NC State spotted Kansas 15 points at the beginning of the game, and lost by 15 on Saturday at Allen Fieldhouse in Lawrence, Kan.
Kansas senior center Hunter Dickinson proved to be the hub of the action for the No. 10-ranked Jayhawks in a 75-60 victory. Dickinson finished with 21 points, 14 rebounds and seven big assists to finish with a game-leading plus-30 for plus/minus.
Dickinson and senior point guard Dajuan Harris’ passing — Harris added six assists — helped senior wing Zeke Mayo shine. The former South Dakota State standout went 5 of 9 on three-pointers to finish with a season-high 26 points.
Kansas (7-2 overall) finished the game shooting an impressive 56.6 percent from the field and 41.7 percent on three-pointers (10 of 24). The Jayhawks were plus-10 in rebounding margin and plus-12 in points in the paint, due in part to Dickinson’s effectiveness.
Dickinson had seven of the first 15 points in taking a 15-0 lead. NCSU battled back and got the margin down to seven points, 19-12, with 10:03 left in the first half.
NC State pounded the ball inside to senior centers Ben Middlebrooks and Brandon Huntley-Hatfield. They combined to go 9 of 18 from the field for 26 points, and often played together on the court.
The effectiveness of Middlebrooks led to Kansas’ frontcourt getting deep into foul trouble. Senior power forward K.J. Adams and freshman reserve center Flory Bidunga racked up four fouls, and Dickinson played 28 minutes due in part to three fouls. Conversely, Kansas shot just 5 of 7 from the free-throw line.
The seven-point buffer proved to be the one thing NC State couldn’t get over the hump on. NCSU went on a 6-0 mini-run behind its two post players to cut the Kansas lead to 48-41 with 14:04 left in the game. Kansas answered with six straight points from Mayo, and cut the wind from the Wolfpack’s sails and it never got into single digits again.
NC State has a nice long break, hosting Rider on Dec. 22, to close out the non-conference schedule. The Broncs are currently 4-7 this season, with a game at Pennsylvania on Friday.
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