San Diego — The 4th-seeded Kansas men's basketball team roared out to an early lead and then managed to fight off a ferocious charge from a scrappy Cal-Baptist team to win 68-60 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday night.
For most of the game, it looked as if this was going to be the easy, Round 1 win the Jayhawks needed and many expected. But Cal-Baptist had other ideas and simply did not quit.
CBU (25-9) trimmed what once was a 26-point KU lead all the way down to XX in the game's final minute, as KU went ice cold and struggled to execute much of anything down the stretch.
But that lead, which KU built by dictating the way the game went for much of the first half, proved to be just enough for KU and the Jayhawks held on. It didn't have to be that tight, but no one says it has to be pretty. True survive and advance stuff there late.
This game was a mismatch from the time the bracket came out, and credit KU for making sure it stayed that way. Even in the early going, when the Jayhawks could not buy a basket, they did what they had to do defensively to make sure Cal-Baptist never got so much as a glimmer of hope.
While Kansas played with a small lead for most of the first 8-10 minutes, they blew the game open by bumping the lead to double figures midway through the half and never looked back.
CBU never led and did not score its first basket until the 16:43 mark of the first half.
The Jayhawks took a 20-point lead into the locker room when Peterson drilled a 3-pointer at the first half buzzer to put Kansas ahead 38-18. The shot gave Peterson 15 points for the half and merely set the stage for his strong showing in the second half.
CBU never led in this game and KU led for 39:04.
Next up, KU (24-10) will play 5th-seeded St. John's on Sunday, with a trip to the Sweet 16 on the line. The Johnnies clobbered Northern Iowa 79-53 in game 3 at Viejas Arena on Friday. SJU, of course, is led by legendary coach Rick Pitino and former Jayhawk Zuby Ejiofor, the 2026 Big East Player of the Year and an All-American.
Before we get into all that, here's a look back at some Friday night's KU-CBU action from San Diego.
LIKES
• DP in attack mode - You can't question whether Peterson was ready for his first NCAA Tournament game. He didn't shoot it great in the early going, but that did not mean he was playing passive out there. Peterson was in attack mode from the jump and he got to the free throw line a few times — a la the TCU game in the Big 12 tournament — as a result of it. Midway through the first half, he delivered one of his best plays of the game, if not the past few weeks. After driving to the rim from the left wing and getting an unlucky bounce off the glass, he was already back up off the ground for the tip-in before anyone else even knew it was coming off. That bucket, which put KU up 21-8, was the DP we've been expecting to see all game, night in, night out this season. And that was yet another good sign of where he's at and how his body is feeling. Peterson finished with 28 points on 11-of-24 shooting, with 4 3-pointers.
• KU contains Daniels... for the most part - There was some talk of CBU point guard Dom Daniels Jr. being the type of player who could really make a name for himself on the March Madness stage. He's quick, electric, can get his own shot against seemingly anybody and likes to make highlight plays whenever possible. One problem: He didn't have much luck doing that against the Jayhawks early in the game. Credit KU's Melvin Council Jr. for the assignment of slowing him down, but KU's help defense was terrific on Daniels all night, as well. Even when he did his signature slip the double team moves, KU had a body there to cut him off more times than not. In the second half, Daniels got going and the pro-CBU crowd loved every second of it. Even CBS broadcaster Kevin Harlan could be seen leaning back in his chair and throwing his arms up after every Daniels make or play. The kid competed. And even though his team lost, he let everyone know he was there, finishing with 25 points on 23 shots, including 4 impact 3-pointers.
• Flory gets a breath and a break - Second offensive possession with him back on the floor, he showed that the time on the bench did him some good in terms of getting his feet under him and playing under control. Decisive dive to the rim to give KU a 17-6 lead. A few possessions later, he caught a clean pass in the post and again showed some poise in making a nice move in the paint to get to his jump hook to put Kansas up 25-8. Bidunga wasn't great in this one, but he did play with much greater effort and intensity after that slow start. He finished 6 points and 7 rebounds in 30 minutes.
