LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — Hunter Dickinson had 18 points, KJ Adams Jr. dunked his way to 14 and top-ranked Kansas blew out Manhattan 99-61 on Friday night in a final tuneup before facing No. 16 Kentucky in the Champions Classic next week.
Kevin McCullar Jr. and freshman Johnny Furphy added 15 points apiece for the Jayhawks (2-0), who gave Bill Self an easy night in their first game since he signed a lifetime contract that made him the highest-paid basketball coach at a public university.
Seydou Traore had 16 points for the Jaspers (1-1). Brett Rumpel had 11.
Just like in the Jayhawks’ season-opening rout of North Carolina Central, they jumped to a big early lead against the Jaspers — 17-4 in this case — and kept rolling through the first 20 minutes, building a 44-19 advantage by the break.
Unlike the opener, when the Jayhawks couldn’t miss from outside, they relied on their bruising duo inside.
The 6-foot-7 Adams played an undersized post most of last season, but he’s already taking advantage of the 7-2 Dickinson eating up space inside. The attention drawn by the Michigan transfer allowed Adams to get loose for a series of dunks, including one for the Jayhawks’ first points and another on an ally-oop slam late in the first half.
The Jayhawks’ massive size advantage paid off on defense, too. They had nine blocks by the time they hit the locker room, and that contributed to 9-for-33 first-half shooting by the Jaspers and allowed Kansas to build an insurmountable lead.
BIG PICTURE
Manhattan has a new coach in John Gallagher and almost an entirely new team, including seven freshmen and eight transfers. The growing pains were evident against the best team the Jaspers will likely face all season.
Kansas was tested in an exhibition against Illinois but has hardly sweated in its first two regular-season games. That will change against the Wildcats next week, the possibility of playing Marquette, UCLA, Gonzaga or Purdue in the Maui Invitational, and with defending national champion UConn visiting Allen Fieldhouse on Dec. 1.
UP NEXT
Manhattan: Hosts Division II member Felician on Thursday night.
Kansas: Vs. Wisconsin on Tuesday night in Chicago.
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