SALT LAKE CITY, Utah — Kansas basketball captured a victory in its NCAA tournament matchup Thursday against Samford, advancing from the round of 64 in the Midwest region to the round of 32 after a 93-89 victory.

Here are a few takeaways from the No. 4-seed Jayhawks (23-10) win against the No. 13-seed Bulldogs (29-6):

Kansas prevails without Kevin McCullar Jr.

Kansas was dealt a tough hand when it was revealed that graduate senior guard Kevin McCullar Jr. wouldn’t be able to play during the NCAA tournament. McCullar, out due to injury, is an All-America caliber talent just like senior center Hunter Dickinson. But while the Jayhawks didn’t have McCullar, they prevailed against Samford.

Graduate senior guard Nicolas Timberlake started in McCullar’s place. Although Timberlake dealt with foul trouble, he still had one of his better games of the season. He finished with 19 points.

Hunter Dickinson thrives

Dickinson entered the game with an advantage, given his 7-foot-2 and 260-pound frame. Early and often, he used that to his advantage. Before the first half was even over, he’d already compiled a double-double.

Dickinson finished with 19 points and 20 rebounds. Graduate senior forward Parker Braun didn’t play much off the bench, but Kansas didn’t need him as much as some might have thought Thursday. Dickinson’s presence was clearly effective.

Kansas overcomes turnover issues

On paper, it could be hard to pick a team to lead at halftime if it turned the ball over 10 more times than its opponent and didn’t have any points off turnovers. But that’s exactly what Kansas was able to do. The Jayhawks’ consistent ability to make shots when they didn’t give the ball away kept them out in front.

Kansas’ ability to take better care of the ball in the second half helped allow the Jayhawks to survive the 3-point barrage Samford ended up displaying. At the game’s end, the Jayhawks had seven points off of seven Samford miscues and the Bulldogs had 15 points off of 18 KU miscues. It just would have been an easier night for Kansas if it had taken care of the ball early on.

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Jordan Guskey covers University of Kansas Athletics at The Topeka Capital-Journal. He is the National Sports Media Association’s sportswriter of the year for the state of Kansas for 2022. Contact him at jmguskey@gannett.com or on Twitter at @JordanGuskey.

This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Kansas basketball extends March Madness stay with win against Samford