CHICAGO — Svi Mykhailiuk scored 17 points, and Devonte Graham hit the clinching free throws to give No. 4 Kansas a 65-61 victory over No. 7 Kentucky on Tuesday night that put Coach Bill Self in a tie for second with Roy Williams on the Jayhawks’ all-time victories list. In a game that matched the two winningest Division I programs, the Jayhawks (2-0) prevailed after the two teams spent most of the second half trading baskets and leads. Malik Newman had a key rebound in the closing seconds and hit two foul shots to help Kansas knock off the Wildcats (2-1).
Kevin Knox led Kentucky with 20 points and Hamidou Diallo added 14. But the Wildcats came up short after rallying to beat Utah Valley and hanging on for a four-point victory against Vermont.
Kentucky was leading 57-55 when Nick Richards scored on a tip-in and Devonte Graham hit a free throw. Newman then hit a three to bump the Jayhawks’ lead to 61-57 with just over two minutes left. It was 61-59 when Kentucky’s PJ Washington blocked a three by Mykhailiuk as the shot clock went off with 33 seconds left, giving the Wildcats a chance to tie or take the lead. But Knox missed a jumper along the baseline.
Newman grabbed the rebound for Kansas and hit two free throws with 17 seconds left to make it 63-59. Kentucky’s Sacha Killeya-Jones scored on a put-back with nine seconds left. But Graham made two foul shots with eight seconds remaining to close things out.