No. 11 Kansas rides strong second half to beat Arizona State

Field Level Media|published: Wed 8th January, 23:47 2025

Kansas Jayhawks guard Zeke Mayo (5) shoots against Arizona State Sun Devils in the first half of the game inside Allen Fieldhouse Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025.

Zeke Mayo scored 23 points on 8-of-14 shooting to lead No. 11 Kansas to a 74-55 win over Arizona State in the Big 12 matchup on Wednesday in Lawrence, Kan.

Hunter Dickinson added 15 points, 12 rebounds, three blocks and three steals for the Jayhawks (11-3, 2-1 Big 12), while Rylan Griffen added nine points on 4-of-9 shooting. Shakeel Moore chipped in eight points, all in the second half.

Dickinson put Kansas ahead 43-42 by finishing a three-point play with 16:08 remaining, dunking the ball with one hand as Arizona State's Jayden Quantaince fouled him in a last-ditch attempt to prevent the inevitable.

Moore capped an 11-0 start to the half with a fast-break bucket after a steal by KJ Adams that gave Kansas a 47-42 lead with 14:31 remaining, prompting an Arizona State timeout.

Arizona State (10-4, 1-2) went scoreless for the first seven-plus minutes of the second half, breaking the ice on a three-pointer by Adam Miller that cut Kansas' lead to 45-42.

The Jayhawks responded with force, going on an immediate 8-0 run. Back-to-back slams from Moore and Griffen that put them ahead by eight and prompted another Arizona State timeout.

Griffen came back with a 3-pointer, pushing Kansas' lead to 56-45. The Jayhawks led by double digits for the remainder of the game, outscoring Arizona State 38-13 in the second half.

Arizona State led 42-36 at halftime, making 14-of-30 attempts (46.7 percent) from the field. The second half provided a stark contrast, as the Sun Devils started 0-of-8 from the field before finishing the half a measly 5-of-23 (21.7 percent), including 1-of-11 (9.1 percent) from deep.

Alston Mason led Arizona State with 19 points, including 15 points in the first half, but he also had six of the Sun Devils' 18 total turnovers. BJ Freeman added 10 points, and Quaintance collected nine points and 11 rebounds.

Kansas shot 43.5 percent from the field overall, converting 7-of-23 attempts from long range. The Jayhawks outrebounded Arizona State 39-29 and outscored them 13-2 in bench points.

Kansas converted Arizona State's turnovers into 22 points.

--Field Level Media

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