Postgame Report Card: Washington 74, Kansas 65

By Matt Tait     Dec 6, 2017

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Washington guard Matisse Thybulle (4) grabs a rebound over Kansas guard Clay Young (21) and Kansas guard Marcus Garrett (0) during the first half, Wednesday, Dec. 6, 2017 at Sprint Center.

Quick grades for five aspects of KU’s 74-65 loss to Washington on Tuesday night at Sprint Center in Kansas City, Mo.

Offense: C-
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Outside of Lagerald Vick, who, himself, had a few ups and downs but also delivered a career-high 28 points, the KU offense struggled to deliver good possessions and had a tough time getting leading scorer Devonte’ Graham good looks. The offense was bad for most of the night, but Vick’s effort pulled it into the C range.

Defense: D
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There were times when the KU defense looked good. But those were few and far between and scarce in the second half. Washington opened the second half by doing and getting whatever it wanted on the offensive end to build a sizable lead and the Huskies’ second-chance points proved to be a big part of this one.

Frontcourt: D+
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The zone again proved to bother Azubuike, but the big fella enjoyed moments of being the kind of factor he needs to be for this team. First-half foul trouble for both him and Mitch Lightfoot again hamstrung KU coach Bill Self.

Backcourt: C-
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Good thing for Lagerald Vick. Otherwise, this one could have really been ugly. Devonte’ Graham had an off night shooting the ball but did not really do much to pull himself out of it. Malik Newman was non-existent again and Svi Mykhailiuk missed six of his eight 3-point attempts and made more than a couple careless passes.

Bench: D
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On a night when KU coach Bill Self needed a spark from someone off the bench, he got next to nothing from Marcus Garrett and Mitch Lightfoot and once again was forced to use walk-on Clay Young in the first half.

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Written By Matt Tait

A native of Colorado, Matt moved to Lawrence in 1988 and has been in town ever since. He graduated from Lawrence High in 1996 and the University of Kansas in 2000 with a degree in Journalism. After covering KU sports for the University Daily Kansan and Rivals.com, Matt joined the World Company (and later Ogden Publications) in 2001 and has held several positions with the paper and KUsports.com in the past 20+ years. He became the Journal-World Sports Editor in 2018. Throughout his career, Matt has won several local and national awards from both the Associated Press Sports Editors and the Kansas Press Association. In 2021, he was named the Kansas Sportswriter of the Year by the National Sports Media Association. Matt lives in Lawrence with his wife, Allison, and two daughters, Kate and Molly. When he's not covering KU sports, he likes to spend his time playing basketball and golf, listening to and writing music and traveling the world with friends and family.