No. 14 Kansas overpowers Kansas State

Field Level Media|published: Wed 6th March, 02:41 2024

Mar 5, 2024; Lawrence, Kansas, USA; Kansas Jayhawks guard Johnny Furphy (10) looks to pass as Kansas State Wildcats guard Tylor Perry (2) defends during the first half at Allen Fieldhouse. credits: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports

Hunter Dickinson amassed 15 points, 20 rebounds and four blocks as No. 14 Kansas cruised in its regular-season home finale, drubbing Kansas State 90-68 on Tuesday in Lawrence, Kan.

Kansas outscored Kansas State 49-35 in the second half. The Jayhawks have not lost on Senior Night since the 1982-83 season.

Kevin McCullar led Kansas (22-8, 10-7 Big 12) with 19 points, and he was followed by Nicolas Timberlake with 18 and KJ Adams Jr. with 16.

Kansas State's three leading scorers coming into the game, Tylor Perry, Cam Carter and Arthur Kaluma, combined for just 15 points, and 12 of those came in about the first seven minutes of the game.

Perry, who was averaging a team-high 16 points per game, finished with two points and went 0-for-6 from the field. Carter (15.1 ppg) had three points on one 3-pointer in seven shots from the field, and Kaluma (14.6) had 10 points and eight rebounds.

Will McNair Jr. led the Wildcats (17-13, 7-10) with 17 points. David N'Guessan and Dai Dai Ames added 10 apiece.

Kansas State did not score in the first 3:53 of the second half as Kansas widened its eight-point lead to 47-33. The Wildcats never got within digits again and trailed by as many as 28 points at 81-53.

The Wildcats stayed in the game early thanks to Kaluma, who scored nine of their first 12 points. Eventually, Kansas pulled away. When Dickinson hit a pair of free throws with 5:07 left to cap an 8-0 run, the Jayhawks led 32-22.

Kansas still led by eight at halftime, 41-33 at halftime. McCullar led all scorers with 12 points. Dickinson added eight points, nine rebounds and three blocks in the half.

The Wildcats shot better than the Jayhawks in the first half, however, . 42.3 percent to 40 percent. Kansas built its lead largely by going 16-of-18 from the free-throw line.

Kansas State committed seven turnovers in the half, which was actually slightly under their average. The Wildcats began the night 339th in Division I — last among major-conference teams — with an average of 15 turnovers per game.

—Field Level Media