Jayhawks Soar Past Cyclones in Ames, 79-53

AMES, Iowa – Kansas closed the first half on a 21-3 run to turn a two-point game into a 26-point blowout as the No. 3/3 Jayhawks took down Iowa State, 79-53, Wednesday night inside Hilton Coliseum. Sophomore Devon Dotson led all scorers with 20 points as KU held the Cyclones – the Big 12’s top-scoring offense – to 34% shooting and a season-low 53 points.

The win moved Kansas to 12-2 on the year and 2-0 in Big 12 play, while Iowa State fell to 7-7 in 2019-20 and 0-2 in the league.

MOMENT OF THE GAME
The Jayhawks closed the first half on a 21-3 run, to turn a 25-23 advantage with seven minutes to play, into a 46-26 lead at the intermission. Kansas went 6-of-6 from the field during the stretch, including a pair of 3-pointers from freshman Christian Braun and one from sophomore Devon Dotson. Udoka Azubuike turned in eight of his 10 points on the night during KU’s run, which included him hitting 4-of-5 free throw attempts, all in the final five minutes of the half.

The Jayhawk defense was also stingy during the stretch, holding the Cyclones to 1-of-10 shooting and forcing three ISU turnovers over the final eight minutes of the opening frame.

STAT OF THE GAME
52.9 – Kansas connected on 10-of-19 3-point tries, good for a 52.9% clip from beyond the arc. It was the best shooting performance of the season from deep for the Jayhawks, who entered the night hitting 35.6% from three. The 10 triples were KU’s most in a conference road game since sinking 17 threes at Texas on Dec. 29, 2017. Sophomore Ochai Agbaji connected on four of those 3-pointers, one shy of his career high.

NOTES

After the Cylones opened the game hitting nine of its first 17 shots (52.4 percent), the Jayhawk defense held ISU to just 26.8% (11-of-41) over the final 28 minutes of the contest.
Kansas’ 26-point victory was the largest by the Jayhawks in Ames since KU defeated Iowa State 50-17 on Jan. 17, 1919.
The 20-point lead by KU was the largest by a Jayhawk team in the Self era in Ames replacing a previous mark of 13 set on Jan. 23, 2010 when KU led 38-25 at the half. The lead was Kansas’ largest Big 12 road lead at the half since KU led Texas 47-23 in Austin on Feb. 29, 2016.
Iowa State’s 53 points was the fewest by the Cyclones against KU in Ames since ISU tallied 52 on Feb. 28, 1999.
KU limited its opponent to under 60 points for the eighth time this season. The Jayhawks are 7-1 in those games with a 175-2 record in the Self era.
Kansas’ 10 3-pointers were its most in a Big 12 road game since the Jayhawks sunk 17 at Texas on Dec. 29, 2019.
Devon Dotson Tallied 20 points, marking the 20^th-straight 10-plus point game. The last time Dotson didn’t score in double digits was against Oklahoma on Mar. 5, 2019.

QUOTE OF THE GAME

"“It was a h.o.r.s.e. context the first 15 minutes. They made shots, we made shots. I really thought for the middle 20 minutes of the game we really defended pretty well and rebounded. Everybody contributed. It was especially nice to see the considering Marcus (Garrett) wasn’t in the game.” "
Head coach Bill Self

UP NEXT
Kansas will return to Allen Fieldhouse on Saturday, Jan. 11, to host the Baylor Bears on CBS at 12 p.m. (CT). Kansas is 32-5 all-time against Baylor, including a 17-0 advantage in Lawrence, 16-0 edge in Allen Fieldhouse. The Jayhawks have won 13 of the last 14 meetings with the Bears including both match-ups last season.

None

BRAUN drains another trey

DOTSON leads all scorers with 20 points – and he’s got range!

Good times keep on rollin’ for #KUbball!

Jayhawks are 7-10 from behind the arc and lead the Cyclones 57-34.

14:29 to play. pic.twitter.com/FQNs9vdudV

— Kansas Basketball (@KUHoops) January 9, 2020