LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — Kansas finally showed what it could do with a healthy Darryn Peterson and a regular rotation Tuesday night.
The timing couldn't have been worse for second-ranked Iowa State.
After falling from the AP Top 25 following a second loss in their first three Big 12 games, the Jayhawks roared away from the stunned Cyclones the moment the ball was thrown up. Tre White hit four early 3-pointers and went on to score 19 points, Peterson contributed 16 before more cramping issues, and Kansas coasted to an 84-63 victory over previously unbeaten Iowa State.
Melvin Council Jr. added 15 points and Flory Bidunga had 10 for the Jayhawks (12-5, 2-2 Big 12), who led by 26 in the first half, had that advantage trimmed to 11 midway through the second, then answered with a 10-0 run to put the game away.
It was the kind of performance that college basketball fans have become accustomed to seeing from the Jayhawks over the years.
Much more familiar than recent losses to unranked UCF and West Virginia.
"They were extremely well-prepared, well-coached, like we knew they would be," Iowa State coach T.J. Otzelberger said. "Extremely urgent (for Kansas) to come out and play with a tremendous spirit, which they did, so credit to them.
"That was an absolute beat-down," Otzelberger added, "in their favor, unfortunately."
There are a multitude of reasons for a stumbling start to the season, which had the Jayhawks in danger of their first 1-3 start to league play since the 1987-88 season. But the biggest may have been the cramping problems that had kept Peterson off the court for long stretches and kept the Jayhawks from getting into a rhythm even when he was available.
He was still massaging his calf on the bench Tuesday night, and at one point, Peterson grabbed it after going high for a dunk. But Self said the issue wasn't as serious as earlier in the year: "It was more of, 'I'm not quite whole right now.'"
"Feeling better. It's coming back slowly to me," Peterson said. "I was out for a while but every game is getting better. This was a great win, especially coming off the loss to West Virginia. We knew we had to come out and get a win."
The Jayhawks clearly felt a sense of urgency. They even had a players-only meeting — Self insisted he knew nothing about it — during which they talked about their goals for the season and what it would take to get back on track.
“Just kind of reiterating the key things that we want to identify ourselves as this year,” White said, “and just internal conversations that made us more focused on what we want to do. It definitely made us more connected.”
It was evident from the opening minutes, when Kansas opened with an 11-3 run to get the crowd into the game.
By the 7-minute mark, the lead had grown to 31-14, and Otzelberger had wasted two timeouts trying to get things under control.
Kansas pushed the lead to 26 points before Iowa State mounted its only real comeback, stringing together some stops and getting some buckets to go on each side of halftime. But eventually, the Jayhawks found their stride again, and they quickly pushed the lead back over 20 points before emptying the bench in the final minutes.
What made the performance particularly impressive was the opposition: Iowa State was off to a 16-0 start, including a 23-point road win over then-No. 1 Purdue, and the Cyclones were one of two teams receiving No. 1 votes in the AP Top 25 this week.
“We looked a little spooked and panicked, and the moment got to us,” Otzelberger said. “We know how well prepared they were going to be. We know how competitive they’re going to be. We know how much confidence they have, especially in this building. You can tell they’ve been on the practice court working, and getting ready, and they did a tremendous job.”
