22 March 2024
WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) — It was madness indeed on Thursday night as the Jayhawks escaped the first round of the NCAA Tournament with a 93-89 win over Samford on Thursday night.
KU shot a blistering 69.2% from the field and 60% from three in the first half, and were largely in control for much of the game. At one point, the Jayhawks held a 22-point advantage over the Bulldogs.
All five of Kansas’ starters scored in double figures, with KJ Adams Jr. leading the way with 20 points.
As a team, the Jayhawks shot 60.3% from the field and 33.3% from three for the game. The glass belonged to KU as well, as they out rebounded Samford 44-35.
Turnovers did play a big role in why the game was so close. The Jayhawks were surprisingly careless with the ball, turning it over 18 times. Samford ran a full-court press for much of the game that gave the Jayhawks fits.
Through the first half and most of the second, things seemed to be going smoothly. The lead stayed in double digits and it looked as though Kansas was going to cruise to an opening round win.
Try as they might, though, the Jayhawks just couldn’t put the game away. Samford kept firing from three and connecting, mostly in the second half. In the final 20 minutes of the game Samford hit 10 threes that fueled the comeback.
With a little less than seven minutes remaining in the game, the scoreboard looked quite different than it did before. Samford had cut the lead from 22 all the way to just two.
KU started to pull away in the final minutes of the game, as Nick Timberlake drilled a corner three with 2:50 left in the game to put the Jayhawks up 86-79, but once again Samford would just not go away.
As the clock dwindled to under one minute remaining with the Jayhawks up 88-81, Samford’s Jaden Campbell drilled a three from the win to bring the Bulldogs within four.
From there, pandemonium ensued.
A Kansas turnover gave Samford the ball right back. Samford took advantage of that turnover with a thunderous slam dunk by Achor Achor, but a defensive lapse by the Bulldogs allowed KU center Hunter Dickinson to find Adams behind the defense for a slam to put the Jayhawks up four with 22 seconds left.
Campbell then proceeded to pull the Bulldogs within one again with a three on the baseline out-of-bounds play.
On the following possession, Timberlake was fouled on a questionable call and sank two free throws to give KU a 92-89 lead, and Samford missed a three-pointer with 2.4 seconds left to give the Jayhawks the win.
Johnny Furphy hit a pair of free throws to seal the deal.
Up next the Jayhawks will play Gonzaga on Saturday at 2:15 p.m. CST. The Zags blew out their opponent, McNeese State, prior to the KU and Samford taking the floor.