Michigan State bounces Kansas 79-73

After trailing the Jayhawks for most of the game, Michigan State made a run midway through the second half and took their first lead since 6-5 with 4:53 left to go in the game.  From that point on, it was a back and forth game.  In the end, Michigan State hit the big shots; Kansas did not.

Michigan State 79, Kansas 73.

Stats

Perry Ellis led the Jayhawks with 21 points on 9/18 shooting.  Mason (14) and Selden (12) were the only other 'Hawks in double figures.

Graham led the Jayhawks with 4 assists.

Jamari Traylor and Landen Lucas led the way on the boards with 7 rebounds each.

Kansas lost the team rebounding battle 37 to 30.

As a team, Kansas only hit 3/15 (20.0%) from behind the arc.  Neither Greene nor Svi attempted a single three-point shot.

Takeaways

Seemed like a lot more fouls were called on the perimeter than down low, which was surprising, considering the opponent.  Again, just my perception.

We missed a lot of layups/short range shots.  Some because of contact, some because of out-of-control, some because... well, I dunno why.

Bragg sank two 17-footers in the first half.  Wonder who he's learning that from...

Not much of Hunter Mickelson tonight.

It seemed like Jamari Traylor played A LOT.

We didn't take very many threes, especially in the first half - until desperation time.

Michigan State struggled a little bit with foul trouble, as three of their players had three fouls each less than five minutes into the second half.  Didn't seem to bother them too much I guess, as only one player fouled out (Costello).

That Valentine kid for Michigan State is really good.  He pretty much single-handedly kept MSU in the game in the second half and was instrumental in the MSU comeback.

It's frustrating to lose a game like that, a game that you controlled for 30+ minutes and led by double-digits in the second half.

How about making a damn layup once in a while.

It's hard to say that losing to a top-15 team is a bad loss, but this feels like a bad loss.

Up Next

KU travels to lovely Hawai'i (at least, I assume it's lovely) next week for the Maui Invitational, where they will play three games in three days before the Thanksgiving holiday.  On Monday, November 23, the Jayhawks will face off with host Chaminade at 8 PM Jayhawk time.  The gametimes and opponents for Nov 24 and Nov 25 are TBA.