The Indiana Hoosiers led for the first 35 minutes on Saturday against the Kansas Jayhawks, including by as many as 13 points, but a late surge from Bill Self’s squad led to a massive 75-71 road victory.
Kevin McCullar finished with 21 points, including key free throws down the stretch, while Hunter Dickinson finished with 17 points and 14 rebounds in a familiar environment at Assembly Hall, having spent the past two years in the Big Ten at Michigan.
A triumphant performance from senior guard Trey Galloway, who had to step up in the absence of guard Xavier Johnson, nearly led the Hoosiers to a huge upset. Galloway had a career-high 31 points on 12-17 shooting, including multiple big shots at the end of the game.
Kansas took their first lead with 4:51 left in the game on a hook shot from Dickinson, which was followed quickly by a bucket from Malik Reneau to give Indiana back the lead – before Kansas point guard Dajuan Harris scored a few seconds later. That ended up being the story of the final few minutes before Kansas was able to extend the lead to multiple possessions, and then finish Indiana off at the charity stripe.
This was the first true road test for the Jayhawks, who are now 10-1 on the season with only a loss to Marquette in the Maui Invitational. Kansas hosts Yale out of the Ivy League on Friday, December 22, at 8:00 PM
Meanwhile Indiana drops to 7-3 on the year, although their losses are to UConn, Kansas, and Auburn. They’ll take on Morehead State on Tuesday at 6:30 ET on the Big Ten Network.