Fast recap: Kansas battles past Notre Dame in Players Era opener
Kansas won its first game of the Players Era Festival, beating Notre Dame 71-61 in Las Vegas on Monday. The Jayhawks held off the Fighting Irish’s pushes in the second half, winning their first game against a power conference opponent without Darryn Peterson.
The Jayhawks relied on their front court for offense, with Flory Bidunga, Bryson Tiller, and Tre White combining for 51 points. Bidunga led the trio with 18, adding nine rebounds, five assists, and five blocks. Kansas outrebounded Notre Dame 44-34 and scored 11 second-chance points.
Markus Burton led all scorers with 24 points and was the bulk of Notre Dame’s offense. The Fighting Irish came into the game shooting over 40% from three, but made just four of 24 attempts against the Jayhawks.
First half: Bidunga powers Kansas to first-half lead
Notre Dame took an early lead as Bidunga started 1/4 from the floor. White knocked down a three, but Braeden Shrewsberry countered with one of his own. The Fighting Irish held a 9-5 lead at the game’s first media timeout.
Kansas got beat off the bounce, with Markus Burton taking advantage of a switch against Bidunga. Notre Dame hit a long cold spell, and Melvin Council Jr. tied the game at 13-13 with a mid-range jumper.
Bidunga single-handedly gave the Jayhawks a six-point possession. He blocked a Burton three, taking the ball coast-to-coast for an and-one. The foul got upgraded to a flagrant, and Bidunga made both free throws and scored on the ensuing possession to give Kansas a 19-15 lead.
The Fighting Irish broke a three-minute scoring drought with a free throw. Jalen Haralson drove for a layup to break another Notre Dame drought, a stretch of eight consecutive missed shots.
Bryson Tiller threw down a dunk in response, and Kansas held a 26-18 lead with 7:50 to play in the first half.
Kansas’ offensive play looked a bit sloppy, but Bidunga got them back on track with his sixth bucket of the half. Notre Dame struggled to generate consistent offense, trailing 31-22 at the under-four timeout.
Tiller sparked the Jayhawks over the last three minutes. He scored five, while Elmarko Jackson knocked down a three. However, Notre Dame made consecutive threes in the final minute to close the gap heading into halftime, trailing 39-32.
Second half: Jayhawks hold off Fighting Irish’s push
Bidunga scored four straight to open the half for Kansas. He also blocked shot, which led to a transition layup from White.
The Jayhawks then endured a three-minute scoring drought, having trouble generating offense after Notre Dame started to double the post. Burton got to the rim for a layup to put the Fighting Irish down five, 45-40, with 14:30 to play.
Council knocked down consecutive threes to put Kansas’ lead back to double-digits. The Jayhawks started to fall in love with the outside shot, missing three straight. Burton scored five straight, inching back into the deficit at 53-47.
Notre Dame continued to hang around, cutting the deficit to four on multiple occasions. Kansas turned the ball over on consecutive possessions, but the Fighting Irish couldn’t convert on the other end. Tiller scored four straight to push the Jayhawks’ lead to eight with 6:53 remaining.
Kansas looked to be on the verge of rolling to a win after White hit a three and Tiller threw down a dunk. However, Shrewsberry came right back with a three to keep the Jayhawks’ lead at seven. Jamari McDowell finally killed the Fighting Irish, putting Kansas’ lead back at 10 with 2:30 to play.
Notre Dame ramped up the defensive pressure, needing to rack up the fouls to extend the game. Council and White put the exclamation points on the game, each throwing down a dunk.
