Kansas guard Devonte Graham glides to the bucket between UC Santa Barbara defenders Gabe Vincent (2) and Michael Bryson (24) during the second half on Friday, Nov. 14, 2014 at Allen Fieldhouse. At right is KU guard Wayne Selden.

Unranked by the recruiting services until after he committed to Kansas University, freshman point guard Devonté Graham never doubted he could play at the big-time, major-college, Div. I level.

“Yeah, the national attention and stuff, I never really paid any attention to it. I always knew I had confidence. My support system and coaches always boost confidence in us. They know we can compete. That’s why they recruited us,” said Graham, a 6-foot-2 native of Raleigh, North Carolina, after scoring a team-leading 14 points while playing 26 minutes in KU’s 69-59 season-opening victory over UC Santa Barbara on Friday night in Allen Fieldhouse.

“I knew coming in I had the opportunity to play some big minutes, just work hard and do what I’m supposed to do. The opportunity presented itself. I’m trying to take advantage of it,” added Graham, who grabbed four rebounds and dished two assists against two turnovers.

Box Score from KU's 69-59 victory over UC-Santa Barbara, Friday, Nov. 14, 2014.

Rivals.com’s No. 36-rated player in the Class of 2014 scored 10 points the first half, providing KU with much-needed offense as the Jayhawks crept to a 31-23 halftime lead.

“I thought Devonté was the most ready to play of all the freshmen,” KU coach Bill Self said after a game in which No. 4-ranked Cliff Alexander (nine points, four boards) had a stellar second half in which he scored eight points with two rebounds. No. 6-rated Kelly Oubre Jr. didn’t score, while playing four minutes the first half and none the second. Ukrainian sensation Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk, who was unranked as a foreign player had four points, all in a crucial second-half run, and four boards in 16 minutes.

“He’s played the most competition. He’s a year older. He’s played at prep school (Brewster Academy) where he played a lot of big games. I thought he was most ready to play as far as having an understanding. I’m not saying he’s the most talented, but yeah he didn’t surprise me that he played well,” Self added of Graham.

Graham, who was whistled for a flagrant one foul after clipping Zalmico Harmon with an elbow in the head near midcourt — “when you rip through you’ve got to rip low; I made a mental mistake, ripped high and caught him with an elbow,” Graham said — hit three jumpers in a 9-0 surge that gave KU a 23-15 lead at 5:59. He also had an assist on a Brannen Greene three. Overall he had eight points in an 11-2 run that gave KU a 25-17 lead at 3:36.

He could have had even more points, missing the front end of two one-and-ones in that stretch.

“Tremendous,” freshman forward Alexander said, breaking out in a big smile at the mere mention of Graham. “I told him, ‘Keep it up,’ at halftime,” Alexander added.

“He came in and stepped up. That’s what we need from our freshmen,” said junior Perry Ellis, who had 13 points, 10 rebounds and three steals. “He did a great job. We look for him to keep doing that.”

Graham hit four of six shots the first half and five of eight overall. He made four of six free throws.

“We needed somebody to give us a spark. Little freshman Devonté Graham sparked us the first game. He made some shots when we needed it. He and Cliff bailed us out as much as anybody else,” Self assessed.

Alexander scored six points, while Frank Mason III (12 points, one assist, four turnovers) and Mykhailiuk had four apiece in a 14-2 run that upped a tense 44-41 lead (12:35) to 58-43 at 9:03. Alexander had two free throws, a dunk off a pass from Mykhailiuk and a 15-footer in that game-deciding surge.

“I came in and hit a couple shots for my team,” Alexander said, tipping his cap to UC Santa Barbara center Alan Williams, who had 22 points, 13 boards and four blocks in 35 minutes. “He’s pretty big. He’s good. He’s got a nice hook, too,” Alexander added.

At game’s end, guards Graham (14), Mason (12) and Wayne Selden Jr. (10) had 36 of KU’s 69 points.

“I had two fouls early. Coach told me to keep playing, be aggressive,” Graham said in looking back at his effort in his debut. “I kept doing that, trying to be aggressive.

“It relieved a little stress,” he added of hitting jumpers early. “Seeing the ball go through the hoop is always a good thing,” added Graham who had one of the game’s best defensive plays — taking a charge from beefy Williams in the second half.

The Jayhawks held the Gauchos to 41.1 percent shooting (23 of 56, 4-19 from three) while hitting an equally chilly 41.5 percent (22 of 53, 2 of 10 threes).

“We love playing defense,” Graham said with a smile. “Coach tells us we have to be energetic, get out there and be aggressive. We have to have a lot of energy.”

The Jayhawks will next meet Kentucky approximately 8:50 p.m., Tuesday, at the Champions Classic in Indianapolis. Duke meets Michigan State in the 6 p.m. opener.