The Kansas Jayhawks were looking to rebound from a Monday night loss on the road against Kansas State and they did just that with ease on Saturday against Colorado. The Jayhawks played host to the Buffaloes and while the game started slow, Kansas would pull away in the middle of the first half behind a great offensive performance from Brady Morningstar and a stellar day from behind the arc for Kansas as a whole.
Focus was clearly the buzz word around the Jayhawk lockeroom following the loss in Manhattan and leadership might have been a point of emphasis as well because senior guard Brady Morningstar set the bar early on in this one with a big time first half.
Morningstar had 16 points at the halfway point including a 4 for 5 performance from beyond the arc and the Lawrence native just couldn't miss. Morningstar was also key in getting other Jayhawks involved notching five assists during the run in the first half. All this while continuing to do the little things that don't always show up in the stat column. Morningstar might not be the most talented on the team, he might not even be in the top seven in terms of pure talent, but without question Morningstar has the ability to elevate Kansas with his play.
In the second half the Buffaloes tried to make a game of it as Kansas briefly had the expected energy dip that occurs when a game is well in hand. Colorado pulled within 13 on multiple occasions, but Markieff Morris became the second big story of the afternoon while absolutely dominating on the interior.
Markieff Morris led the Jayhawks with 26 points and 16 rebounds including 9 on the offensive end. It was one of the best performances of his career and Colorado simply had no answer on the interior.
Final score in this one Kansas 89, Colorado 63. Brady Morningstar finished with 16 points, 5 assists and 4 rebounds after a relatively quiet second half while all five Kansas starter finished the game with double figures in the scoring column.
Kansas will look to carry that momentum over to a Big Monday matchup with coach Self's Alma Mater Oklahoma State.