Shaka Smart knew it was a game with two halves, and he knew the second half would be harder. His halftime interview on TV was all you needed to know. He knew Kansas would make some shots in that building and that his team needed some conviction that they could win the game in addition to having to keep up their level of play.
They might have had both, but simply put, Kansas had more of everything in their 69-58 win over Texas, their seventh straight win. This was not a game you could simply say Texas flat-out let get away from them. Instead, the Jayhawks didn’t make a liar out of the Texas mentor.
Texas led at the half, and they were able to stay with the Jayhawks for a while in the second. They were still within two and had chances to take the lead, with a couple of shots by Donovan Williams rimming out along the way. You can wonder if the game might have turned out a bit differently had one of those shots dropped, but none did and before long Kansas apparently smelled blood. They were emboldened. And they played like they are capable of.
Before you knew it, the lead hit double digits thanks to an 8-0 run after Jericho Sims made it 44-42 Kansas, and it slowly grew more into the teens. By the last media timeout, it wasn’t a ballgame anymore as the Jayhawks led 63-46. Udoka Azubuike (17 points, 12 rebounds) and the Jayhawks were too good on this night.
There have been plenty of games where you could highlight Texas just not being a good enough team, but the second half belonged to the Jayhawks on Monday night. They came to play, they fought off the Longhorns and pulled away right after it, and in all played a very solid half to put the game away. Kansas shot 48.1 percent from the field on the night, held Texas under 38 percent, out-rebounded the Longhorns 42-29 and won comfortably despite four more turnovers and going just 2-12 from long range.
Texas is looking more and more like your average bubble team come Selection Sunday, not looking like they have another quality win in them. But on Monday night, Kansas simply played better. The Jayhawks deserve the credit as they kept pace with conference leader Baylor (73-67 winners over Kansas State in Manhattan) and looked like a team that should be contending.
Shaka Smart knew what was coming, and the Jayhawks couldn’t be stopped.
Side Dishes
Florida State moved to 9-2 in ACC play by holding off North Carolina 65-59 in Tallahassee, holding the Tar Heels below 31 percent from the field. Cole Anthony was just 5-22 from the field in his second game back, but he did grab a team-high eight rebounds.
The MEAC race got a little tighter on Monday night. North Carolina A&T is now in sole possession of first place after handling visiting South Carolina State 78-63, while two teams are a game back of them. Those two teams played in the best matchup in the conference on the evening, with NC-Central using a big second half to rally past Norfolk State 69-63 for their fifth win in six games and handling the Spartans a second straight loss after a 6-0 start.
Lafayette beat Bucknell for the first time since 2015, holding off the Bison 65-62 in Lewisburg. The Leopards led by 13 at the half, but scored just 25 points in the second half, a season low. The loss drops Bucknell to 5-6 in Patriot League play, marking the latest point in a season they have been below .500 in league play since the 2013-14 season when they were 6-7 through 13 games.
There was a big surprise in the SWAC, where Texas Southern entered the night with the lead and a six-game winning streak. The Tigers went to Alabama State and got blown out 79-55, shooting under 30 percent from the field and turning the ball over 22 times. They fall to 7-2 in SWAC play and are now tied with Prairie View A&M, who handled Alabama A&M 69-54 on the road thanks to a big second half.
Out west, Eastern Washington won their sixth straight to stay on top of the Big Sky, beating Northern Arizona 77-66 in Flagstaff. Four of those six straight wins have come on the road, and a showdown at Montana for first place looms on Thursday night.
Seton Hall guard Quincy McKnight had an MRI on his left knee, which he injured late in the second half on Saturday. The MRI came back negative, and the senior is listed as day-to-day as the Pirates get ready to visit Georgetown on Wednesday night.
Tonight’s Menu
It’s not the busiest night, but here are a few key games to watch on the evening.
- The Big Ten action gets going early with Rutgers visiting Maryland and a battle of teams really needing a win as Ohio State goes to Michigan (7 p.m.), then Penn State goes to Michigan State (8 p.m.)
- Arkansas has a quality win opportunity as they host Auburn, while Tennessee tries to get back on track at Alabama (7 p.m.), and later on Mississippi State tries to keep their momentum going as they visit Kentucky (9 p.m.)
- Xavier will try to let Saturday’s big win serve as a momentum starter as they visit DePaul (9 p.m.)
- Two teams battling it out in the middle of the pack in the Big 12 meet as Texas Tech hosts Oklahoma (9 p.m.)
- The Mountain West takes over later on, including the last game of the night as Air Force visits Nevada (11 p.m.)
