Kansas Jayhawks at Kansas State Wildcats

Garrett, Wilson lead No. 23 Kansas past Kansas State 59-41

The Jayhawks (16-7, 10-5 Big 12) held the Wildcats to a season low in points despite a ho-hum offensive performance.

“I thought we guarded well, but they had some good looks,” Kansas coach Bill Self said. “We labored offensively, and we did some good things.”

Kansas shot 46% (22 for 48) from the field and held Kansas State (5-18, 1-13) to 31% on 18-for-58 shooting.

The Wildcats have lost a school-record 13 straight games and Kansas has won four straight games by double digits.

It was also the second-fewest points allowed by a Self-coached team in conference play (Nebraska scored 39 in 2007). It was the fewest points scored by Kansas State since at least 2003.

The teams were abysmal from 3-point range, with Kansas going 4 for 16 and Kansas State at 3 for 24, including two in the final minutes.

“I don’t know why our shooting was so off tonight,” Kansas State coach Bruce Weber said. “I thought we did well on the defensive end, but we need to have poise shooting. Maybe it was we wanted this one so bad, but we needed to relax.”

The Wildcats got a boost from Dajuan Gordon, who scored a team-high 12 points. It was his first game since Jan. 30, when he left a game with a foot injury.

With the Wildcats hanging around and down seven in the second half, Kansas went on an 8-0 run to extend the lead to 15 points.

“We just take it one game at a time so it wasn’t hard to get up for this one,” Wilson said. “Every game matters and now we are ready for Tech.”

Kansas State was careless with the ball, turning it over 18 times. The Jayhawks converted those miscues into 29 points. Kansas committed 16 turnovers.

TOUGH STRETCH

Kansas gears up for games against No. 15 Texas Tech, No. 12 Texas and then No. 2 Baylor in the next 10 days.

“We are 10-5 in the league and everyone has a tough schedule ahead,” Self said. “We have a chance to get second in conference and that’d be a great accomplishment for this group.”

GORDON MAKES HIS RETURN

Kansas State missed Gordon, who averages nine points and six rebounds this season and is a vital part of the offense.

BIG PICTURE

Kansas: Turned it on when needed in the second half, but will need to figure out its shooting woes before a tough home game on Saturday.

Kansas State: Played its fourth straight competitive game, but still hasn’t pulled out a win since Dec. 29. More 3-point makes are needed.

UP NEXT

Kansas: Hosts Texas Tech on Saturday.

Kansas State: Travels to TCU on Saturday.

How can I watch Kansas vs. Kansas State?

• TV Channel: Kansas at Kansas State 2021 College Basketball, week 13, is broadcasted on ESPN+.
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