LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — Kohl Rosario scored 16 points to help make up for the absence of fellow freshman Darryn Peterson, and No. 25 Kansas bounced back from last week’s loss to North Carolina with a 77-46 rout of Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Tuesday night.
Flory Bidunga added 12 points while Bryson Tiller and Tre White had 11 apiece for the Jayhawks (2-1), who held the Islanders (1-3) to 32 percent shooting while winning their 22nd consecutive nonconference home game.
Kansas was sloppy and sluggish without Peterson in the lineup early Tuesday night, but Rosario eventually lifted the team from its malaise. He threw down a series of alley-oop dunks, then began knocking down 3-pointers, helping the Jayhawks to pull away.
They led 38-18 at the break and used a 14-0 second-half run to bury a program that was in the NCAA Tournament two years ago.
Corpus Christi’s leading scorer, Sheldon Williams, was held to eight points after going for a career-best 21 in a loss to Tarleton State last weekend. Franck Yetna led the Islanders with 11 points against the Jayhawks. Rosario’s 16 points marked a career high in his short three-game career. He added five rebounds and is the first KU freshman since Johnny Furphy in 2024 to have at least 16 points and five boards in a game. Tiller, another freshman, was impressive one game after scoring 12 points against North Carolina. Tiller had eight rebounds and three blocks to go with his 11 points.
Kansas finished with 12 blocks as a team, with Bidunga leading the way with four. Kansas blocked 12 shots just once last season.
Up next
The Islanders finish a four-game road trip at Oklahoma State on Sunday.
The Jayhawks play Princeton on Saturday in their last home game until December.
