Jayhawks Survive UCF Scare Without Injured Harris
LAWRENCE, kan. — Despite playing without point guard Dajuan Harris Jr.for the first time in nearly five years, the No. 11 Kansas Jayhawks managed to escape with a hard-fought 91-87 victory over the UCF Knights on Tuesday night.
The win came down to the wire, with Kansas clinging to an 87-86 lead in the closing seconds. key plays by senior forward KJ Adams, who returned from a three-game absence due to a shoulder injury, and clutch free throws by Zeke Mayo (24 points) and Hunter Dickinson (24 points) secured the Jayhawks’ victory.
“We were just trying to survive,” Kansas coach Bill Self said. “Its pretty evident how valuable Juan is after watching our ballhandling and getting us into offence and defense.”
The absence of Harris, who has played in 159 games and started the last 98, was felt early.Shakeel Moore picked up two quick fouls, testing the depth of the Kansas backcourt. Mayo stepped up,knocking down six 3-pointers,adding nine rebounds and six assists. Backup guard David coit also provided a spark, hitting four 3-pointers and scoring 12 points.
This win was especially crucial after the Jayhawks’ double-overtime setback against Houston on Saturday. Kansas showed composure down the stretch, a key difference from thier previous game.After Keyshawn hall (34 points) brought UCF within one point,Adams forced a turnover and calmly sunk two free throws with 4.6 seconds left. Kansas then fouled Darius Johnson, who split his free throws. Mayo iced the game with two free throws of his own at the 3.1 second mark.
“it’s next man up, and trusting Coach in what he puts out there for us,” Mayo said. “It’s about playing together, staying connected, and we’re just going to continue to move forward. Have Juan back, hopefully, and go for a run.”
Harris has scored 1,078 points with 786 assists in his career, and he needs 19 more assists to pass Jacque Vaughn for No.2 on the career list behind Aaron Miles.
Coach Self remains optimistic about Harris’ return. “We thought he was playing this morning. We thought he was fine this morning and obviously goes out to the shootaround and couldn’t do anything on it,” Self said. “Fortunately, it’s Tuesday. tomorrow is an off day and we’ll see if he’s able to go Thursday.”
What impact did KJ Adams have on the game after returning from injury?
Jayhawks Survive UCF Scare Without Injured Harris
LAWRENCE, kan. — Despite playing without point guard Dajuan harris Jr.for the first time in nearly five years, the No.11 Kansas Jayhawks managed to escape with a hard-fought 91-87 victory over the UCF Knights on Tuesday night.
The win came down to the wire, with Kansas clinging to an 87-86 lead in the closing seconds. key plays by senior forward KJ Adams, who returned from a three-game absence due to a shoulder injury, and clutch free throws by Zeke Mayo (24 points) and Hunter Dickinson (24 points) secured the Jayhawks’ victory.
“We were just trying to survive,” Kansas coach Bill Self said. “Its pretty evident how valuable juan is after watching our ballhandling and getting us into offense and defense.”
The absence of Harris, who has played in 159 games and started the last 98, was felt early.Shakeel Moore picked up two quick fouls,testing the depth of the Kansas backcourt.Mayo stepped up,knocking down six 3-pointers,adding nine rebounds and six assists. Backup guard David coit also provided a spark, hitting four 3-pointers and scoring 12 points.
This win was especially crucial after the Jayhawks’ double-overtime setback against Houston on Saturday. Kansas showed composure down the stretch, a key difference from thier previous game.After Keyshawn hall (34 points) brought UCF within one point,Adams forced a turnover and calmly sunk two free throws with 4.6 seconds left. Kansas then fouled Darius Johnson, who split his free throws. Mayo iced the game with two free throws of his own at the 3.1 second mark.
“it’s next man up, and trusting Coach in what he puts out there for us,” Mayo said. “It’s about playing together, staying connected, and we’re just going to continue to move forward.have Juan back, hopefully, and go for a run.”
Harris has scored 1,078 points with 786 assists in his career, and he needs 19 more assists to pass Jacque Vaughn for No.2 on the career list behind Aaron Miles.
Coach Self remains optimistic about harris’ return.”We thought he was playing this morning. We thought he was fine this morning and obviously goes out to the shootaround and couldn’t do anything on it,” Self said. “Fortunately, it’s Tuesday. tomorrow is an off day and we’ll see if he’s able to go Thursday.”
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Jayhawks Q&A: UCF Aftermath
Q: Why was this win especially important for Kansas?
A: After a tough double-overtime loss against Houston,bouncing back with a win against UCF showed Kansas’ resilience and ability to close out a tight game.
Q: Who stepped up in Dajuan Harris’ absence?
A: Zeke Mayo had a standout performance with 24 points,six 3-pointers,nine rebounds,and six assists.Backup guard David Coit also contributed significantly with 12 points and four 3-pointers.
Q: What’s the latest on Harris’ injury?
A: Coach Self is hopeful Harris will be back for thursday’s game.The injury seemed to flare up suddenly during shootaround.
Q: How close is Harris to breaking the assists record?
A: He needs just 19 more assists to pass Jacque Vaughn for second place on Kansas’ all-time assists list.
The jayhawks will be looking for Harris to return quickly, but they showed tuesday night that they have the depth and determination to compete even without their star point guard.
