Kansas center Christian Reeves (32) roars after a dunk against Middle Tennessee during the first half on Friday, Nov. 6, 2026 at Allen Fieldhouse. Nick Krug/Special to the Journal-World

In one of the program’s more impressive defensive performances in recent memory, the Kansas men’s basketball team locked down Conference USA foe Middle Tennessee on its way to an 89-45 victory on Friday night.

Making his first start as a Jayhawk, forward Trey Kaufman-Renn led KU with an efficient 17 points on 7-for-8 shooting, and center Christian Reeves chipped in 10 as his replacement off the bench.

The Blue Raiders hit a series of second-half 3-pointers to prevent their deficit from getting too far out of hand, but shot just 24.4% on 2-point field goals and committed 16 turnovers and 18 fouls. Jarred Hall was their leading scorer with 11 points.

With stellar defense, the Jayhawks stifled the Blue Raiders on a series of three early possessions before Hall made a 3-pointer for MTSU. Kaufman-Renn powered the Jayhawks early with eight points, two rebounds and a play on which he halted Kaleb Siler’s shot in the post to force a held ball, as KU went ahead 14-5.

The score was stuck at 17-7 for a long time before Taylen Kinney tossed a lob to Reeves. After that, KU didn’t make much progress because of its ineffective free-throw shooting, as the Jayhawks opened 3-for-9 at the line.

With KU ahead 27-10 after a dunk by Keanu Dawes, the Blue Raiders broke a scoring drought of more than four minutes on a close-range shot by Siler, but the Jayhawks immediately responded with an alley-oop dunk by Dennis Parker Jr.

Reeves put back a miss by Parker in the final minute of the half, and MTSU came back with an off-balance jumper by Jahvin Carter to finally get its total into the teens. KU coach Bill Self called timeout and drew up a play that produced a buzzer-beating right-wing 3 for Tre White, off a sharp pass by Leroy Blyden Jr., and made the halftime tally 36-14.

The Blue Raiders shot just 18.8% from the field in the first half and committed 10 turnovers.

KU extended its margin with some sharper offensive play in the earlier stages of the second half. Kaufman-Renn threaded a bounce pass through to Melvin Council Jr. for a dunk that made it 49-18 four minutes in.

That was part of a 15-2 run that ended with a 3-pointer from Carter, just the second time the Blue Raiders had connected from deep after they opened 1-for-16.

Reeves reached double figures with an elegant layup and Dawes knocked down a 3-pointer from the left corner. Several of KU’s reserves got to contribute their fair share of highlight-reel plays, with freshman Davion Adkins emphatically rejecting Landyn Colyer at the rim shortly before the under-eight timeout.

Freshman wing Luke Barnett hit a deep 3 the first time he touched the ball to make it 79-34 and then added two more in rapid succession soon afterward. His fourth attempt hit the rim and bounced away.

The Jayhawks, who improved to 2-0, will travel to Chicago to face Kentucky in the Champions Classic on Tuesday at 8:30 p.m.