Recap: Kansas basketball wins 80-74 against NC State in Battle 4 Atlantis game

PARADISE ISLAND, Bahamas — Kansas men's basketball's 2022-23 season continued Wednesday with a Battle 4 Atlantis tournament matchup inside the Imperial Arena against NC State.

The No. 3 Jayhawks came in off of an 82-76 win at home against Southern Utah. The Wolfpack came in off of a 74-63 win at home against Elon. This is Kansas' first appearance in this tournament since 2013.

Did coach Bill Self's Jayhawks' squad keep its undefeated run going in his first game back from a self-imposed suspension, which also included assistant coach Kurtis Townsend? Did coach Kevin Keatts' Wolfpack squad capture an upset victory? It was a matchup of Big 12 Conference and Atlantic Coast Conference programs.

Here's what happened:

FINAL: Kansas 80, NC State 74

Kansas went small late after KJ Adams Jr. picked up his fifth foul. That had Jalen Wilson playing at the 5-spot. And although NC State made a late push, that wasn't enough and the Jayhawks won.

Kansas leads 76-68 with 2:26 left in 2nd half

That seemed like a swing just then that should do it. A NC State player missed a pair of free throws, and on the ensuing possession Gradey Dick scored for Kansas. And after another possession without points for the Wolfpack, Jalen Wilson earned the Jayhawks two more points to put them up eight points with a little less than two and a half minutes left.

Kansas leads 71-67 against NC State with 3:42 left in 2nd half

There have been some big, big buckets from Dajuan Harris Jr. here recently, and that's in large part why the Jayhawks are up four here late. He's up to 11 points on an efficient shooting day. And he also leads all players with five assists.

Kansas leads 67-65 against NC State with 5:26 left in 2nd half

There have been some wild possessions in this one, but Kansas still maintains a slim lead with about five and a half minutes left. Who can take advantage of the extra possessions may determine this. The Jayhawks have a slim advantage in second chance points so far.

Kansas leads 61-59 against NC State with 7:42 left in 2nd half

NC State is going to have a chance to tie this up after the break. It has a couple free throws coming and is down just two with 7:42 left in the second half. But before that happens, Kansas still holds a minor lead.

Both sides have 11 turnovers to this point, but the Jayhawks have 19 points off of them to the Wolfpack's 13. Kansas has been sloppy at times, but this isn't why it's in a tight game. It's also had more opportunities at the free throw line and made more as well.

Kansas leads 55-49 against NC State with 11:14 left in 2nd half

Gradey Dick will be going to the line for three free throws after being fouled on a shot, heading into this break. Before that happens, it's a 55-49 lead for the Jayhawks. A little more than half of the second half remains.

NC State had a technical foul called on it during this most recent stretch. It looked as if an assistant coach said something that an official took issue with. Dick, who leads all scorers with 20 points, hit two free throws after that happened to help bolster Kansas' lead.

Kansas leads 46-43 against NC State with 15:43 left in 2nd half

Kevin McCullar Jr. has sparked the Jayhawks some here, and will be taking free throws after they come out of this timeout. McCullar hit a 3-pointer to put Kansas up 46-43. There's now 15:43 left in the second half.

KJ Adams Jr. was taken out after picking up his third foul. So, look for Ernest Udeh Jr. to get an extended run here off of the bench. For the most part, the Jayhawks have been able to do well going up against the size the Wolfpack can have in the post compared to theirs.

Kansas and NC State are tied 39-39 with 17:57 left in 2nd half

Bill Self is hot, yelling at multiple officials after he calls a timeout with 17:57 left. It's clear he's upset both with them and how the second half has started. Kansas has just watched NC State tie the score at 39-39 after an 8-0 run.

The lob just isn't working right now for Kansas. It may need to go another route offensively if it's going to find success. Even the veterans like Dajuan Harris Jr. are struggling with it.

The second half is underway

Kansas went with its usual starters coming out of halftime. That's Dajuan Harris Jr., Gradey Dick, Kevin McCullar Jr., Jalen Wilson and KJ Adams Jr. And the Jayhawks had the ball to start.

