Field Level Media
Nov 27, 2020
Sophomore guard Christian Braun scored a career-high 30 points Friday on 10-for-13 shooting as No. 6 Kansas toppled St. Joseph's 94-72 at the Fort Myers Tip-Off in Fort Myers, Fla.
Braun made 5 of 8 attempts from 3-point range and grabbed nine rebounds, while showing his potential as a go-to starter.
As a freshman last season, Braun sparkled in situational roles with Kansas poised to become the top overall seed in the NCAA Tournament before that event was canceled.
After allowing 64% shooting to No. 1 Gonzaga in a season-opening loss Thursday in Fort Myers, the Jayhawks (1-1) bounced back to wear down the Hawks with impressive depth.
After seeing a 16-game win streak snapped, Kansas regrouped behind 18th-year coach Bill Self, who improved to 97-13 with the Jayhawks when coming off a defeat.
Ochai Agbaji netted 18 points for Kansas after scoring 17 in the opener. Redshirt freshman Jalen Wilson, who played just two games last season before suffering a broken ankle, added 14 points off the bench.
After extending Auburn to overtime before losing its opener, St. Joseph's erased an eight-point halftime deficit with an 8-0 run to start the second half. A trey from Dahmir Bishop provided a 49-48 lead with 16:11 left before the Hawks withered.
Guard Jack Forrest led St. Joseph's with 18 points. Forward Taylor Funk could not find the touch that netted him 28 points against Auburn, finishing with seven points. Senior guard Ryan Daly, the Atlantic-10's leading scorer last season when the Hawks tied for last in the conference, added 14.
St. Joseph's shot just 34.7%, settling for 37 attempts from 3-point range while making 13.
Braun made his first five shots and netted 13 first-half points, including three from 3-point range. Agbaji scored 14 of his points in the first half to lead Kansas to a 44-36 halftime lead.
Kansas trailed 27-20 at the 9:14 mark in the first half before going on an 19-3 flurry. A 3-pointer by Cameron Brown allowed St. Joseph's to snap an 11-0 run with 3:20 to go but the Hawks had no more answers after their game-tying salvo to open the second half.
--Field Level Media