Kansas basketball suffered a 74-57 defeat on Wednesday on the road during Big 12 Conference play against Iowa State.
The No. 10 Jayhawks (12-4, 3-2 in Big 12) led for only a few minutes over the course of the contest. The No. 2 Cyclones (15-1, 5-0 in Big 12) controlled the vast majority of the game, even when Kansas took its opportunities to cut the deficit closer. It wasn’t just that Iowa State had the benefit of playing in front of a home crowd inside Hilton Coliseum, it’s that it was the better team overall.
Here are a few things to think about following the Jayhawks’ latest loss:
If there was any moment that indicated how costly turnovers were for Kansas during this matchup, it was early in the second half. So quickly, Jayhawks star center Hunter Dickinson committed back-to-back turnovers. In a situation Kansas needed to garner some momentum, in order to mount a second half comeback, the Jayhawks found themselves throwing it away.
By game’s end, Kansas had committed 17 turnovers to Iowa State’s 13. The Cyclones had scored 23 points off of KU miscues, while the Jayhawks had scored 14 points off of ISU miscues. Four different Kansas players, including Dickinson, finished with at least three turnovers, and that’s not a game plan that’s going to enjoy much success on the road against a top 10 opponent — especially when some of them are the guys their coach is supposed to trust the most.
When the game ended, Kansas guard Zeke Mayo — who led the Jayhawks with 17 points — finished 3-for-9 shooting from behind the arc. As a team, Kansas was 5-for-16 on 3s, so outside of Mayo the Jayhawks combined to shoot 2-for-7 from behind the arc. It’s not a stat-line that is going to be conducive for success moving forward.
Kansas is already a team that opponents are going to try to take away points in the paint from, and if there’s only going to be one player who is a consistent threat to take shots from behind the arc then opponents might try to find a way to take that away as well. Mayo shouldn’t be the only player on a given night who leaves having attempted more than two 3s in a game on the Jayhawks’ roster. It’s not about other players forcing shots, it’s about finding ways to ensure they are keeping a defense honest in this regard.
While it’s only mid-January, losing a game like this means Kansas is going to need more help from around the league than it already did coming into the game. The Jayhawks are now a couple of games behind an Iowa State team that could very well be celebrating a Big 12 regular season championship when the season ends. Beating the Cyclones when the two sides meet up again later on during the regular season, in Lawrence, only helps KU out so much.
Whatever momentum Kansas had after winning three-straight games coming into this game appears to have dissipated rather quickly, especially considering there is an injury concern surrounding forward KJ Adams now. Against both a Big 12 and national championship contender, the Jayhawks looked far from being either. There’s still time for KU to find its way this season, but the window to do so is closing and Iowa State is doing everything it can to not help hold it open.
Jordan Guskey covers University of Kansas Athletics at The Topeka Capital-Journal. He is the National Sports Media Association’s sportswriter of the year for the state of Kansas for 2022. Contact him at jmguskey@gannett.com or on Twitter at @JordanGuskey.
