Kansas Basketball: 3 takeaways from the Jayhawks’ victory over Kentucky

Mykhailiuk and Azubuike stepped up when needed for Kansas

In the preseason, the majority of the hype about Kansas surrounded Devonte’ Graham, Billy Preston, Malik Newman, and Lagerald Vick. Preston did not play in this game, but the rest of those players struggled during the majority of the game. In fact, Graham, Newman, and Vick combined to shoot just 11-41 (26.8%) from the floor.

If Kansas fans were told that all three of those players would struggle that mightily from the floor, they probably would have thought that Kentucky came away with the victory. Yet, it was the other members of the Kansas starting lineup, Svi Mykhailiuk and Udoka Azubuike, who showed up as the major contributors throughout the game.

Although Mykhailiuk was only 3-for-10 from 3-point land, he was able to finish four of his eight attempts inside the arc to finish with a team-high 17 points. For Azubuike, he did not miss a shot from the field, finishing all five of his attempts (only 3-for-8 from the free throw line) for 13 points while also adding 8 rebounds.

Thankfully, after Mykhailiuk and Azubuike stepped up during the majority of the game, the stars showed up in the final minutes by knocking down key free throws. In the end, Graham finished with 11 points while Newman added 12 and Vick had 9.