Vick shoots No. 2 Kansas to a win over Vermont, 84-68
LAWRENCE, Kan.– Senior Lagerald Vick’s career-high 32 points, including a perfect line from three-point range, lifted the No. 2 Kansas Jayhawks to an 84-68 win over the Vermont Catamounts Monday night inside Allen Fieldhouse.
The victory moved the Jayhawks to 2-0 on the year and marked their 46th-consecutive home-opening win, while Vermont suffered its first blemish of 2018-19, now at 1-1.
Vick’s hot night started early as the senior out of Memphis knocked down his first two attempts from deep to put KU up 6-0 less than a minute into the contest. The visitors were not intimidated though as VU stopped the early Jayhawk surge and managed to build an eight-point lead before four minutes could tick off the clock, leading 16-8 by the under-16 minute media timeout.
From there the Catamounts kept the Jayhawks at arm’s length before Vick’s fourth 3-pointer of the half at the seven-minute mark pulled the Jayhawks within four points, 29-25, and kick-started a strong KU close to the half.
Udoka Azubuike dunked in two of his 23 points to begin a 7-0 Jayhawk run to close the half as the team claimed a 40-36 advantage as it headed to the halftime locker room.
The Kansas run extended into the second half as the Jayhawks begin the frame on a 13-4 stretch that pushed its lead to 53-40 and was capped by yet another Vick three-pointer. That shot was the first of three-straight treys by the senior that pushed KU’s lead to 59-45 with 11:20 remaining.
From there a group effort helped KU to the finish line as Vick, Azubuike, sophomore Charlie Moore and freshman Quentin Grimes accounted for 20 of their team’s final 25 points, to close out the Catamounts with an 84-68 win.
Ending his night with a perfect 8-of-8 from 3-point range, Vick became the first Jayhawk in program history to make eight threes without a miss. He closed the night with a career-high 32 points on 10-of-12 shooting and was joined in double-figures by Azubuike, who tallied his eighth-career double-double with 23 points and 11 rebounds.
Grimes also posted a double-double, the first of his young career. He scored 10 points and dished out 10 assists in the win.
QUOTES (FULL QUOTES)
Kansas head coach Bill Self
Opening statement:
“I tell you what, it was a heck of a win. We knew they were good before the game started and obviously (we) were nervous because they can play basically five guards at once. We got the ball to Udoka (Azubuike) where he wanted it and he had a lot of good finishes. He missed some shots that he normally makes, that’s the worst he’s shot it since he’s been at Kansas, 10-for-17, which tells you how good he usually shoots it. Lagerald Vick, that’s the best offensive game that I’ve ever had a player have, whenever I’ve coached them. He missed a three-foot jump-hook that was in and out, he missed a lay-up that was a dipsy-doo, which he didn’t go strong at all, and other than that he goes 12-for-12 and two of his four makes, that wasn’t a three, his toe was on the line. It was incredible. We need every one of them, he and Udoka just carried us tonight.”
On Lagerald Vick’s career high, going 8-for-8 from 3-point range:
“He was good, he was so good, and he carried us. If we didn’t have him early in the game we would have be down 12 or 14. Certainly not having Udoka in foul trouble was a blessing. We saw the very worst that Dedric (Lawson) will ever play in his life. Even when he’s playing rec ball when he’s 55 years old, he will never have a game like he did tonight. It was a good win, we’ll take it. We’ll look back on this one when they (Vermont) go 15-1 in their league thinking, ‘That was a good win.'”
Senior guard Lagerald Vick
On how he got off to a quick start:
“It was just confidence, (my) coaches and teammates just giving me words before the game and just going out there and really just playing for the team and shooting the ball.”
On what he did differently to prepare for the game:
“I put up a lot of shots after the game we played against Michigan State. We had an off night, but I didn’t sit back on that. I just came out ready to play.”
NOTABLES (FULL NOTES)
- KU’s 81-66 victory over Vermont marks the Jayhawks’ 46th-consecutive regular season home opener in Allen Fieldhouse, a streak that dates back to the 1973-74 season.
- The Jayhawks improved to 2-0 for the second-straight season and ninth time in Bill Self’s 16 seasons at Kansas.
- Lagerald Vick (32) and Udoka Azubuike (23) combined 55 points, the most points by a Jayhawk duo since Devonte’ Graham (35) and Vick (20) scored 55 against Syracuse on Dec. 2, 2017.
- Quentin Grimes and Azubuike’s double-doubles mark the first time a pair of Jayhawks has notched double-doubles since March 10, 2018 against West Virginia in the Big 12 Tournament last season. Devonte’ Graham posted 18 points and 13 assists and Silvio De Sousa had 16 points and 10 rebounds (3/10/18).
- The Jayhawks’ 63.2 percent (12-19) clip from 3-point range was the team’s best since hitting 69.2 percent (9-13) against New Mexico State in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on March 20, 2015).
- Combing the final 1:49 of the first half and the first 6:25 of the second half, the Jayhawks outscored the Catamounts 20-4, going 9-13 from the field and 2-3 from beyond the arc during that stretch.
- Senior guard Lagerald Vick’s eight 3-pointers marked a career-high for treys made in a single game.
- Vick’s eight treys also set a Kansas record for most 3-pointers made without a miss. Ben McLemore previously held the record going 6-for-6 from the 3-point line against Iowa State in on Jan. 9, 2013.
- Vick’s eight threes tie Mario Chalmers (3/16/08 vs. Texas) and Billy Thomas (1/10/98 vs. Texas) for the second-most 3-pointers made in a single game in Kansas basketball history.
- Vick’s 32 points on 12-of-14 shooting, surpass his previous career high of 28 set last season.
- Vick’s 32 points are the most points are the most points scored by a senior since Devonte’ Graham scored 35 points against Syracuse (12/2/17).
- Quentin Grimes’ 10 points and 10 assists mark the freshman’s first double-double as a Jayhawk.
UP NEXT
Kansas will host Louisiana on Friday, Nov. 16, at 7 p.m. on Jayhawk TV and ESPN+. This series is tied with Louisiana winning the first meeting, 54-45, on Dec. 29, 1983, and Kansas winning the most recent match-up, 96-51, on Dec. 11, 2004.
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