Josh Jackson finishes massive slam in Kansas’ rout of UAB (Video)

Josh Jackson’s breakout has been coming. We’ve been waiting. On Monday, it happened.

The Kansas Jayhawks’ Monday night tilt with UAB in the CBE Hall of Fame Classic figured to be an uninteresting affair. The Jayhawks entered the game as significant favorites after having already played the toughest portions of their non-conference schedule earlier this month.

No worries, though. Freshman Josh Jackson brought the excitement in the form of a vicious play-of-the-night-level dunk. Jackson laid down several big slams against the Blazers, but none were more emphatic than this one-handed jam late in the contest.

Jackson’s victim, UAB senior Tosin Mehinti, may have to walk back to Birmingham after that one.

The 19-year-old freshman was the star of the show on Monday, scoring a team-leading 22 points on 15 shots from the field as he continued to display an impressive ability to get in the lane both in transition and in the halfcourt. Although Jackson is surrounded by a talented returning cast, his potential to make plays like this one is what can make Kansas a national title contender come March.

If head coach Bill Self can trust Jackson to run the show, freeing up guards Frank Mason and Devonte Graham to attack close outs and shoot threes, the Jayhawks will be one of the toughest teams in the country to defend. And how could Self not after seeing Jackson take this one coast-to-coast?

After their 83-63 win over UAB, Kansas will now face off against Georgia in the finals of the CBE Hall of Fame Classic on Tuesday night in Kansas City. That matchup should be a bit more competitive as the Bulldogs feature a talented duo in J.J. Frazier and Yante Maten, who should give the Jayhawks a few more problems.

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In truth, though, we’ll just be hoping for another Josh Jackson highlight to get us through the evening. If tonight’s jam was any guide, we just might get lucky.