SALT LAKE CITY On Friday, Gonzaga guard Dusty Stromer told The Star he believed the upcoming Round of 32 matchup between his team and Kansas would be an all-time game. He believed fans would rewatch it for years to come. It was set up to be a classic.
For one high-octane, frenetic, fast-paced half … it was.
Only Gonzaga fans, however, will have an interest in rewatching the final 20 minutes.
A one-point game at half turned into an absolute drubbing. Kansas seemed to hit a wall with fatigue and tired legs. At one point, KU point guard Dajuan Harris got blocked by the rim … on a wide-open layup.
The Zags went on an 18-2 run to take complete control of the game in the second half.
The final score: Gonzaga 89, Kansas 68.
Gonzaga perfectly illustrated — and attacked — the flaws of a KU team that never consistently hit its groove. The Jayhawks did not win more than two consecutive games after the calendar flipped to 2024.
Kansas Jayhawks forward K.J. Adams (24) buries his face in a towel during a men’s college basketball game against the Gonzaga Bulldogs in the second round of the NCAA Tournament on Saturday, March 23, 2024, in Salt Lake City, Utah. Nick Wagner nwagner@kcstar.com And thus the No. 4-seeded Jayhawks (23-11) were defeated, falling in the second round of the NCAA Tournament a year after meeting the same fate at the hands of Arkansas, 72-71.
Now comes an offseason with plenty of Jayhawk decisions on the way. Kansas will lose Kevin McCullar, who was out for the postseason due to a knee injury. Parker Braun and Nick Timberlake have exhausted their eligibility.
Jayhawks with a decision to make include Hunter Dickinson, who has one more year to play and scored 15 points on Saturday. Dajuan Harris and KJ Adams, both of whom have remaining eligibility, scored 10 points apiece. Harris is expected back, while Adams told The Star he wasn’t yet sure on his future plans.
No. 5-seeded Gonzaga (27-7), meanwhile, advances to face either No. 1 Purdue or No. 8 Utah State in the Sweet 16.
Here are three takeaways from Saturday’s game…
Kansas struggles on defense Entering Saturday’s game, the Jayhawks’ metrics favored the team’s defense to the offense. KenPom had Kansas as the No. 12 defense in the country, though that mark may drop after the Round of 32 loss.
Indeed, Kansas certainly didn’t appear anywhere close to that ranking vs. the Bulldogs. The Jayhawks struggled to keep Gonzaga from its spots on offense and the ball-screen defense was picked apart.
Kansas Jayhawks center Hunter Dickinson (1) and Gonzaga Bulldogs forward Graham Ike (13) battle for position in the paint during a men’s college basketball game in the second round of the NCAA Tournament on Saturday, March 23, 2024, in Salt Lake City, Utah. Nick Wagner nwagner@kcstar.com The Bulldogs shot a blistering 62.3% from the field, including 8-for-14 (57.1%) from deep. Gonzaga outscored KU 38-28 in paint points, and the Bulldogs attacked Kansas’ pick-and-roll coverages with plenty of success as the game went on.
KU star Dickinson also struggled to contain Gonzaga’s Graham Ike, who finished with 15 points on 7-for-11 shooting.
Hot shooting early … but then a cold spell A constant issue with this Kansas team was its inability to take and make 3-pointers.
The Jayhawks appeared to buck that trend in the first half, not only taking 11 3s, but making seven (63.6%) of them. Dickinson even drilled two 3-point attempts. Kansas hadn’t hit seven 3s in a game since January.
Kansas Jayhawks guard Nicolas Timberlake (25) shoots a 3-pointer over Gonzaga Bulldogs guard Nolan Hickman (11) during a men’s college basketball game in the second round of the NCAA Tournament on Saturday, March 23, 2024, in Salt Lake City, Utah. Nick Wagner nwagner@kcstar.com The Jayhawks set up many of those 3s by drawing the defense inside and kicking out to shooters. Harris, who doesn’t shoot at a high volume, even stepped into a couple of 3s.
The Bulldogs shot 3-of-9 from 3 in that time, as the game went to half with a one-point margin.
It retrospect, though, that should have set off some alarm bells. Despite scorching the nets, the Jayhawks had no separation.
Sure enough, the Jayhawks cooled off in the second half, shooting 18.2% from 3. They finished around 41% from distance, going 9-for-22.
Gonzaga went 8-for-15 from 3, 53.3%.
Jayhawks ran out of gas After facing a Samford team that just wouldn’t quit in the late game on Thursday night, the Jayhawks ran out of gas in the second half Saturday on both sides of the ball.
Beyond the defensive woes, Dickinson cooled off in a hurry, scoring 13 points in the first half but only finishing with 15 on 6-for-15 shooting.
Harris shot 4-for-12 (33%) for 10 points. Johnny Furphy went 3-for-12 (25%) for nine points. Adams led the KU starters in field-goal percentage — and he shot just 42% from the field.
Kansas Jayhawks center Hunter Dickinson (1) walks off the court after the Gonzaga Bulldogs defeated Kansas 89-68 in a men’s college basketball game in the second round of the NCAA Tournament on Saturday, March 23, 2024, in Salt Lake City, Utah. Nick Wagner nwagner@kcstar.com The Jayhawks shot 50% from the floor in the first half, but the Bulldogs made things hard on them in the second. KU may have run out of steam, shooting 27.8% in the period, while the Bulldogs improved — shooting close to 56% in the first half and 67% in the second.
This game certainly wasn’t over at halftime. But it was shortly after.
This story was originally published March 23, 2024, 4:46 PM.
Shreyas Laddha covers KU hoops and football for The Star. He’s a Georgia native and graduated from the University of Georgia.
