photo by: AP Photo/Kevin Kolczynski
The Kansas beach reacts after a play on the floor against Central Florida during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game, Sunday, Jan. 5, 2025, in Orlando, Fla.
Orlando, Fla. — The Kansas men’s basketball team went up 35-19 with 3:45 remaining in the first half at Addition Financial Arena on Jan. 10, 2024; back in the same building on Sunday, the Jayhawks led 35-19 with 3:50 remaining in the first half.
That was where the two matchups against UCF diverged irrevocably.
Whereas last season KU had allowed the Knights to cut the lead in half by the break, and eventually suffered a shocking upset loss, this time around the Jayhawks extended the margin to 19 points ahead of halftime.
In doing so, KU prevented the Knights from grabbing any notable momentum. The Jayhawks widened the lead exponentially after the break and turned in their biggest-ever away win by margin against a Division I opponent, outrebounding UCF by 31 boards and claiming a dominant 99-48 victory.
KU’s 63 rebounds are a Big 12 record, and the result was also the most lopsided win by a road team in league history.
“We played hungry,” center Hunter Dickinson said. “We played like we dropped our first game in the Big 12 and we’re trying to get back into that Big 12 race. I think guys just were out there playing hungry, playing hard, and that was kind of a reflection of it.”
Added head coach Bill Self: “I actually think we played for 40 minutes. When the game even kind of got away, I thought we still competed hard and tried hard defensively, so that’s a good sign, and everybody we put in the game, I thought, competed hard and played athletic.”
Dickinson had 21 points by halftime and finished with 27 to go with nine rebounds in just 23 minutes of action. Flory Bidunga played alongside Dickinson early but did much of his best work on his own in the second half, finishing with 12 points, five rebounds and an eye-popping six blocks.
“We had rim protection,” Self said. “We haven’t had rim protection like that all year long. We made up for some bad defensive plays by guys contesting and blocking. The biggest thing I like about them (Bidunga and Dickinson) right now is that defensively, they can play together.”
On the wing, Rylan Griffen went a perfect 4-for-4 from beyond the arc and finished with 14 points.
“I know I can make shots,” he said. “That’s what I did last year for my team. It’s just a matter of getting in a rhythm this season. I got in a rhythm last season around the same time, actually, to be honest. I had a game I think against Missouri I shot 5 of 7 from 3, and after that I really started taking off in conference play. Hopefully the same thing happens here.”
Keyshawn Hall led the Knights in scoring with a dozen points of his own but only went 4-for-17 from the field.
UCF struggled from the field in the early going against a vigorous KU defense, as a 3-pointer by Jordan Ivy-Curry was the Knights’ only basket prior to the first media timeout, a period during which the Jayhawks also outrebounded UCF 9-3.
“Missed shots were like assists today,” Self said, “where in the past we didn’t compete for the rebounds, basically just (gave) them to the other team.”
The Knights didn’t make a 2-point basket until more than eight minutes had elapsed in the half. However, KU didn’t have much going itself on offense outside of Hunter Dickinson, who had half of the Jayhawks’ points when they went into the under-12 timeout up 16-11.
KU went up by double digits when Rylan Griffen corralled a pass at his knees and drained a 3-pointer from the right wing, then Dickinson put back a missed layup by David Coit to cap off a 7-0 run and force a timeout by UCF.
With KU leading 25-13, Dickinson got swarmed by a pair of Knight defenders as he was trying for his seventh field goal of the first half and missed, without drawing a foul call. Self, seemingly frustrated at the lack of a call, complained to the officials and got dinged with a technical foul shortly after the Jayhawks grabbed a rebound at the other end of the court. Ivy-Curry made a pair of free throws, but the Knights did little with any of their successive possessions, going nearly eight minutes without a field goal.
Dickinson briefly overtook UCF’s entire team, at one point having logged 18 points to the Knights’ 15.
After Hall hit a 3-pointer to make it 39-22, KU called timeout with a minute and a half left before the break. After an alley-oop finish by AJ Storr, a series of botched pre-half possessions and another 3, this time by Deebo Coleman, resulted in a 44-25 margin at the break.
UCF conceded a 13-4 run out of halftime, capped off by Dajuan Harris Jr., who hit just the Jayhawks’ second 3-pointer of the game, and eventually stretched the lead to 35 points midway through the second half on first-time starter Shakeel Moore’s first 3-pointer of the season.
Bidunga made potentially KU’s best play of the season, blocking a turnaround jumper by Benny Williams, chasing the ball all the way down the court and charging into the paint for a one-handed slam that made it 74-38.
“That’s probably as athletic a play as anybody’s made for us so far this year,” Self said.
The Jayhawks, who evened their conference record at 1-1, will return home amid the wintry weather, following an overnight stay in Florida, to host Big 12 newcomer Arizona State on Wednesday at 8 p.m. ASU beat Colorado 81-61 on Saturday.
