Final, KU wins 83-59

After winning in a game Saturday where Missouri tried to speed things up, Kansas University was able to garner the same result Wednesday night against a team which did the exact opposite.

Darnell Jackson and Darrell Arthur combined for 37 points on combined 17-of-27 shooting as the Jayhawks won round one of the two-game season series with Iowa State 83-59 Wednesday night in Allen Fieldhouse.

Jackson’s game-high 21 points were also joined by 11 rebounds. Brandon Rush finished with 11 points, including three deep balls, tied his career best with six assists and had five rebounds. Russell Robinson and Mario Chalmers each scored in double figures, too, with 11 and 10, respectively. Chalmers also had six assists to go with three steals.

KU, now 19-0 overall and 4-0 in Big 12 play, next plays Saturday at home against Nebraska. Tip time is set for 12:45 p.m.

For more on this story, read tomorrow’s Lawrence Journal-World and log back onto KUSports.com.

3:28, second half, KU leads 79-53

The energy did not subside, and neither did the Jayhawks. First, Darnell Jackson scored to give himself 19 points on the night, then Mario Chalmers scored inside and Brandon Rush hit his third three of the game, putting the Jayhawks ahead 75-53 after a Wesley Johnson three with just over four minutes to play.

Jackson broke the 20-point barrier with a turnaround jumper heading into the full break at 3:28 with Kansas ahead 79-53.

6:42, second half, KU leads 68-48

After a lull in the action, Darrell Arthur took a dish from Russell Robinson while crashing down the paint, flipping in a finger roll to give himself 14 points on the night. Then, after a blown transition opportunity where Rodrick Stewart and Arthur got their signals crossed, Sasha Kaun was called for a foul against Wesley Johnson after swatting an inside shot.

Johnson hit two free throws to give him a game-high 18 points, but Arthur came right back with another two points inside. Craig Brackins answered with a three atop the key, but as ISU’s Bryan Petersen tried to chip back in further, he was swatted away by Arthur, eventually leading to another full break at the 6:42 mark.

10:59, second half, KU leads 62-40

Brandon Rush cashed two free throws out of the break, giving him eight points on the night. Then, after an empty Iowa State possession, Mario Chalmers swished a long three, forcing ISU into a timeout with the score beginning to get out of hand at 54-36.

Darnell Jackson scored inside again for KU after Wesley Johnson put in his 13th and 14th points of the game. Jackson’s bucket kept the team lead in points going back and forth between he and Darrell Arthur. The two off the glass gave the senior forward 13 points.

Sherron Collins then crossed over Rahshon Clark and put him on his behind before stepping back and trying a three. The shot atop the key was short, but he then threw an assist inside to Jackson, who bumped his point total to 15. Sasha Kaun then got in on the act with his third field goal coming after another Wesley Johnson two inside.

Jackson scored his third straight bucket with a long two from straight away, giving him 17 points heading into a full timeout with KU up 62-40.

15:41, second half, KU leads 49-36

The Jayhawks filled up the stat sheet right out of the break. First, Darnell Jackson on the defensive end took down his seventh rebound of the game. That was followed by Brandon Rush tying his career high in assists by finding Darrell Arthur for an easy two inside.

Iowa State didn’t score its first points of the half until the clock was nearly three minutes expired, with Craig Brackins following his own miss inside for two, but Russell Robinson did him one better on the other end, scoring an and-one layup, then cashing the free throw to give him nine points on the night and push the KU lead to 13 points.

Darrell Arthur dropped in two more off the glass to give him 12 points, followed by a Rahshon Clark second chance slam to keep it a 13-point game at the 15:41 mark, 49-36.

Halftime, KU leads 42-32

Wesley Johnson hit a three for Iowa State just before the half to make it a 10-point game going into the break, with the Jayhawks ahead 42-32.

Darnell Jackson led the Jayhawks with 11 points on 4-of-7 shooting. Darrell Arthur, whose minutes were limited a bit because of two fouls, had eight points on 4-of-5 shooting. Brandon Rush and Russell Robinson each scored six for KU in the first half, as the Jayhawks were an efficient 16-of-29 in the first half.

Iowa State’s Wesley Johnson led all scorers with 12 points, but ISU made just 10 of its 25 shot attempts and was outrebounded 19-10.

1:11, first half, KU leads 42-29

Mario Chalmers made two free throws out of the timeout, but Rahshon Clark answered for ISU with a one-handed throwdown against Cole Aldrich while slashing through the paint and drawing contact. He hit the free throw, but Darnell Jackson then scored two inside the old-fashioned way, dropping in a bucket off the glass to give him a team-high 11 points.

