Texas adds to blueprint for how to beat Kansas

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) - Jalen Wilson is going to win a lot of awards this postseason. Kansas’ senior forward has been excellent all season, averaging 20.0 points and 8.5 rebounds.

Last week, Wilson was named unanimous Big 12 Player of the Year. On various outlets’ national award lists, he’s already been featured as a First Team All-American. But when Wilson scores 23 points or more this season -- which he’s done 10 times -- the Jayhawks are now 4-6.

Once again Saturday night, a KU opponent allowed Wilson to do the vast majority of the scoring while hoping to limit others in the starting lineup.

“We didn’t do a good job of moving the ball,” interim head coach Norm Roberts said following KU’s 76-56 loss to Texas in the Big 12 Tournament Championship. “We talked about ball and body movement. I think we stood and watched (Wilson), and he scored the ball well. We’re a better team when the ball is moving, and it didn’t move very much today.”

Wilson got off to a hot start on Friday night against Iowa State, scoring 13 of Kansas’ first 19 points. On Saturday, Wilson started fast again, scoring seven of KU’s first 11 points and 10 of the Jayhawks’ first 19 on the offensive end. At that point, the Longhorns and Jayhawks were knotted at 19 when Wilson’s second made 3-pointer of the night fell through with 9:36 to go in the first half.

But nobody else joined Wilson with efficient scoring on the offensive end. Junior guard Joe Yesufu was the only other KU player to score in double figures, but he finished the loss with 11 points on 11 shots.

“What separated us was the easy points they got,” Wilson said after Kansas shot 41.7 percent from the floor. Jayhawks other than him were a combined 15-for-39 shooting. “That’s one of the things we try to hang our hat on is no easy points, and they got a lot of them today.”

READ MORE: Texas takes care of Kansas, wins Big 12 Championship game 76-56

In the six losses in which Wilson has scored 23 or more points, the Jayhawks have rarely gotten others involved aside from him. And in five of Kansas’ seven losses this season, the Jayhawks have either had none or one other scorer in double figures aside from the Denton, Texas, native. Oddly enough, Yesufu has been the second-leading scorer behind Wilson during three of the seven losses, emphasizing the importance of Kansas’ other starters to contribute.

When the Jayhawks get a double-digit scoring effort from redshirt junior guard Dajuan Harris, they are 16-0 this season. On Saturday night, Harris -- who was named to the All-Big 12 Tournament Team with Wilson -- was limited to just six points, all of which came in the second half. To make matters worse, the Columbia, Missouri, native turned the ball over a team-high four times and freshman guard Gradey Dick made just 3 of his 11 shots, including misses on all five of his 3-point attempts.

Next week, Kansas will begin its quest to repeat as national champions. They’ll do so knowing they are 24-2 when at least three players score 10 points in a game.

“Guys have to play with confidence and we didn’t do that today,” Roberts said.

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