Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports
Kevin McCullar returned from a one-game injury absence to post 17 points and 10 rebounds and No. 9 Kansas ran away from Seton Hall, winning 91-65 Thursday night in Lawrence, Kan.
McCullar led six Jayhawks scorers in double figures, with Jalen Wilson adding 15 points and 13 rebounds for his fifth double-double of the season.
Gradey Dick also scored 15 points, KJ Adams Jr. had 11 and Ernest Udeh Jr. and Dajuan Harris scored 10 apiece for Kansas (8-1).
The Jayhawks earned their conference a victory in the Big 12/Big East Battle on a night when No. 2 Texas outlasted No. 7 Creighton 72-67 and No. 8 UConn topped Oklahoma State 74-64.
Kadary Richmond led Seton Hall (4-4) with 17 points, five rebounds and five assists. Tyrese Samuel added 16 points.
The Pirates got to take 32 free throws but made just 19 of their attempts, compared to Kansas’ 18 of 21 from the line. Seton Hall also made 4 of 19 from 3-point range en route to losing its third straight game.
Kansas was up just 16-14 before a 7-0 stretch midway through the first half, McCullar providing five of those points on jumpers inside and outside the arc. Richmond responded with the next four points to bring Seton Hall within 23-18.
The Jayhawks began building their cushion with an 8-0 run while Seton Hall went scoreless for just shy of three minutes.
Kansas led 40-29 at the break, though Richmond led all first-half scorers with 11 points for Seton Hall. Both offenses were efficient, Kansas making 48.4 percent of shots from the floor and Seton Hall sinking 45.5 percent.
Seton Hall then proceeded to miss its first five shots of the second half and went 5:15 before making a field goal. Kansas stretched its lead to 19 in that time. Udeh’s alley-oop dunk followed by Dick’s fast-break 2-pointer made it 50-31.
KC Ndefo hit a corner 3 for Seton Hall, but it didn’t stop the bleeding for long. McCullar and Dick knocked down triples on consecutive possessions for its first lead of 20-plus points, 58-36 with 13:09 left.
The Pirates had a 9-0 run fueled by six points from Samuel, who finished 6 of 10 from the floor.
Kansas didn’t let up, leading by as many as 31 down the stretch.
–Field Level Media