🏀 Jayhawks Claim 292nd Dillons Sunflower Showdown, 81-60

LAWRENCE, Kan. – Freshman guard Christian Braun’s hot shooting and career-high 20 points helped lead the No. 3 Kansas Jayhawks to an 81-60 win over Kansas State in the 292^nd Dillons Sunflower Showdown Tuesday night inside Allen Fieldhouse. Braun connected on six 3-pointers, while sophomore Devon Dotson added 18 points and senior Udoka Azubuike turned in his seventh double-double as the Jayhawks won their 14^th-straight against their in-state rival in Lawrence.

The victory moved the Jayhawks to 15-3 on the year and 5-1 in Big 12 play. Kansas State fell 8-10 in its 2019-20 campaign and 1-5 in the conference.

MOMENT OF THE GAME
Christian Braun checked into the game for the first time at the 16:37 mark and the Jayhawks trailing 5-4. Over the next six minutes the freshman out of Burlington, Kansas scored 11 points during a 22-4 KU run that saw the Jayhawks build its lead to 26-9 by the 10:30 mark of the first half. Braun hit three 3-pointers and went a perfect 4-of-4 during the stretch. K-State was never able to shrink its deficit to less than 13 points for the rest of the contest.

STAT OF THE GAME
37 – The Kansas bench turned in 37 points and outscored the Wildcat bench by 28, its second-largest margin of the season. It marked the most points the Jayhawk bench has scored in a Big 12 game since KU’s reserves scored 43 against Iowa State on March 5, 2016.

NOTES

• The win improved Kansas to 14-0 following a home loss in the Self era.
• The victory also gave Kansas its 14th-straight win against Kansas State in Allen Fieldhouse.
• Kansas used a 19-2 run to increase its lead to 26-9 with 10:29 remaining in the first half. Christian Braun went 3-of-3 from deep in this span while Devon Dotson and Ochai Agbaji added a pair of buckets.
• Kansas scored 18 points off 11 K-State turnovers in the first half.
• The Jayhawks bench outscored the Wildcats 18-2 in the opening frame and finished the night outscoring KSU 37-9.
• KU’s 21-point victory was its largest over Kansas State since KU topped the Wildcats 85-63 on Mar. 10, 2016 and its largest victory in Lawrence since KU defeated KSU 86-60 on Jan. 11, 2014.
• Kansas’ 17 offensive rebounds were its most this season.
• The Jayhawks’ seven blocks in the second half were their most in a half since Kansas rejected seven first-half shots against Baylor on Jan. 12, 2019.
• Freshman guard Christian Braun’ 20-point effort broke his career-high of 11 points that he previously set against Monmouth on Nov. 15, 2019.
• Braun’s six triples were a career-high, topping his previous high of three that he set against Iowa State Jan. 8, 2020.
• It also was the most threes by a KU freshman since Quentin Grimes hit six against Michigan State on Nov. 6, 2019.

QUOTE OF THE GAME

"He was great ... This is his first rivalry game and he comes out and gets 20 and was terrific, by far the best player in the game."

- Bill Self on Christian Braun

UP NEXT
The Jayhawks will step out of league play on Saturday, Jan. 25 when they take part in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge to face the Tennessee Volunteers. Tipoff from Allen Fieldhouse is slated for 3 p.m. (CT) on ESPN. KU is 3-1 all-time against Tennessee and 4-2 in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge.

The day will also feature the return of ESPN College GameDay’s return to Lawrence. The one-hour show will begin at 10 a.m. (CT). Saturday marks the 20th time the Jayhawks will be featured on GameDay, with 16 regular-season appearances and three at neutral locations. The Jayhawks are 11-5 in their previous regular-season appearances.

TOP PLAYS

BRAUN drops another 3-pointer and leads all scorers with 17.