Kansas leads 39-31 against NC State at halftime

The Jayhawks have their largest lead of the game heading into halftime, and who else than Gradey Dick to give that to them. Dick nailed a 3-pointer as the first half came to a close. Dick has 18 points on 6-for-9 shooting from the field — all 3s.

Kansas leads 33-27 against NC State with 3:01 left in 1st half

Man, even Dajuan Harris Jr. just nailed a 3-pointer. The Jayhawks are now 8-for-11 from behind the arc. They lead 33-27 with 3:01 left in the first half.

It seems like freshman Zuby Ejiofor has done well for Kansas in the minutes he's received in the first half. The Jayhawks aren't enjoying much success lobbing the ball to its bigs, and Ejiofor isn't exempt from that, but with Zach Clemence only recently cleared to play they were going to need Ejiofor to be reliable. He's done that so far.

Kansas and NC State are tied 25-25 with 5:59 left in 1st half

The Jayhawks and Wolfpack have played nearly three quarters of the first half and remain tied. Each team has had its share of highlight plays, but all of them may have been topped by Kansas' Kevin McCullar Jr. nailing a 3-pointer as the shot clock expired not long ago. That even had Bill Self laughing.

As sloppy as Kansas has been at times offensively, it's been able to hit 3s to make up for that. The Jayhawks have six turnovers, but they also are 6-for-9 on 3s — with Gradey Dick hitting the other five. More controlled play offensively, especially when it comes to lobs, will have Kansas rolling because NC State is struggling to get much offensively as well.

Kansas and NC State are tied 15-15 with 11:14 left in 1st half

Kansas' first substitutions in this one came with 13:25 remaining in the first half. Ernest Udeh Jr. and Bobby Pettiford Jr. came in. Kevin McCullar Jr. and KJ Adams Jr. both came out.

Kansas' Gradey Dick leads all scorers with nine points. He's already 3-for-4 from behind the arc against NC State. Now, he'll just need some more help from his teammates — including Jalen Wilson, who just had his first bucket to tie the score at 15-15.

NC State leads 5-4 with 15:44 left in 1st half

The Jayhawks are struggling to find open looks offensively. Bill Self is frustrated with how some plays are being run. And that's in large part why Kansas is trailing 5-4 at a timeout with 15:44 left in the first half.

The Jayhawks have defended the Wolfpack well, though. Actually, NC State is shooting the ball worse from the field than Kansas is at this point. But that effort, led by Dajuan Harris Jr., hasn't been enough to keep NC State from taking the lead.

The tip-off

Kansas' KJ Adams Jr. won the tip-off, and this one is underway.

Bill is back on the bench

Bill Self comments on MJ Rice, Zach Clemence

The starters

Zach Clemence appears on Kansas' pregame radio show

Clemence, a freshman forward, said it feels great to be back and practicing again after getting hit in the face against North Dakota State earlier this season. It hurt to have to miss the trip to Indianapolis for the Champions Classic, but he noted it's beautiful here in the Bahamas. Over the offseason as he prepared for the season, he said he worked on enhancing what he was already capable of.

The key to beating NC State will be guarding its shooters, Clemence said.

Add walk-on Wilder Evers to Kansas' injury report

Here's a look at Kansas freshman MJ Rice in warmups

Two Jayhawks to keep an eye on, when it comes to if they play

Zach Clemence and MJ Rice are both going through warmups for Kansas. It's unclear if both, or either, will play today after practicing Tuesday as both are recovering from health issues. Clemence was in concussion protocol, and Rice had kidney stones this past weekend after also being out with an illness earlier in the season as well and missing time with a back injury.

Re-live Kansas' last contest

Jordan Guskey covers University of Kansas Athletics at The Topeka Capital-Journal. Contact him at jmguskey@gannett.com or on Twitter at @JordanGuskey.

This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: KU basketball vs. NC State: Score, recap from Battle 4 Atlantis game