After starting the season 7-0 with impressive wins over Duke, North Carolina, and Michigan State, the Kansas Jayhawks took their first loss of the season in a 76-63 loss at Creighton. It was KU’s first true road game, and it was the second season in a row in which Creighton took down a No. 1 ranked team on their home court.
Creighton shot lights out from beyond the arch, hitting over 50% of their three-point attempts in the first half. Pop Isaac never cooled down, going 10-for-15 from the floor, including 6-for-9 from deep. Preseason All-American Ryan Kalkbrenner had a solid game with 17 points and ten rebounds, while Kansas preseason All-American Center Hunter Dickinson was held to six points and eight rebounds.
It was almost shocking to see Dickinson only take four shots throughout the game. Creighton forced the Kansas guards to take over the game, and Dajuan Harris finished the game with 21 field goal attempts, a career-high. Harris was able to add three made three pointers, which matched his season total, but it wasn’t enough for the Jayhawks who never took a lead in this game.
If you want to find a positive from this game, it may be that most of the teams surrounding KU in the polls also lost this week. Auburn, Kentucky, and Marquette all dropped games, and now Tennessee remains the only undefeated team left in the Top 10. All that to say, Kansas may just drop one spot in the polls when it’s all said and done this week if they can beat their old rival this Sunday in Columbia, Missouri.
While the Jayhawks are coming off a loss, Missouri has won seven straight games since losing their season opener at Memphis, a team that is now in the Top 20. The Tigers look a lot better this year than they’ve looked in previous seasons since this rivalry kicked the tires and started this home-and-home series again. Both fan bases will be juiced up for this one, but playing in Columbia should give Missouri a slight edge there.
However, a big crowd and home-court advantage edge may not make up for the talent that exists on this KU team. Kansas has more talent and a deep bench this season. It is going to be tough for Missouri to hang with Kansas for a full 40 minutes. With Kansas coming off a loss, the desire to get back in the win column should be noticeable, and head coach Bill Self will have his guys ready to bounce back after a disappointing game against Creighton.
It wouldn’t be surprising to see Self try to force the ball inside to Dickinson early and often after the less-than-desirable output in the last game from the big man. Harris, a native of Columbia, Missouri, will still play a critical role in the Jayhawks’ success, but getting Dickinson back to scoring 15-20 points would be a good place to get back on track.
This will be the final road game of the non-conference schedule, and if the Jayhawks can go into Columbia and beat Missouri, it’s likely they will be staring at a 10-1 record as they head into conference play on New Year’s Eve. It’s fine for fans and prognosticators to take a peak ahead, but the team should be locked into this game on Sunday. It’s a cliche, but it should be true for this team: One game at a time. The road back to victory lane starts with the Border War Showdown this Sunday against the Missouri Tigers. If the team can get back into the win column against an old rival, then they’ll continue building toward bigger season goals from there.
