Fast recap: Freshmen shine as Kansas wins exhibition at Louisville

Kansas relied on strong halves from two different freshmen as the Jayhawks took down Louisville 90-82 in a road exhibition game.

The first contributor was obvious in the form of Preseason Big 12 Freshman of the Year Darryn Peterson, who scored more than half of Kansas’ 46 points in the first half. Peterson finished with 26 points as the Cardinals tried to take the ball out of his hands in the second half.

Redshirt freshman Bryson Tiller had an impressive all-around second half as the Jayhawks kept Louisville at bay. With Flory Bidunga battling foul trouble, Tiller scored 10 points and blocked four shots along with two steals to help close out the win. Tiller finished with 12 points and seven rebounds off the bench to go along with the steals and blocks.

Things weren’t always pretty for Kansas, finishing with 16 turnovers and both teams combined for 57 fouls. However, the Jayhawks limited Louisville to 32.3% from the floor and 28.9% from three as the Cardinals settled for a lot of contested threes. Xavier transfer Ryan Conwell led Louisville with 26 points, but on 7 of 21 shooting.

First half: Darryn Peterson dominates as Kansas takes comfortable lead into the half

Kansas jumped out to an early 9-0 lead on the backs of Darryn Peterson. He scored seven of the Jayhawks’ first nine points as they held Louisville scoreless for the first four minutes. 

However, the Cardinals came back as Kansas’ offense got cold. The Jayhawks missed their next six shots, including four threes, after Peterson’s layup. Aly Khalifa knocked in a three as part of a 12-0 Louisville run to take the lead.

Tre White scored five straight points, then Peterson took over as Kansas built a comfortable lead. The heralded freshman hit consecutive threes as part of a 9-0 run to put the Jayhawks ahead 30-18. Peterson scored 18 of Kansas’ first 30 points.

Xavier transfer Ryan Conwell scored the next six for Louisville, with four coming from the free throw line, as the Cardinals tried to cut into the lead. Elmarko Jackson converted an and-one to extend Kansas’ lead to 37-24 with four minutes remaining in the half.

The scoring scored slightly with Peterson on the bench, but nailed two more threes in the final two minutes. Peterson scored 21 first-half points as the Jayhawks led 46-30 at the half. Outside of Peterson’s dominance, Kansas held Louisville to 31% from the floor and 12.5% from three to hold a comfortable lead.

Second half: Bryson Tiller’s strong second half helps Jayhawks close out game

Flory Bidunga threw down a dunk to start the second half, but then Louisville started to storm back. Conwell scored five as part of an 8-0 run in just over a minute, cutting the Kansas lead to 48-38.

Bidunga scored again following the Kansas timeout, but then picked up his fourth foul with 17 minutes left in the game. Players were allowed six fouls during this exhibition, but Bidunga still headed to the bench, leaving an extended look at the Jayhawks’ backup bigs.

Peterson threw down a dunk, then tossed a lob to White as the Jayhawks extended their lead. Bryson Tiller, playing alongside foul-troubled Bidunga, threw down a nice baseline jam to make Kansas’ lead 14, 57-43.

Adrian Wooley made a three to cut the Louisville deficit to 10, 60-50. However, Kansas had a strong response, going on an 8-0 run to build its biggest lead of the game at 18.

Tiller’s strong second half continued on both ends, blocking a shot and throwing down an alley-oop before jumping the passing lane and converting an and-one.

Kansas did not score a field goal for over three minutes as turnovers were an issue. However, the Jayhawks remained in control as the Cardinals also endured a field goal drought of over four minutes. Top-10 freshman Mikel Brown Jr.’s second three in 10 attempts broke the ice. Kansas instantly responding with a Tiller to Bidunga alley-oop, holding a 12-point lead at the under-four timeout.

Louisville ramped up the pressure playing from behind, but Kansas mostly solved the full court press. The Jayhawks got most of their points from the free throw line in the final two minutes to close out the win.