No. 4 Houston entered Allen Fieldhouse on Saturday armed with the nation’s best defense.
No. 8 Kansas carved it to pieces. They Jayhawks jumped out to a 23-11 lead and didn’t let up en route to a 43-28 at halftime. When it was over, Kansas had secured a 78-65 win to reset the landscape in the Big 12 and at the top of college basketball.
While Kansas ran roughshod on offense, Houston struggled to find the bottom of the net against a relentless Jayhawks defense in front of a hostile that showed up ready for the top-10 clash.
It added up to a complete effort from Kansas that will demand notice when the NCAA tournament selection committee hands out seeding assignments in March.
Houston started Saturday as the nation’s top-ranked defense in both traditional and advanced metrics. The Cougars allowed an NCAA-low 52.9 points per game en route to a 19-2 start. They ranked first by a healthy margin over second-place Tennessee in adjusted defensive efficiency, allowing 84.7 points per 100 possessions.
The Cougars have held eight opponents under 50 points this season, including three below 40. Kansas had 43 at halftime.
The Jayhawks connected on 68% of their first-half field goals while hitting half (4 of 8) of their 3-point attempts. Freshman forward Johnny Furphy paced the Jayhawks at halftime with 14 points while hitting all five of his first-half field goal attempts. He connected from inside and out.
L.J. Cryer did his best to get the Cougars back into the game, sparking a 10-2 second-half run with eight straight points of his own to cut the Kansas lead to 60-48. But it was too little, too late. Houston never got back within single digits.
They Jayhawks and Cougars will meet again in Houston on March 9.
#Kansas #dismantles #Houstons #vaunted #defense #statement #win #Allen #Fieldhouse
