Kevin McCullar came up clutch in Kansas’ win over Indiana: ‘He’s a big-time player’

Playing with four fouls the final 8-and-a-half minutes, Kansas super senior Kevin McCullar proved pivotal down the stretch, helping the No. 2-ranked Jayhawks rally from a 13-point second-half deficit to trip Indiana 75-71 on Saturday at Assembly Hall.

McCullar, KU’s 6-foot-7, 212-pound team leader from San Antonio, Texas, who was 3-for-11 shooting on the day, not only cashed a deep 3 with 3:30 left to bust a 64-64 tie, but went 6-of-7 from the line in the final 5 1/2 minutes. That included going 4-of-4 in the final 18 seconds to give KU two-possession leads on both occasions.

“We trust him. He’s a big-time player,” KU center Hunter Dickinson said with a smile, shaking hands with McCullar at a table in the interview room after the Jayhawks improved to 10-1 overall. Indiana fell to 7-3.

McCullar (21 points) was 13-of-16 from the line. He also grabbed six rebounds with four assists and three steals in 37 minutes.

All of his free throws were needed to offset a career-high 28-point performance from IU’s Trey Galloway, who hit 12 of 17 shots.

“Kevin didn’t have a great game offensively until game point,” KU coach Bill Self said. “He makes the huge 3 and basically dominated the game offensively the last three minutes, driving the ball and getting to the line.”

Or as point guard Dajuan Harris, who hit two big 3s and scored 12 points with five assists and two steals, said: “I trusted him. Everybody on our team trusted him. We know he can make free throws. He stepped up and made them at the end.”

McCullar said he didn’t dwell on the fact he was one foul from sitting the rest of the game for the final 8 1/2 minutes.

“Coach trusts me to play smart. I trust myself,” McCullar said. “I reached in the paint a couple times and had some fouls that were not smart. But Coach trusts me. My teammates had my back and covered for me.”

Self said it was obvious McCullar wasn’t hesitant over the possibility of fouling out during crunch time.

“I don’t think when it gets under three minutes you think (about) foul problems. He let it go,” Self said.

It took a team effort for sure to erase Indiana’s 50-37 lead with 15:07 left to play.

KJ Adams scored 14 points with four rebounds and three assists. Dickinson scored 17 points and had 14 rebounds, including two big baskets the final five minutes. Freshmen Elmarko Jackson and Jamari McDowell each hit a 3 as KU went 6-for-18 from beyond the arc to IU’s 6-of-16.

“I told the guys, ‘We’re not going to win the game unless we make some shots,’” Self said. KU hit 42.6% of its shots to IU’s 42.4%.

“It was a heckuva team win. What an environment. It’s as good as any place. This was a great atmosphere,” Self added of 17,222 fans making a lot of noise.

Self was complimentary of Galloway, a 6-5 senior from Culver, Indiana, whose previous career-high was 20 points versus Nebraska in December of 2022.

“He was great. I told him he was great in the (handshake) line,” Self said. “He’s labored shooting the ball. But he’s a good shooter. It’s easy to say, ‘Take his right hand away,’ and he got to his right hand every time. He got the best of us. He’s good.”

The Jayhawks, who trailed most of the game, said they never felt they were out of it, thanks to their overcoming a 14-point deficit in a win over Kentucky at the Champions Classic.

“We follow the lead of our older guys. We remembered what we did against Kentucky. We feel we’re not out of it thanks to Juan, Kevin, Hunter, KJ. We think we’re not out of any game,” Jackson said.

Self said “this game was harder (than the 89-84 win over UK) in large part because it was on the road. We were down 14 to Kentucky, but this game felt different. They controlled it, controlled it, controlled it, but then it gets to six and we see we’re two possessions out of it. That’s what happened today.”

KU trailed by eight point at halftime, 40-32.

I told our guys we should feel fortunate down eight. Eight is manageable,” Self said. “We didn’t play well out of halftime. From 14 minutes (to the buzzer), we played really well,” Self added.

McCullar said the comeback win can only help KU down the line.

“Early in the season playing games like this and Kentucky will help, knowing what’ s coming in the Big 12,” McCullar said.

KU will next meet Yale at 7 p.m. Friday at Allen.