• Paul Mbiya plays big - There was a point in this game when the KU fresman was the only KU big on the floor. That's both a testament to his effort and how he played and a sign of how KU big men Flory Bidunga and Bryson Tiller left a little to be desired at times. At one point, midway through the 2nd half, Mbiya had his man sealed in the post and he called out for the ball to Jamari McDowell. Confidence much? Mbiya did all you'd expect KU to ask him to do (8 points, 3 rebounds) during the 16 minutes he was on the floor. He took up space, went after the ball, finished at the rim and was a presence. Pretty impressive for a guy who had no real consistent role this season. He was ready and he showed up when KU needed him. He may be needed again on Sunday against St. John's long and big front court.
• Cal-Baptist crowd was outstanding - Capital O. The school that's a little less than 2 hours from San Diego was making its first appearance in the NCAA Tournament and boy did its fans get their money's worth. They were loud and proud and loving life from start to finish, no matter what the score read. They had chants and dances and taunted KU's crowd and brought serious energy to just about everything that happened. Bravo for making a lasting impression on the Big Dance, Lancer fans!
DISLIKES
• Slow fast start - It was a race made for sprinters in the game's first 8 minutes and both teams were happy to run. Problem was, neither could make shots while doing so. While that hurt the Lancers, who opened the game 2-of-12 from the floor overall, KU actually shot worse during that stretch, going 2-for-15 over the first 8 minutes. The effort and energy was there but the polish was not. The Jayhawks took shots falling backwards, rushing them to the rim before they even get a good handle on the ball and played way too fast even when they weren't running up and down the floor. Luckily, Kansas hit 9 of 10 FTs in that stretch, too, or the Jayhawks would've been facing a much different set of circumstances. Normally, a pace like this would favor Kansas. Especially in a game like this. But neither team benefited from the wild run-and-gun style on display during the game's first quarter of action.
• Tiller still seeing trouble - It wasn't anything close to the 2nd half struggles he had in the Houston game, but it wasn't without its rough moments either. The freshman forward sat for stretches and came up short in a variety of ways throughout the first half. On one possession, late in the first half, he didn't get fouled on a roll and take to the basket, when he absolutely should've and had to do it. A couple of defensive trips later, he got the block and the rebound but then threw the outlet pass away. In the second half, he was much better, using effort over skill to make a few plays. Maybe that'll give him a little confidence — and the team and coaches confidence in him — heading into Round 2.
• Starters play too much? - KU led by double digits for so much of this game, from about the midway point in the first half through the entirety of the 2nd half. While CBU did cut the Kansas lead down to 12 with around 6 minutes remaining, there was still no real threat by them to climb back into the game. Still, at that point, it would've been much nicer for KU to push the lead, which once grew as high as 26, above 20 for good instead of allowing them to nearly cut it to single digits. Had that happened, Self may have been able to use his bench a little more, therein giving his starting five some rest for Sunday's matchup with St. John's, which is going to be an absolute physical and mental war.
WHAT THE?
• Showtime! - There was a super-cool moment midway through the 2nd half, with the game pretty much already decided, when Daniels and DP went toe-to-toe for a few possessions. They weren't guarding one another, and therefore had nothing to do with keeping the other guy off the score sheet. But they did wage a little 1-on-1 battle for a few possessions in a row that the crowd absolutely loved. First, Daniels drilled a 3-pointer that set the stage for Peterson to answer. He did and slyly glanced up to the crowd after the make. Daniels followed that up with an aggressive take to the rim, right down the center of the lane, for a finger-roll finish and DP responded to that by hitting another 3-pointer on KU's next possession. He followed that one up by looking back into the crowd, raising his eyebrows and saying something to the effect of "Come on!" Cool moment for two of the most talented pure scorers in Friday's game.
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