As Kansas preps for Indiana, here’s what the Jayhawks took away from win against Missouri

LAWRENCE — Kansas basketball coach Bill Self seemed to have a little fun with a question Saturday, at least at first, following the Jayhawks’ 73-64 win against Missouri.

The food tastes better, Self said, when he beats the Tigers. A drink later in the evening is colder, too, he added. But then Self started to speak to what happened in the game itself.

Self pointed out that Missouri did a great job at giving itself a chance to win. He noted that the game didn’t have rhythm to it, and when Kansas is playing well that’s something they have offensively. Although he was happy the Jayhawks won, he also left the contest thinking they have to play better.

Self said he didn’t care about being 3-0 against Missouri since the rivalry series was renewed. He added he didn’t care what happened the past two seasons. He highlighted he cares about what’ll happen moving forward with his team.

“I’m not going to think about Missouri again unless we have an opportunity to play them in the post season, until next year,” Self told reporters. “But I am happy that we won. Don’t get me wrong. I’m happy that we won. But that’s not something that I’m going to hang my hat on leaving out of here, thinking we’re 3-0. You know what? We’re 9-1. We play at Indiana. We’ve got to get better for Indiana.”

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Here are some more takeaways on the Jayhawks ahead of Saturday’s trip to Bloomington to face the Hoosiers (11:30 a.m. CT, CBS Sports):

Kansas didn’t get flustered despite a strong first half from Missouri

While Missouri coach Dennis Gates was thrilled about how his team played throughout the majority of the first half, he said his Tigers couldn’t put together a full 40 minutes. Kansas didn’t panic, and went on a significant run.

After trailing by as many as nine points, Kansas got a four-point play from freshman guard Elmarko Jackson with 3:59 left in the half. It sparked a 14-point run into the break, and Kansas never led by less than eight in the second half.

“(Jackson) was locked and loaded, stood in there and knocked it down,” KU graduate senior guard Kevin McCullar Jr. said. “That was a huge momentum shift for us. Hats off to them, they came out playing a great game. It was a game of runs, so they made their run early and then we kind of went on ours.”

Second-chance points loomed large

Kansas had 13 offensive rebounds to Missouri’s seven, but the number of second chance points between the two sides was an even greater disparity.

The Jayhawks had 17 second-chance points to the Tigers’ zero. Both Self and Gates highlighted second chance points after the game as something that played into the final result.

How Hunter Dickinson handled his first game in this rivalry

Kansas senior center Hunter Dickinson’s 13-point and 16-rebound double-double wasn’t the only noteworthy performance on the Jayhawks’ side. Junior forward KJ Adams Jr. had 17 points and five assists, and McCullar had 17 points, nine rebounds, four assists and three steals. But this was also Dickinson’s first game in this rivalry, as he transferred to Kansas from Michigan during the offseason.

Dickinson said he tried to treat it like he treated Michigan’s rivalry with Michigan State. He added he wanted to assume that mindset, because he knows there’s a dislike for the other program in this matchup. Overall, though, it was a fun experience.

“I thought it made for a great atmosphere and a really competitive basketball game,” Dickinson said. “And so, it was just — these are the type of games that you love to play in.”

Jordan Guskey covers University of Kansas Athletics at The Topeka Capital-Journal. He is the National Sports Media Association’s sportswriter of the year for the state of Kansas for 2022. Contact him at jmguskey@gannett.com or on Twitter at @JordanGuskey.