Kansas men's basketball crushes Nevada at Allen Fieldhouse

LAWRENCE — Kansas men's basketball's 2021-22 regular season continued Wednesday with a non-conference game against Nevada.

The Jayhawks had last competed on Dec. 18, when they defeated Stephen F. Austin. The Wolf Pack had last competed on Dec. 18 as well, when they defeated Loyola Marymount. The matchup had Kansas head coach Bill Self go against Nevada head coach Steve Alford.

Did the Jayhawks see the noteworthy performance from Jalen Wilson that Self is expecting? Did fans see Dajuan Harris Jr. and Remy Martin be aggressive offensively in the way Self desires? Did Kansas inch even closer to Big 12 Conference play with an impressive showing?

►RELATED: Kansas men's basketball announces newly scheduled home game Saturday against George Mason

►RELATED: Kansas men’s basketball announces scheduling of Dec. 29 home game against Nevada

Here's what happened, with the latest news first, at Allen Fieldhouse:

FINAL: Kansas 88, Nevada 61

The Jayhawks routed the Wolf Pack for another victory. Nevada never led, and trailed by as many as 29 points. Even Chris Teahan was able to get some playing time for Kansas, along with Michael Jankovich.

Kansas leads 80-53 against Nevada with 4:23 left in 2nd half

Dajuan Harris Jr. is up to a career-high 14 points for Kansas, as the Jayhawks lead by 27 points with less than five minutes left. He's 5-for-5 from the field, 2-for-2 from behind the arc and 2-for-3 from the free-throw line. In addition to that, he also has five assists and two rebounds with two turnovers.

Kansas leads 65-47 against Nevada with 9:12 left in 2nd half

Joseph Yesufu is getting some extended minutes for Kansas right now, as the Jayhawks are leading by 18 points at this break and have led by much more. After this break, Bill Self put his starters back in the game. But for a time Dajuan Harris Jr. was the only starter who was in the game. It's something Self has been looking for this season in the past, for his bench to be able to at least maintain the lead that the starters have built up.

Kansas leads 63-38 against Nevada with 11:22 left in 2nd half

The Wolf Pack have turned the ball over 18 times, and the Jayhawks have done so 11 times. That's led to nine points for Nevada and 15 for Kansas.

The Jayhawks also have the advantage in free throws over the Wolf Pack. Kansas is 11-for-16 from the free-throw line, while Nevada is 2-for-2.

Remy Martin has nine points for Kansas and Dajuan Harris Jr. has 12, giving them a combined 21. There have been games where the pair have combined for far less, and Bill Self talked on Hawk Talk in the days before this game about wanting them to be more assertive on the offensive end of the floor.

Kansas leads 58-36 against Nevada with 14:29 left in 2nd half

The Jayhawks are on a 9-0 run, and leading by 22 points with about 14 and a half minutes left in the game. Another electric Ochai Agbaji dunk forced a Nevada timeout. Agbaji is up to 16 points for Kansas so far.

Kansas leads 49-36 against Nevada with 15:49 left in 2nd half

Nevada head coach Steve Alford just received a technical foul after arguing for an and-1, and it's a sign of how this game is going for the Wolf Pack now as they trail the Jayhawks by 13 with a little less than 16 minutes left. Kansas isn't exactly shooting the ball well this half, but it's doing enough to maintain its lead. Dajuan Harris Jr. is up to nine points, and has been much more assertive offensively for the Jayhawks to start the second half.

A halftime thought from Bill Self

HALFTIME: Kansas 39, Nevada 27

Kansas leads 31-23 against Nevada with 3:35 left in 1st half

Nevada has turned the ball over 15 times tonight already, and made just nine shots from the field. Kansas has taken advantage and scored 13 points off of those turnovers, and leads by eight points with about three and a half minutes left.

There are some areas of concern for Kansas right now. It's only 5-for-9 from the free-throw line and it's not gotten much production out of either Jalen Wilson or Jalen Coleman-Lands off of the bench. However, the Jayhawks are still in control of this one and frustrating the Wolf Pack regularly.

Nevada still has yet to attempt a free throw.

Kansas leads 24-18 against Nevada with 8:19 left in 1st half

The Jayhawks are in the midst of a scoring drought that's lasted about two and a half minutes, and now Bill Self has called a timeout. The Jayhawks only lead by six points. With about eight minutes left before halftime, the Wolf Pack are in this game in a way they weren't just a few minutes ago.

Nevada's Desmond Cambridge Jr. is up to 10 points to lead his team. He's taken half of the Wolf Pack's 18 shots from the field and made four.

Kansas leads 23-13 against Nevada with 11:11 left in 1st half

Christian Braun is already up to 11 points for Kansas, as the Jayhawks lead by 10 with about 11 minutes left before halftime. He's 5-for-7 from the field with one free throw made. He's fired up, and so are the fans.

Nevada started to hit some shots to close the initial gap, and is actually 3-for-6 from behind the arc. But the Wolf Pack went cold again from the field and are shooting 35.7 percent overall. They're led in scoring by Desmond Cambridge Jr.'s eight points.

Kansas' first substitution of the night was Jalen Wilson in for Dajuan Harris Jr.

Kansas leads 12-3 against Nevada with 16:27 left in 1st half

The Jayhawks are dominating to start this one, and lead 12-3 with about 16 and a half minutes remaining in the first half. The Wolf Pack didn't score until the 17:29 mark. So far, Kansas has forced four turnovers and scored five points off of those turnovers.

Christian Braun leads Kansas and all scorers with six points. A Braun dunk on a fast-break opportunity led to Nevada calling a timeout.

It begins

Nevada won the opening tip. The game has started.

Here's who Nevada is starting

Here's who Kansas is starting

Bill Self appears on Kansas' pregame show

Self said that recent weeks haven't been as hectic as people may think, due to COVID-19 complications, and that the mindset he and other coaches have is just to control what they can control. He considers Nevada and George Mason both quality opponents. He thinks they both can give the Jayhawks problems in multiple ways, and won't overlook either as Big 12 play looms.

KJ Adams Jr. appears on Kansas' pregame show

Adams, a freshman forward for the Jayhawks, said that all the COVID-19 complications that have occurred have reminded people of what happened last season and how the 2019-20 season was affected as well. With regards to himself, personally, he wants to improve his offensive skillset. It meant a lot to him to hear his coaches praise his defensive ability.

Jeremy Case appears on Kansas' pregame show

Jeremy Case, an assistant coach for the Jayhawks, appeared on the team's pregame show and touched on a number of different topics. When it came to the keys to the game, first he mentioned that they need to keep the Wolf Pack's Desmon Cambridge Jr. and Grant Sherfield under their scoring averages of 17.5 and 20 points per game, respectively. Case also said Kansas needs to take advantage of its own speed, and hold Nevada to under 80 points.

Jayhawks warming up

Jordan Guskey covers University of Kansas Athletics at The Topeka Capital-Journal. Contact him at jmguskey@gannett.com or on Twitter at @JordanGuskey.

This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: KU basketball recap: Kansas crushes Nevada 88-61 at Allen Fieldhouse