KU basketball vs. Texas Southern recap: Jayhawks win 87-55 in non-conference matchup

LAWRENCE — Kansas men’s basketball’s 2022-23 season continued Monday with a non-conference matchup at home against Texas Southern.

The No. 9 Jayhawks came in off of a 64-50 loss in the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament in the Bahamas against Tennessee. The Tigers came in off of a 78-63 loss on the road against Samford. Last season, Kansas won 83-56 against Texas Southern in the round of 64 in the NCAA tournament.

Did coach Bill Self’s Jayhawks’ squad get right with a victory after its first loss of the season? Did coach Johnny Jones’ Tigers squad pull off an upset? The game tipped off a little after 7 p.m.

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Here's what happened inside Allen Fieldhouse:

FINAL: Kansas 87, Texas Southern 55

Kansas leads 81-49 against Texas Southern with 3:44 left in 2nd half

There are five Jayhawks in double figures scoring as this game nears its end. Those are MJ Rice, Jalen Wilson, Joseph Yesufu, KJ Adams Jr. and Gradey Dick. Wilson leads the way with 22 points, but Rice is closing the gap and up to 17 himself. Rice is shooting 5-for-8 from the field, 2-for-4 from behind the arc and 5-for-6 from the free-throw line.

Davon Barnes does have 22 points for Texas Southern as well. He's shooting the ball efficiently. He just hasn't had much help from his teammates scoring the ball and also has six turnovers.

Kansas leads 73-44 against Texas Southern with 8:20 left in 2nd half

MJ Rice is up to 11 points to join some teammates in double figures scoring. This is a career high for the freshman, with still a little more than eight minutes to go in the second half. He's played about 15 minutes so far for Kansas against Texas Southern.

Kansas leads 65-39 against Texas Southern with 11:35 left in 2nd half

Kansas has been able to spread the ball around far more effectively so far in this one. The Jayhawks have 19 assists, led by Dajuan Harris Jr.'s eight. Texas Southern has just five assists.

Kansas leads 57-31 against Texas Southern with 15:03 left in 2nd half

The 3s have really been falling for Kansas. The Jayhawks are 10-for-20 from behind the arc so far, with Jalen Wilson leading the way at 5-for-9. Four different players have hit at least one, and three have hit at least two.

On the other end, Texas Southern is 2-for-11 from behind the arc. The Tigers are falling further and further behind because of their inability to hit shots there, and elsewhere, with consistency. Texas Southern has trailed by as many as 27 points.

Kansas leads 48-25 against Texas Southern with 17:55 left in 2nd half

That's an 8-0 run for the Jayhawks out of halftime. Dajuan Harris Jr. and Joseph Yesufu each have a 3-pointer to help that along. And with that bucket, Yesufu now has back-to-back games of double-digit point totals.

At 23 points, this is Kansas' largest lead of the game so far. This would be a great opportunity for MJ Rice and Zuby Ejiofor to get some extends runs in. Out of the freshmen on scholarship, they've played the least so far this season.

HALFTIME: Kansas 40, Texas Southern 25

Kansas leads 35-16 with 3:13 left in 1st half

It might not always look as clean as Bill Self wants it to, but Kansas is in control and will likely be able to coast to a win at home after losing the last time it played. That should help with confidence as the Jayhawks prepare to face Seton Hall at home later this week. Playing time for the freshmen, which has already been happening, is key.

Jalen Wilson and Gradey Dick are both in double figures scoring already, with 11 and 10 points respectively. Both have been efficient shooting the ball from the field. That's a good sign as well.

Kansas leads 27-10 with 6:02 left in 1st half

The Jayhawks are up 17 points now and on a 10-0 run, as a scoring drought for the Tigers is approaching six minutes. A dunk from Zuby Ejiofor punctuated this quick stretch. That led to a Texas Southern timeout.

The Tigers are shooting below 30% from the field. They haven't hit a shot from behind the arc. If they hadn't been able to get to the free-throw line a little already, they'd be in even more trouble.

Kansas leads 21-10 with 7:54 left in 1st half

Texas Southern hasn't scored in about four minutes, and that's led to a 7-0 run for Kansas. The Tigers are certainly suffering from some recent turnovers, which aren't all because of the Jayhawks' defense. But Kansas has definitely turned up its intensity some.

Jalen Wilson leads the Jayhawks and all scorers with eight points. He's 2-for-4 from behind the arc, which helps. Overall he's 3-for-7 from the field.

Kansas leads 14-10 with 11:48 left in 1st half

Texas Southern is showing some fight, and forces a timeout from Bill Self with 11:48 left in the first half. Kansas' lead is down to 14-10 right now. The Jayhawks are missing some open shots that one would expect them to knock down.

Ernest Udeh Jr. and MJ Rice were Kansas' first two substitutions off the bench. They came in during this stretch for KJ Adams Jr. and Gradey Dick, and at one point after Dick returned the Jayhawks' lineup featured three freshmen.

Kansas leads 9-2 against Texas Southern with 15:55 left in 1st half

The 3s are falling for the Jayhawks early, as they already have three made attempts on 3-for-4 shooting from behind the arc. Gradey Dick, Jalen Wilson and Joseph Yesufu each have one. Those buckets have helped Kansas go on a 9-0 run here early in the game.

Yesufu has those three points and a rebound so far in his first start in his time at Kansas, which he came to ahead of last season after starting his college career at Drake. The Jayhawks need him to be a scorer. If he can continue to shoot it well, even when Kevin McCullar Jr. returns there will be a place for Yesufu in the rotation.

There's tip-off

Texas Southern won the opening tip.

Bill Self is here

Here are the starters

Kevin McCullar Jr. joins list of players unavailable for Kansas

Kyle Cuffe Jr., Cam Martin and Bobby Pettiford Jr. were already out, and now Kevin McCullar Jr. is out as well. That makes four scholarship players unavailable for the Jayhawks.

Will Kevin McCullar Jr. be available for Kansas?

Kansas has done well after losses while Bill Self has been head coach

According to the Jayhawks' game notes, under Self the team is 108-16 following a loss. And since 2012-13, Kansas is 55-7 following a loss. That bodes well for the Jayhawks tonight.

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: Recap: KU basketball vs. Texas Southern final score, analysis and more