Brandon Rush then dropped in a three after a deflected ball was controlled inside by the Jayhawks. The run continued as Sherron Collins then scored his first points of the game off a steal at midcourt. The erupting Fieldhouse crowd was then silenced momentarily by a Bryan Petersen three.

3:55, first half, KU leads 33-23

Russell Robinson hit two free throws out of the timeout to give him six points before he took a breather on the bench. After an empty ISU possession, Mario Chalmers got himself in the scoring column with a three from the right wing.

Sasha Kaun then answered a Wesley Johnson bucket with two points inside, keeping KU up by 11 at 30-19.

Iowa State answered with another Johnson jumper, giving the sophomore wing a team-high nine points, but Darrell Arthur dropped yet another short-range two, keeping KU up 33-23 with 3:55 to go in the first half.

7:40, first half, KU leads 23-17

Darnell Jackson hit two free throws out of the timeout, giving him four points in the early going. Wesley Johnson followed it by missing a jumper from the elbow, and Jackson then drew himself another foul, putting KU on the verge of the bonus less than midway through the first half.

After the foul, Russell Robinson banked in two from the right block to give KU its first double-digit lead of the game at 17-7.

Darnell Jackson then took a feed and went for a two-handed dunk on the baseline. That started a scoring frenzy.

First, Craig Brackins responded with two inside off the glass for ISU. Then Russell Robinson muscled in a double-pump layup inside. Brackins responded with a three, giving him a team-high eight points, but Jackson then dropped in two more to give him eight as well. Wesley Johnson hit a three of his own to keep ISU within range at 23-17 heading into a full timeout at the 7:40 mark.

11:26, first half, KU leads 13-7

Brackins made one of two free throws out of the break, and then Sasha Kaun had a bucket waved off due to an offensive foul call.

Kaun put KU back ahead, though, after an ISU miss, slashing through the lane off a feed from Brandon Rush, finishing it with a huge one-handed throwdown.

Darrell Arthur pushed the lead to four points after subbing back in in place of Darnell Jackson. He backed into the paint and swished the same baby hook he had aired to start the game.

Wesley Johnson missed a jumper from the right wing as ISU tried to keep pace, and Arthur followed it by swishing a free throw line jumper, pushing the Jayhawks’ lead to six points and forcing Greg Mcdermott into a 30-second timeout.

Jiri Hubalek took an entry feed out of the timeout and banked in two off the glass, but Darrell Arthur stayed hot, drowning a baseline jumper to push KU ahead 13-7 heading into another media timeout.

15:58, first half, KU leads 5-4

Craig Brackins scored two off the bat for Iowa State, and after a Darrell Arthur airball, Jiri Hubalek scored to make it a 4-0 ISU advantage early.

Brandon Rush started KU off with a three that bounced in off both the iron and the glass, but the Jayhawks turned it over on their next possession trying to go ahead. Darnell Jackson took care of the points on the next trip down, though, with a baseline jumper to make it 5-4.

Jackson missed a jumper on the next trip down while being closely guarded by Craig Brackins, and a defensive foul during a Brackins shot on the next Cyclone possession took the game into its first full break.

Pregame

Step one in not looking ahead to next Wednesday’s game against K-State comes tonight for the Kansas University men’s basketball team, as they tip a bit earlier than usual – 6 p.m. – in Allen Fieldhouse against Iowa State this evening.

The Jayhawks (18-0 overall, 3-0 Big 12) play two Big 12 North foes this week, starting with the Cyclones tonight. Next comes the second meeting of the year with Nebraska, but ISU brings enough to keep KU from glancing ahead on the schedule.

The Cyclones, 12-6 overall and 2-1 so far in league play, have won five of their last six games, including league wins at home over Missouri and Oklahoma State last week. They’ll also bring to town one of the league’s biggest starting lineups, with four of its five members standing 6-foot-6 or taller.

Two names to keep in mind are sophomore Wesley Johnson and freshman Craig Brackins. Johnson, who stands at 6-7 and plays the two-guard spot, leads ISU in scoring at 13.9 ppg. Brackins, a 6-10 highly regarded forward, is scoring 12.5 a game and pulling down 5.1 boards.

KU on the other hand is in need of a solid showing after Saturday’s 76-70 grinder of a win at Missouri, a game marred by 52 foul calls. The Jayhawks made just 22 of 55 field goal attempts and missed 17 field goal tries. They also went the final 7:23 of the game without a bucket from the floor.

Iowa State will be donning traditional road red uniforms with gold lettering and trim, while KU is in its home whites with blue lettering and trim.