Takeaways from KU basketball’s win over KC Roos ... that got a little too close late

The KU men’s basketball team has a knack for elevating its play when absolutely necessary late in a game.

And for the second time this season, that was needed against an inferior opponent inside Allen Fieldhouse.

The Jayhawks led the KC Roos by only eight points with 3:52 to play on Tuesday night. They flipped the switch and closed out the game on a 13-2 run.

The No. 2 Jayhawks defeated the Roos 88-69 inside Allen Fieldhouse.

Kevin McCullar scored a career-high 25 points and KJ Adams added 18 for the Jayhawks, who earned their ninth victory over Kansas City (in nine meetings).

Kansas is now 8-1 or better for the sixth straight season, dating back to 2018-19.

Tuesday night’s game was never quite in danger, but it was never especially comfortable either. The Jayhawks led only 44-30 at half. Shortly before that, Hunter Dickinson received a technical foul for pushing a KC player to the ground.

That said, the Jayhawks led by as many as 22 points and trailed for only 19 seconds.

Dickinson finished with four fouls but added 14 points and 12 rebounds.

Here are some takeaways from Tuesday evening’s game:

Red-hot Kevin McCullar

Before Tuesday’s game, McCullar had risen up NBA Draft boards and was even receiving first-round projections in some mock drafts.

He looked the part of a future first-round pick early against the Roos.

McCullar scored eight of KU’s first 10 points. He finished the first half shooting a scorching 6-for-7 from the field, adding six rebounds and three assists.

On the defensive end, McCullar also was his usual stellar self.

Overall, the guard made things look easy while stuffing the stat sheet. It’s clear how fortunate Kansas is that he decided to return for another season.

McCullar added two more assists in the second half to finish with five.

Dajuan Harris bounces back

Kansas point guard and fan-favorite Dajuan Harris hasn’t had the best season so far.

In most games, he’s alternated between tentative on the offensive end or ice-cold when he does shoot. In the last game vs. UConn, Harris had three points on 1-for-7 shooting.

Well, he bounced back in a big way against Kansas City.

Harris was aggressive and took open 3-pointers — a promising sign for a Kansas team that lacks shooters.

KU’s offense looks its best when Harris is aggressive and making shots.

He finished with eight points on 3-for-6 shooting, including 2-for-3 from deep. He added seven assists, one rebound and one steal.

KU’s defense has another strong showing

After their best defensive showing of the year against UConn on Friday, the Jayhawks followed up with another excellent outing.

KU limited the Roos to 26-for-65 shooting from the floor (40%), including 8-for-27 (29.6%) from deep.

Kansas did an excellent job of protecting the paint — Kansas City only had 22 points inside compared to KU’s 42.

The Jayhawks did an excellent job communicating on defense and collapsing on drivers. The Roos only had 13 free-throw attempts, and they finished with that same number of turnovers.