Kansas, down at halftime, rallies for win vs. Arizona State

Shreyas Laddha, The Kansas City Star on Jan 8, 2025

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LAWRENCE, Kan. — Kansas Jayhawks guard Shakeel Moore has a knack for big plays.

That was on display Wednesday night against Arizona State. Moore stole the ball on an inbound Sun Devils pass and threw down a ferocious dunk on the other end of the floor. The Allen Fieldhouse crowd roared and gave Moore a standing ovation.

That bucket, one of many memorable moments from Moore, helped No. 11-ranked KU rebound from a 42-36 halftime deficit and beat Arizona State 74-55.

KU’s Zeke Mayo led all scorers with 23 points, while Jayhawks big man Hunter Dickinson added 15 points and 12 rebounds.

Kansas went on an 11-0 run to start the second half and take its first lead. Arizona State never led again.

Up Next: The Jayhawks travel to Cincinnati to play the Bearcats on Saturday.

Until then, here are three takeaways from Wednesday’s home game …

KU’s stellar second-half defense

The Jayhawks’ defense was lacking in the first half, allowing Arizona State to shoot 46.7% from the field.

The Sun Devils’ 42 points in the first half was the most a team has scored against KU this season.

Jayhawks coach Bill Self must have delivered one heck of a halftime speech, because KU’s defense was phenomenal in the second half.

Defense fueled the Jayhawks’ 11-0 second-half run. KU forced two shot clock violations during the stretch.

Arizona State scored its first second-half point (a 3-pointer) with 12:58 left in the game. ASU scored just 13 points in the second half.

The Sun Devils finished with 18 turnovers, leading to 22 Jayhawks points. ASU shot 21.7% from the field in the second half and 35.8% overall.

Guard Shakeel Moore impresses

Self might have finally found his fifth starter.

Before this season began, who would’ve imagined it would be Mississippi State transfer guard Shakeel Moore? But he has certainly looked the part in the two games he’s started.

He’s a pesky defender, often guarding players full-court. It felt like whenever KU needed a momentum-shifting play, he was there to answer the call.

Moore finished with eight points on 3-for-5 shooting in 20 minutes. Let’s see if he earns a permanent starting role going forward.

AJ Storr’s struggles continue

Former Wisconsin guard AJ Storr is having a rough season.

After averaging 16.8 points per game last season, he’s now coming off the bench for the Jayhawks. He didn’t enter Wednesday’s game until 7:40 remained in the first half.

He played three disastrous minutes, going scoreless while committing one foul and two turnovers. His porous defense helpd lead to an ASU run, after which Storr was quickly removed from the game.

He did not play in the second half.

The best way to describe Storr’s play this season is shell-shocked. No one anticipated he’d be the second or third player off the bench, and it’s clear he’s overthinking when he’s on the court.

KU coach Bill Self had high expectations for the highly touted transfer, and so far, Storr hasn’t delivered. That helps explain why he’s averaging around 20 minutes per game for KU after averaging about 29 for Wisconsin last season.

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