Moments That Popped: Kansas 71, Notre Dame 61

The Kansas men's basketball team, unranked for the first time this season, put together one of its best efforts of the year so far to take down Notre Dame, 71-61, in the opening game of the Players Era event at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.

KU used a sensational first half from its two big men to build a 7-point halftime lead and played from in front for most of the game on Monday.

Flory Bidunga finished with 18 points and 9 rebounds and Bryson Tiller added 17 points and 9 rebounds in the Jayhawks' fourth consecutive game without star freshman Darryn Peterson, who has been ruled out for all three games in Vegas.

Peterson was with the team on Monday, sitting on the bench in street clothes while cheering his teammates on during the win.

The Irish kept fighting all game and forced KU to earn the victory.

KU improves to 4-2 on the season and will next play Syracuse at 2:30 p.m. (central) on Tuesday in the second game of the Players Era in Vegas.

Here’s a look back at some of the highlights from Monday's win in Sin City.

LIKES

• Flory Time – He really asserted himself early in the game and that got him going in a big way. Notre Dame did everything it could to try to keep Flory from wrecking the game — forcing him out before the catch, doubling him on the catch and more — but he did not let any of that stop him. Bidunga finished with 18 points on 8-of-15 shooting to go along with 9 rebounds, 5 assists and 5 blocks in what was an all-around great game. He's really starting to look comfortable as that go-to scorer and the more time he gets to be that before Peterson comes back, the more dangerous he and KU will be when DP is in the lineup. One underrated part of Bidunga's game on Monday was his role in the Jayhawks' top-notch ball movement for most of the game.

• Spectacular defense– KU's first-shot defense was pretty darn good in this one, and it was a total team effort. Even though a handful of guys, routinely got beat guarding the ball, the rotations and switches behind that were on pointe, giving KU a tough wall for Notre Dame to try to climb over on its way to the hoop. Kansas held Notre Dame to 34% shooting and only gave up 10 offensive rebounds in 42 opportunities. Bidunga also finished with 5 blocks to pace KU's 8 blocks on the day.

• Tiller rebounds early (and throughout) – It was clear in the early going of this one that KU freshman Bryson Tiller was going to get on the glass. And get on the glass he did, finishing the game with 9 rebounds. He had 4 in the game's first 4 or 5 minutes and appeared to make it a priority to stay home defensively and clean up the boards after a Notre Dame miss. It's an important stat not only because it helped KU out-rebound Notre Dame 44-34, but because Tiller's commitment to rebounding and defense is all that's needed to unlock his full potential as a player. He already has moved into the starting lineup, thanks in large part to his impressive offensive game. But if he can be just as good on defense as he is offensively, the sky's the limit for the young dude who KU's coaching staff already really likes.

• Dawson first man off the bench – It really has seemed like Jayden Dawson was getting more comfortable and finding his footing in the KU rotation lately. And that certainly was backed up by Dawson becoming the first sub in the game on Monday. Unfortunately, for both the Jayhawks and Dawson, he left the game early with some kind of wrist/hand injury and did not play the rest of the way, finishing with just 4 minutes. We'll see what his status is moving forward.

DISLIKES

• First-half close – It didn't wind up mattering much, but it might've made the game harder than it was going to be. With KU leading by 13 (39-26) in the final 90 seconds of the first half, a couple of sloppy offensive possessions and 3-point possessions by Notre Dame's offense turned a double-digit game that KU controlled into just a 7-point game at the break. First, after Notre Dame's first 3-pointer in the stretch, KU turned it over when it had the ball. That led to another quick Notre Dame 3 and a timeout by KU coach Bill Self. Out of the timeout, teh Jayhawks ran sluggish offense and got a brutal look at a 3-pointer by Tiller, who missed and failed to reclaim some momentum for the Jayhawks. These are the moments and kinds of things that Kansas needs to tighten up now because they'll end up getting them beat in Big 12 play.

• Elmarko still looks timid – He was out there for 14 minutes and knocked in a key 3-pointer in the 2nd half, but he also still looked like he was playing slow and overthinking things on just about every offensive possession. If you're looking for positives here, you should be happy to see that he moves the ball quickly, seems to have a good grasp of what Kansas is doing offensively and operates in the half-court with quick, decisive passes. What he's missing is the willingness and ability to attack the paint and knife through the lane with his quickness and strength to create for others and collapse the defense. Self has said in recent weeks that Jackson's still operating with a checklist instead of playing on instincts and feel. So, give him time to see if more minutes and increased confidence help him get back to those things in the coming weeks.

• 3-point shooting – And this was on a day when KU point guard Melvin Council Jr., hit back-to-back 3-pointers. KU hit a couple of key triples in Monday's win, but, overall, they still struggled to find any consistent outside shooting, finishing the game 6-of-20 from 3-point range. It'll be a bit of a recurring theme until Peterson is back. And his presence in the lineup alone could turn that 30% mark into something that sits in the 35-37% range, not only by making 3s but also by limiting how many some of the other guys take.

WHAT THE?

• A 6-pointer?– As if Bidunga didn't do enough damage with regular possessions, he scored 6 points on essentially the same possession at one point in the game. It started with a steal and open-floor bucket, but he also was fouled from behind on the play. The foul was called intentional and that sent Bidunga to the free throw line. He hasn't exactly been a great free throw shooter to this point in his career, but he cashed both free throws with ease, looking almost like a pure shooter in the process. Because of the intentional foul call, KU retained possession after the free throws and the Jayhawks quickly worked the ball into the post to Bidunga, who scored a tough basket in the paint to complete the sequence.

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