All the talk coming into this season was about California’s long-range gunners: Randle, Christopher and Robertson were supposedly the keys to a possible Pac 10 championship for the Bears. Tuesday night, Cal’s shooters were good but KU’s were better.

Facing a California backcourt known for its three-point marksmanship, KU one-upped the Bears by shooting exceptionally well from the field in an 84-69 victory.

The Jayhawks made 41.2 percent of their three-point attempts and an even-more-impressive 60.4 percent of their tries from inside the line. KU finished with a 60.8 percent Effective FG% (eFG%), its third-best showing of the season.

Who were the catalysts of the Jayhawk shooting surge?

Basically everyone.

Senior guard Sherron Collins was the only KU player to shoot below 50 percent from the field, and he made up for it by going 3-for-6 from long range for a 50 percent eFG%. Aside from Collins and his 15 field goal attempts, the rest of the Jayhawk offense was very evenly distributed. Freshman guard Xavier Henry took 10 shots, sophomore forward Marcus Morris and sophomore guard Tyshawn Taylor took eight a piece, and junior center Cole Aldrich and sophomore forward Markieff Morris each took six.

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What went well for KU

• Defense, despite an ugly first half

Cal poured on points in the first half thanks to a decent field goal percentage and above-average 36.4 percent three-point shooting. Things eventually evened out, however, as the Jayhawks held the Bears to 30 points and 34.5 percent overall shooting in the second half. KU’s strong defensive performance showed that the rumors of Cole Aldrich’s demise may have been greatly exaggerated. Playing with bronchitis and some added emotional weight, the junior delivered a five-block performance in 22 minutes. After (uncharacteristically) picking up early fouls and heading to the bench, Aldrich remained aggressive on defense, and it paid dividends for KU. Also, KU forced the Bears into a turnover on 22.7 percent of their possessions, well worse than Cal’s season average.

• Finished strong

KU’s second half was an epic display of offense. The Jayhawks made 73.1 percent of their field goals, treating a seasoned California team like a low-major pay-to-play squad. Cal isn’t a bad defensive team, either. The Bears are ranked 32nd in the nation in Adjusted Defensive Efficiency, according to KenPom.com. The three-pointers were falling, the ball was moving between players, the post feeds were crisp: The second half of Tuesday’s game was KU’s super-talented team at its thrilling best.

A look at KU’s strong second half, thanks to StatSheet.com

What went wrong for KU, broken record edition

• Too many turnovers

KU coughed up possession on 24 percent of its trips down the floor, its second-worst performance of the season (after 31.8 percent against Memphis). A team as talented as KU can clearly win despite its mistakes: We’ve seen that a few times this season. But heading into conference play against defensive juggernauts such as Texas and Kansas State, the Jayhawks’ turnover troubles are a bit worrying.

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The Bottom Line

KU escaped despite a frightening first half by putting together a beautiful offensive second half and a solid defensive performance.