Kansas survives UCF without Dajuan Harris, 91-87

Shreyas Laddha, The Kansas City Star on Jan 28, 2025

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LAWRENCE, Kan. — Sometimes the smallest player can elicit the loudest roar from the Allen Fieldhouse crowd.

In David “Diggy” Coit’s case, he lives for the big moment. Good or bad, he isn’t afraid of the result when the ball is in his hands.

And one of those moments proved crucial in No. 11 Kansas’ 91-87 win over UCF on Tuesday night.

Coit brought the Allen Fieldhouse crowd to a standing ovation after he canned a 3-pointer to put the Jayhawks up four points with 7:24 to play. The Knights immediately called timeout.

Naturally, Kansas sophomores Elmarko Jackson and Jamari McDowell strode over to half court. The players fist-pumped, screamed and gave Coit a hearty chest bump that nearly made him fall over.

Just like that, the energy had shifted in the Jayhawks’ favor. Kansas did just enough to escape with a victory.

Hunter Dickinson finished with 24 points and seven rebounds, while transfer guard Zeke Mayo also added 24 points. The Jayhawks (15-5, 6-3 Big 12) swept the home-and-road series vs. the Knights.

KU transfer Rylan Griffen replaced point guard Dajuan Harris in the starting lineup Tuesday. Starting alongside Griffen were Shakeel Moore, Mayo, Flory Bidunga and Dickinson.

A KU official said Harris tweaked his ankle at practice on Monday. By missing the game, Harris broke his 98-game starting streak. Forward KJ Adams also returned to play after missing three games due to a separated shoulder.

It was another close finish for the Jayhawks.

UCF led for more than 21 minutes, but the Jayhawks captured a narrow lead down the stretch. UCF had a chance to take the lead down one in the final seconds, but the Jayhawks got a stop. Adams and Mayo each sunk a pair of free throws in the last 10 seconds to secure the win.

In between those foul shots, the Jayhawks intentionally fouled up three. UCF’s Darius Johnson missed the first and attempted to intentionally miss the second, but it ended up swishing, leaving the margin at two.

Up next: KU travels to Waco to play Baylor on Saturday.

Until then, here are three takeaways from Tuesday’s home win ...

Harris (ankle injury) was missed

The absence of Harris was evident early for the Jayhawks.

KU’s offense was all out of sorts in the first half. At one point, Kansas had four straight turnovers. The Jayhawks finished with 10 turnovers in the half, which the Knights turned into nine points.

UCF only had three turnovers — leading to four KU points — in that span.

For a good part of the night, KU’s offense struggled to manufacture quality shots without Harris. This was somewhat evident with Dickinson, who shot 3 for 9 from the field for 11 points in the first half.

The second half was better for the Jayhawks, but Kansas finished with 12 turnovers to 14 assists. The Jayhawks only shot 43.8% for the game, hitting 25 of 29 free throws to get to their large point total.

Adams returns from injury

Adams has been an oft-discussed topic by the Jayhawks fan base. He’s had an up-and-down season, and that continued in his first appearance since Jan. 15.

In returning from a shoulder separation, he played 12 minutes in the first half. He started in place of Griffen in the second half, and even appeared in a rare three-big lineup.

The Jayhawks rolled out Adams with Dickinson and Bidunga at one point. It was a lineup the Jayhawks haven’t used much (if at all) this season, and may not have to when Harris returns.

As a whole, Adams had an OK day. After a rough first half, he finished with 12 points and five rebounds. He shot 3 for 6 from the field and helped fuel KU’s comeback run.

He also hit two clutch free throws late.

KU’s perimeter defense struggles

Heading into Tuesday, the Jayhawks had held opponents to a 3-point percentage of just 28.8%, ranking No. 14 in the country.

Well, the Knights didn’t get the memo.

UCF wasn’t shy about shooting 3-pointers, with 24 of its 40 shots coming on 3-pointers in the first half. The Knights made nine 3-pointers in that time.

Somehow, UCF shot even better from deep in the second half, shooting 41.7% on 3s. KU didn’t do a good job of contesting 3-point shots and had communication issues on UCF screens that led to open looks.

The Knights finished the night shooting 38.9% from deep. They made 14 3s compared to 10 for KU.