LAWRENCE, Kan. — Kansas tipped off the season by beating Emporia State 86-60 in exhibition play on Wednesday.
Oak Park grad Ochai Agbaji paced the Jayhawks with 17 points.
“I thought that we did play a lot of combinations and we actually played well in the first half. We didn’t play very well in the second half, but we let the young kids play and there were some good things that happened,” head coach Bill Self said.
“We did some good things. We guarded very well in the first half. Good teams, you let them get that close to the hole and they’ll shoot a much higher percentage against us. It’ll be a good teaching tape. I don’t know if we are ready to play, but this game will certainly help prepare us for Tuesday.”
David McCormack (16 points), Remy Martin (15 points) and Christian Braun (10 points) also scored in double figures, while Martin led the team in assists with four and McCormack led the way with eight rebounds.
KU scored 42 points in the paint and got 37 points from the bench in the game. The Jayhawks forced the Hornets into 14 turnovers, which Kansas turned into 20 points.
Kansas led at the break, 51-25, shooting 61.8 percent (21-of-34) from the floor on 12 assists. The Jayhawks closed out the first half on a 16-3 run over the last 5:06.
Kansas opens its regualr season with the Champions Classic on November 9, when the Jayhawks take on the Michigan State Spartans at the Garden in New York City.
