its second consecutive loss to an ACC school. The Jayhawks finished their exhibition slate with a 1-2 record, albeit in games that don’t count toward their official record.

While KU held a lead at one point in the second half, Duke pulled away as the Jayhawks’ offense began to go cold. It wasn’t a dreadful performance considering the Blue Devils had just taken down a top-10 Tennessee team by nearly 40 points. Still, there are plenty of areas that need to be cleaned up before the regular season.

Here are five instant observations from Kansas’ six-point defeat at Allen Fieldhouse.

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5. Keanu Dawes With the Nasty Poster!

Halfway through the second half, Utah transfer Keanu Dawes recorded the best highlight we’ve seen from any Jayhawk all season. He threw a poster down on Caleb Foster for an and-1 that sent Allen Fieldhouse roaring. Just watch it yourself:

Dawes’ stock appeared to be trending down after he scored just five points last game and was omitted from the starting lineup today. However, he finished the afternoon with 11 points, including a pair of key momentum threes that kept the Jayhawks in it.

Anytime a player is capable of throwing down dunks like these, it’ll be hard to keep him off the floor. I think KU might have the best athlete at the forward position since KJ Adams.

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4. Christian Reeves’ Impact on the Offensive Glass

In the first five minutes of the contest alone, center Christian Reeves had three offensive rebounds. For a period, he was dominating the glass against a Duke lineup that featured two immovable paint forces in Patrick Ngongba and Joaquim Boumtje Boumtje.

While he wasn’t utilized much the rest of the game for some reason, that short stretch showed what an impactful player Reeves can be, whether it’s in the starting unit or off the bench. He also recorded a game-high two blocks in a strong defensive performance.

Kansas Jayhawks center Christian…

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Publish date : 2026-10-25 19:29:00

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