KANSAS CITY, Mo. — It’s been 31 years since Kansas has lost three straight non-conference games, and it’s been two weeks since Kansas won a game, period.
Saturday night the Jayhawks got a much needed boost of confidence with an 80-63 win over the New Mexico Lobos at the Sprint Center in Kansas City.
The Jayhawks led by just one point at the half, 39-38, but a strong second half by the front line of Joel Embiid and Perry Ellis allowed the Jayhawks to pull away in the second half. Embiid finished with a career-high 18 points, six rebounds, and four blocked shots. Ellis had 21 points to go along with a team high 9 rebounds.
The Jayhawks got some much improved play at the point guard position from junior Naadir Tharpe, who finished with eight points and nine assists. Kendall Williams and Cameron Barstow had 24 apiece for New Mexico.
Kansas (7-3) now takes a week off for finals, and will next host Georgetown at Allen Fieldhouse in Lawrence next Saturday, December 21. New Mexico (7-2) plays next at home on Tuesday, December 17, versus New Mexico State.