Kansas beats Stony Brook to remain No. 3 and Xavier knocks Ohio State out of Friday’s updated CBS Sports Top 25 And 1
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Ochai Agbaji entered the 2021 NBA Draft and has acknowledged he came “very close” to remaining in it. But — after going back and forth and back and forth again — the fourth-year guard at Kansas ultimately decided to return to college.
So far, it’s going brilliantly.
Agbaji took 19 shots Thursday, made 10 of them and finished with a game-high 25 points, four rebounds, three assists and two steals in Kansas’ 88-59 win over Stony Brook inside Allen Fieldhouse. That means the 6-foot-5 senior has scored at least 25 points in each of the Jayhawks’ first three games. He’s now averaging 26.3 points, 4.0 rebounds and 1.7 assists in 33.7 minutes per contest while shooting 57.7% from the field and 41.7% from 3-point range. It’s early, obviously. But Agbaji is probably the POY favorite through the first 10 days of the season.
“My main focus has been consistency — not going out with a total in mind or anything like that, just being assertive and consistent every night,” said Agbaji, who is now just one point shy of reaching the 1,000-point barrier for his college career.
He’s currently second in the nation in scoring.
“He’s playing with confidence,” said Bill Self, the Jayhawks’ Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame coach. “I think that first game [against Michigan State, in which Agbaji scored 29 points] did probably wonders for his confidence, and he’s playing well. He’s not forcing anything and playing within himself, and he’s very efficient.
With the win, Kansas remains No. 3 in Friday morning’s updated CBS Sports Top 25 And 1 daily college basketball rankings. Next up for the Jayhawks is a trip to Orlando, where they’ll compete in the ESPN Events Invitational. KU will open Thursday with North Texas, then play either Miami or Dayton on Friday before finishing with a game against either Alabama, Iona, Drake or Belmont on Nov. 28.
Top 25 And 1 rankings
IN: Xavier
OUT: Ohio State
