KANSAS CITY, Mo. — In a dramatic second-round clash at the Big 12 Championship, sixth-seeded Kansas narrowly escaped an upset, rallying to defeat No. 14 seed UCF 98-94 in overtime on Wednesday night.
Hunter Dickinson delivered a dominant performance, scoring 23 points and grabbing 13 rebounds, while Zeke Mayo poured in 24 points to lead the Jayhawks’ offensive charge. AJ Storr contributed a season-high 19 points before fouling out in the waning moments of overtime, and KJ Adams added 15 points and seven rebounds for Kansas (21-11).
The victory allowed Kansas to avoid a second consecutive year of losing their conference tournament opener.
The nail-biting finish saw Jordan Ivy-Curry pull UCF to within 94-93 with 18.2 seconds remaining after converting a three-point play. Mayo missed a crucial free throw on the other end, but UCF’s Moustapha Thiam failed to convert a game-tying jumper. Dickinson then iced the game with a free throw, setting up a frantic final sequence.
UCF’s Deebo Coleman made the first of two free throws with 0.9 seconds left, cutting the deficit to 96-94. However, his attempt to intentionally miss the second free throw to give UCF a chance to rebound fell short, failing to hit the rim and sealing the Jayhawks’ victory.
With the hard-fought win, Kansas advances to face third-seeded Arizona on Thursday night.
The highly anticipated rematch, following Kansas’ victory over Arizona last weekend, is scheduled to tip off at 8:30 p.m. CT and will be televised on ESPN.
Pregame coverage on the Jayhawk Sports Network from Learfield begins at 8:00 p.m. on SuperStar Country 102.5 in Norton and joined in progress on 95.5 KNDY-FM in Marysville following 1A Division II State Basketball action in Colby.
