Jalen Wilson scored 24 points and grabbed 10 rebounds as No. 6 Kansas routed Missouri 95-67 Saturday in Columbia, Mo.
Kevin McCullar scored 21 points and had five steals for the Jayhawks (9-1). KJ Adams scored 19 points and Gradey Dick had 16 points and five assists.
Nick Honor and D’Moi Hodge led the Tigers (9-1) with 15 points each. Noah Carter scored 12 points and DeAndre Gholston added 11.
Last season the Jayhawks routed the Tigers 102-65 in Lawrence, Kan., in the first Border War rivalry game since Missouri left the Big 12 for the Southeastern Conference after the 2011-12 season.
This game got out of hand, too, as Kansas easily beat Missouri’s defensive pressure while shooting 57.4 percent from the floor and 10-for-22 from 3-point range.
Missouri led Division I teams with 93.0 points per game. The Tigers did that damage against low- and mid-major opponents before suffering a reality check against Kansas.
The Jayhawks took immediate charge with a 12-6 run in the first three minutes of the game behind a 3-point jumper by McCullar and conventional 3-point play by Adams.
Hodge briefly stabilized the Tigers with a 3-point jumper, but the Jayhawks resumed their assault with a 14-3 surge to build a 26-12 lead.
Back-to-back 3-point jumpers by Dick and Joseph Yesufu expanded the Jayhawks’ lead to 36-17 with 8:26 left in the half.
Missouri cut their deficit to 40-26 with a 3-point jumper by Hodge and lob-pass dunk by Aidan Shaw. But Kansas pushed back out to 50-33 halftime lead with another run, this time fueled by two Adams dunks.
The Jayhawks scored the first nine points of the second half, highlighted by Wilson’s 3-pointer, to increase their lead to 59-33.
The Tigers mustered an 11-2 run with Hodge hitting two 3-point jumpers to cut the Kansas lead to 73-58 with 7:54 left to play –but they could get no closer.
–Field Level Media
