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Kansas Jayhawks Triumph Over Colorado Buffaloes in Hard-Fought Victory
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Kansas Jayhawks (3-0) (LW: 21) — Won vs. Colorado (38-33) – Boulder, Colo. — In a contest where offensive flow was difficult to find, the Kansas Jayhawks relied on their superstar big man Hunter Dickinson to deliver in a blue-collar 71-64 road victory over the Colorado Buffaloes Monday night at the CU Events Center.
Season-High For Hunter Dickinson As He Doubled Up 39 & 10
Dickinson illustrated his dominance, scoring a season-high 32 points on an efficient 13-for-18 shooting night and grabbing 13 rebounds. His late-game heroics locked up the win for Kansas, moving the Jayhawks to 19-9 overall and 10-7 in Big 12 play.
KJ Adams also provided a huge boost, scoring 15 rugged points, the best he has done in conference competition this year.
Kansas’ Struggles on the Boards
Despite the victory, Kansas struggled with rebounding, giving up 18 offensive boards to Colorado. But CU could not take advantage of those chances, finishing the night shooting just 38.2% from the floor and an abysmal 20.8% from 3-point range.
Game Recap: War From Start to Finish
The Jayhawks jumped out to a hot start, hitting their first six field goals, including two big mid-range jumpers from Adams. Dickinson made an early dent with six points and three rebounds in the first few minutes, aiding Kansas in its 14-4 lead.
Colorado settled in featuring back-to-back dunks from Bangot Dak, who paced CU with 16 points but was hamstrung by foul trouble. But the Buffaloes fought back to make it interesting, pulling to within 32-28 late in the first half. By the break, CU had an eye-popping 12 second-chance points to zero for KU, another sign of Kansas’ rebounding issues.
The Jayhawks’ offensive struggles carried over to the second half, and they missed their first five free throws. Colorado took advantage, drawing even at 37 on a transition three-point play from Julian Hammond III. The Buffaloes even led for a time before Kansas regained control.
Keys to Victory: Big Plays in the Pocket
With Dak in foul trouble late in the game, CU wasn’t able to lean on him, which hurt the Buffs. With 4:45 remaining, he picked up his fourth foul, and Rylan Griffen went to the line, where he converted all three shots. The Buffaloes hung around (and stayed within striking distance) by making critical free throws, but their failure to hit field goals over the last four minutes proved to be too great an obstacle to overcome.
Dickinson delivered in the clutch, hitting a layup and an alley-oop dunk to seal up the game. But the Jayhawks were able to cling to the win despite their late-game defensive fouls.
Next Up: Meet Texas Tech in Showdown
Kansas now shifts its focus to a pivotal showdown with No. 10 Texas Tech on Saturday at 1 p.m. The Red Raiders, who lost 69-61 to No. 4 Houston last time out, and will be desperate for a bounce-back, making this a must-watch Big 12 clash.
Final Thoughts
But the road victory came with problems, namely with rebounding and free-throw shooting. But with Dickinson shining and the team finding a way to gut out close wins, the Jayhawks are still putting themselves in position to be a force during the second half of the season.
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