kansascity
Duke edged Kansas 90-84 in a high-profile exhibition at Allen Fieldhouse on Sunday, October 25, but the Jayhawks' head coach Bill Self is already contemplating a potential postseason encore. Self remarked that if his team were at full strength and the two programs crossed paths in the NCAA Tournament, the matchup could be a thrilling contest.
Self's comment came after the No. 17 Jayhawks fell to the No. 2 Blue Devils in an entertaining showcase. Duke was powered by junior forward Patrick Ngongba, who posted 28 points and 10 rebounds, and senior guard John Blackwell, who added 23 points. Kansas freshman Tyran Stokes delivered a standout performance with 27 points, eight rebounds, and seven assists across 37 minutes.
Kansas, playing without Purdue transfer big man Trey Kaufman-Renn as he works back into game shape, held a six-point lead after three minutes, led by two at halftime, and were up four with 11:38 remaining. However, Duke seized a one-point edge with 7:12 left and then unleashed an 11-0 run to push the margin to 12 with under three minutes to play.
"That was a coin-flip game for about 32 minutes," Self said. The Jayhawks had also led Louisville at halftime on Wednesday before succumbing to a barrage of 3-pointers in an 89-83 exhibition loss to the No. 11 Cardinals at Allen Fieldhouse.
"Nobody is leaving out of here the least bit discouraged," Self said Sunday. "I mean that's a team that can win a national championship, and the other team we played the other day is a team that could go to the Final Four if they shoot the ball and play the way they did. I just feel like we, from a maturity standpoint, have a ways to go to figure out how to win that game because I thought the same thing happened against Louisville, but not to the extent it did today."
Self highlighted specific defensive lapses: "There was a lot of, how do you guard a down screen at game point, as opposed to in the first half when we didn't have any problem? But we go ball side on Blackwell to end the shot clock. I mean, those are things you can't do and can't make those mistakes. That's good to get our guys to see that and learn from it."
In the second half, Self used 6-foot-9, 225-pound senior Keanu Dawes at the center position for 17 minutes, while 7-footers Christian Reeves and Paul Mbiya did not play in the final 20 minutes. Self called it a strategic move, not a reflection of individual performance. "Our ball-screen defense was non-existent, not because of the bigs," he said. "It's because the ball moved and they could take advantage of the short roll. We don't do that well yet, so we went small to switch. Patrick and Blackwell dominated the game, but if we were better equipped on switching and weak-side help I thought it would have gone really well. They moved the ball so quick the first half that our ball-screen defense was non-existent. With what we saw today, Keanu's matchup with a 5-man guarding him plays to our advantage, so I thought he did well."
Kansas received contributions from freshman guards Taylen Kinney (14 points, one assist in 32 minutes) and Trent Perry (four points, two rebounds, one assist, one steal in 14 minutes). Senior guards Tre White and Melvin Council Jr. finished with nine and eight points, respectively, on a combined 7-of-15 shooting (1-of-4 from 3-point range).
KU guard Kohl Rosario was unavailable after suffering an elbow to the mouth in practice Friday, requiring 14 stitches and oral surgery, though Self said he could return to practice by midweek. Kaufman-Renn tweaked an ankle in Friday's practice and returned Saturday, but Self will hold him out until he's in better game shape.
Stokes led Kansas with 27 points on 7-of-17 shooting (2-of-7 from beyond the arc, 11-of-15 from the free-throw line). Duke coach Jon Scheyer praised the freshman: "You are not going to see many guys like him in college with his ability to push and put pressure on the paint. We fouled him nine times. He gets a head of steam downhill." Self added: "I don't think he's scratched (the surface). He hasn't made free throws at a great clip and he's going to get fouled. I think that's been proven. He hasn't shot the ball well as of yet. He hasn't rebounded as well as he's capable of yet. I think his talent level is ridiculous, and we haven't seen it yet. But one thing about it, he can force help and he can give the ball to the open man about as well as anybody that I've seen at that age."
Reflecting on two exhibition losses to higher-ranked teams in five days, Self smiled and said, "I would rather we'd won them," adding that the team will learn from the experience. The Jayhawks open the regular season against Fordham at 7 p.m. on November 2 at Allen Fieldhouse.
Originally reported by kansascity.