The one thing Kansas has consistently done for a decade is win the Big 12. Monday night went a long way to another Big 12 title for the Jayhawks, as they put together a big run bridging the first and second halves to run past the Iowa State Cyclones, 89-76. Kansas sits at 8-1 in the league, Iowa State 6-3. This was the last meeting between the two teams during the regular season.
Here are a few takeaways from this big Kansas victory:
The Jayhawks’ three-point shooting was extraordinary. KU hit 10 of 21 from distance, a sparkling 47.6 percent. Wayne Selden Jr. went the hell off during the second half, hitting five threes as a part of his 20-point outing. Kansas got a pair of triples from Kelly Oubre and Brannen Greene. When the Jayhawks make you guard out to the three-point line, they are one of the best teams in the nation. In the instances when they do not do so, they are quite beatable. To be more precise, they aren’t just beatable, they are a team you can blow out. Kentucky, Temple and even Iowa State all had commanding leads on Kansas. When the deep shot is falling, the defense has to guard everyone.
Frank Mason didn’t have his flashiest game offensively, with 12 points on 4-11 shooting and 4-7 at the foul line, but the sophomore point guard did have 8 assists to 2 turnovers, with 5 rebounds and a pair of steals. He really outplayed Monte Morris of Iowa State. When Mason started putting things together as a scorer, Kansas took off. He’s had a sensational season.
Iowa State went 7-21 from three-point range. Georges Niang excluded, the team was 4-16. The offense really couldn’t establish a rhythm, being forced to play in the halfcourt for the first 30 minutes or so. The Cyclones went to the foul line only 14 times, making 9. They were outscored by 15 points on threes and free throws; the final margin was 13.
The Cyclones got a great game out of Georges Niang. He was able to tear Kansas up and do anything he wanted for his 37 minutes. Niang scored 24 on 9-18 shooting, 3-5 from three, 3-4 at the free throw line. He had 6 rebounds, 3 offensive, and 5 assists to 4 turnovers.
The Clones didn’t get great games from anyone else. Bryce Dejean-Jones had 14 points at the expense of 13 shot attempts. Naz Long had 11 on 4-8 shooting, but turned the ball over 3 times. There wasn’t anything solid from the backcourt. It really caught up to ISU.
Kansas passes the ball very well. The Jayhawks finished with 22 assists on 32 field goals. The passing, especially by Mason, makes you respect the fact he could go somewhere else with the ball. That’s when Mason takes you off the bounce. Selden was able to get his own shots as well.
The Cyclones faded a bit in the Big 12 race. With three losses, they sit half a game back of West Virginia for second place. ISU has a tough road back in the conference race with six road games remaining. The team’s last three conference losses were all on the road. The Cyclones probably represented the best chance to knock the Jayhawks off their perch as well. This was a tough game for them.
Overall, this was a disappointing night of basketball. I’m sure you’ve all read Ryan’s piece on Virginia’s win over North Carolina. These games seemed great on paper. They were fun for a while, but ultimately the better and more fully formed teams were able to assert their dominance. There seems to be a clear-cut divide between the elite teams and everyone else. This is going to make for a very interesting next two months.
