Without Kevin McCullar Jr., Kansas basketball routs Texas for Big 12 Conference victory
LAWRENCE — Kansas basketball’s 2023-24 season continued Saturday with an 86-67 win at home in Big 12 Conference play against Texas.
Here are a few takeaways from the No. 10 Jayhawks (21-6, 9-5 in Big 12) victory against the Longhorns (17-10, 6-8 in Big 12):
Kevin McCullar Jr. misses another game for Kansas
For the fourth time this season, graduate senior guard Kevin McCullar Jr. did not suit up for Kansas. The injury he’s been dealing with for some time, that he tweaked in the Feb. 17 win at Oklahoma, continues to bother him. And yet, despite his absence, the Jayhawks were able to come away with the win and move to 3-1 when McCullar hasn’t been in the lineup.
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Graduate senior guard Nicolas Timberlake started in McCullar’s place, and in large part thanks to a stellar first half finished with 13 points. It’s unclear when McCullar will return to action at this point, but how Timberlake played early on should give Kansas confidence if McCullar’s absence extends beyond Saturday. Freshman guards Jamari McDowell and Elmarko Jackson had some positive moments off the bench, too.
Kansas keeps Texas star Max Abmas from reaching double figures scoring
In the past 26 games graduate guard Max Abmas played for Texas this season, he only failed to reach double figures scoring twice. And by game’s end Saturday, Kansas was able to up that number to three. Abmas finished with just five points on a lackluster shooting night.
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The Longhorns did have multiple other players reach double figures scoring, but no one this season on their roster has scored more than Abmas. Understanding that, the scoring outputs from his Texas teammates Saturday weren’t nearly enough to make up for him. As a team, the Longhorns shot the ball poorly.
KJ Adams Jr. thrives in possibly his last game against Texas
Senior center Hunter Dickinson led the way for Kansas with his 20-point, seven-rebound performance, but don’t lose sight of what junior forward KJ Adams Jr. did for the Jayhawks. He finished with 16 points and eight rebounds. As seems to be the case night in and night out, his energy appeared to be contagious.
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Unless Kansas plays Texas in the Big 12 tournament, this could be the last time Adams plays against the Longhorns. Texas is heading to the Southeastern Conference after this season. So, for now, this’ll serve as an impressive way Adams — who’s from Austin, Texas — to go out against the Longhorns.
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Jordan Guskey covers University of Kansas Athletics at The Topeka Capital-Journal. He is the National Sports Media Association’s sportswriter of the year for the state of Kansas for 2022. Contact him at jmguskey@gannett.com or on Twitter at @JordanGuskey.
This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Kansas basketball captured a resounding victory at home against Texas
