The Kansas Jayhawks Hand the Unbeaten UConn Huskies Their First Defeat of the Season in a Classic NCAA Showdown

In yet another classic encounter of this season, the resilient Kansas Jayhawks showed tremendous character and edge past the UConn Huskies 69-65 on a thrilling Friday night. Unbeaten in the tournament so far, the Connecticut Huskies were looking to hand the Jayhawks their second loss of the season.

However, the Kansas Jayhawks left the NCAA champions empty-handed as they pulled off a close victory at their home turf. Moreover, they UConn suffered their first defeat of the season their 7-game winning streak came to an end.

The Kansas Jayhawks upset the national champions

The Jayhawks made a promising start to the first half as they led the Huskies 38-31 by the end of the first buzzer. Center Hunter Dickinson and forward Kevin McCullar Jr were the prolific scorers for them. However, UConn’s star guard Tristen Newton made sure to keep the defending champions in the hunt. As a result, the tides started to turn in favor of Connecticut in the second half with Newton doing the bulk of the scoring. Apparently, he was the only UConn player having a double-digit score next to his name at the time.

The match went down the wire as no team seemed to have the upper hand in the contest. With just four minutes to go in the second half, the No.5 Jayhawks gained a decent lead of 7 points. Following this, they managed to hold on to their nerve in the dying moments and went over the line with a 69-65 win. Moreover, three of the players from the Jayhawks locker room ended their night on double figures. Playing as a forward, senior guard Kevin McCullar Jr was their top scorer with 21 points and 5 rebounds. In addition to this, No.24 KJ Adams Jr. was not far behind with his 18 points and 5 rebounds. Center Hunter Dickinson almost had a double-double as his night finished on 15 points and 9 rebounds.

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Tristen Newton was the standout player for UConn as he fought a lone battle for the Huskies.

Tristen Newton shines despite UConn’s loss

Point guard Tristen Newton almost pulled off a miracle for the Huskies as he kept fighting till the final buzzer. The explosive No.2 for UConn kept the Allen Fieldhouse on their feet the entire time with his tremendous exhibition. Unfortunately, his 31 points and 6 rebounds couldn’t get the reigning national champions over the line. Apart from him, only Alex Karaban with his 10 points and 6 rebounds was able to land a double-digit game.

The unbeaten run of the defending champions has finally ended following a spirited performance by the Jayhawks. Regardless, they still have a lot of positives to take from this classic encounter. As they gear up to take on North Carolina on Wednesday, fans will be hoping they can put this loss behind them and regroup.

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What are your thoughts on this classic encounter? Share your thoughts in the comments section.