The Jayhawks dug too deep a hole early, struggled with shooting and composure, and ultimately fell to Arizona State despite a second-half surge.
No. 14 Kansas men's basketball dig itself too deep of a hole early and never fully recovered in a 70-60 loss to Arizona State on Tuesday night at Desert Financial Arena.
The Jayhawks (21-9, 11-6 Big 12) trailed by as many as 20 in the first half and, despite a strong second-half push, never led. Kansas has now dropped back-to-back road games in Arizona and finishes its two-game trip without a win. Here are three takeaways from the loss:
Kansas dug a massive early hole
Kansas never looked comfortable offensively in the opening half, and the numbers reflected it.
The Jayhawks shot just 21.1% from the field before halftime and went 2-for-12 from three-point range. Ball movement was stagnant, possessions often ended in contested shots and turnovers piled up. Kansas committed 10 turnovers in the first half alone and did not reach double digits in scoring until midway through the period.
Arizona State took advantage, building a 40-20 halftime lead.
Kansas showed life after the break with a 19-3 run that cut the deficit to two points at 57-55 with just over four minutes remaining. But the early damage proved too much to overcome, as the Sun Devils answered with an 11-0 run to put the game away.
Darryn Peterson struggled again offensively
Freshman star Darryn Peterson impacted the game in several ways, but his shooting slump continued.
Peterson finished with a double-double of 15 points and 10 rebounds while adding four assists and five steals. However, he shot just 3-for-18 from the field and 2-for-11 from beyond the arc.
The freshman had only two points at halftime and did not make a field goal in the opening half.
Despite the cold shooting, Peterson continued to play heavy minutes and contribute in other areas. He had 10 rebounds, 4 assists and played good defense. Nearly half of his points came at the free throw line, where he went 7-for-8.
Kansas lost composure in a physical game
The game turned chaotic early and Kansas never fully settled in. Head coach Bill Self was ejected with 6:07 remaining in the first half after arguing an offensive foul call on Peterson and receiving back-to-back technical fouls from two different officials. Later in the half, acting head coach Jacque Vaughn was also assessed a technical.
Tempers flared again when Elmarko Jackson was called for a flagrant foul in transition, leading to a brief skirmish between the teams.
The lack of composure showed in the fundamentals as well. Kansas finished with 17 turnovers, missed five free throws and struggled badly at the rim, converting just 10 of 27 attempts.
The Jayhawks return to Lawrence to close the regular season Saturday against Kansas State at Allen Fieldhouse for senior day.