A Key Area Kansas Must Improve In To Defeat UNC on the Road

The Kansas Jayhawks played a cohesive, all-around game to open the season against Green Bay, holding their opponent to just 51 points while shooting 56.7% from the field.

KU received strong performances from Darryn Peterson and Flory Bidunga, with a few other contributors chipping in throughout the way. However, aside from Peterson, one of the Jayhawks' biggest weaknesses continued to be evident.

Kansas finished 10-for-27 (37.0%) from 3-point range — not terrible on the surface, but it is misleading since the Jayhawks connected on four of their last five threes in garbage time with the lead already over 35 points.

When the matchup was still somewhat competitive, KU failed to knock down several open shots and missed opportunities to break the game open from beyond the arc.

This is a problem that nearly the entire roster shares. Peterson is an absolute master at his craft, but he cannot be expected to carry the offense alone every game.

When Bill Self brought in shooters like Jayden Dawson and Kohl Rosario this offseason, the expectation was that they would take some pressure off Peterson by capitalizing on open looks. So far, that hasn't happened.

Rosario shot just 1-for-8 from three during KU's exhibition slate and made one of his six attempts in the season opener. Meanwhile, Dawson started 0-for-4 and didn't connect on a triple until there were two minutes left.

If those two aren’t hitting their catch-and-shoot attempts, it will be difficult for KU to become the reliable 3-point team Self envisions, because that is not what the rest of the team was brought in for.

Kansas Jayhawks guard Kohl Rosario (7) controls the ball during the second half of the exhibition game against Fort Hays State Tigers inside Allen Fieldhouse on Tuesday, October, 28, 2025. | Evert Nelson/The Capital-Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Melvin Council Jr. doesn’t bring much spacing, shooting just 28.3% from deep during his two years at the Division I level. Illinois transfer Tre White has hit a few long-range shots early on but he has shot threes at a lifetime 30.2% clip, and Self has even said publicly that he wants White to focus less on jump shooting and more on his strengths, like slashing and rebounding.

The problem is that White has often had to settle for jumpers because his teammates aren't hitting from outside. If Rosario and Dawson, two players expected to play significant minutes, don't become perimeter threats, that severely limits what KU can do offensively.

Self has worked with poor shooting teams before, but the difference this year is that KU doesn’t have a dominant low-post scorer to balance things out.

The only consistent sources of offense right now are coming from Peterson in isolation or Council attacking the rim, with Bidunga occasionally contributing down low as a paint threat (though working in the post isn't his forte).

These issues should balance out as the season progresses, but the 3-point shooting must improve for KU to reach its ceiling. Self has stated that his goal is for the team to shoot between 35-37% from deep this year, and that's a very achievable mark if everyone plays their role and knocks down open looks when they get them.

A better shooting performance will be direly needed this Friday when the Jayhawks travel to Chapel Hill to take on North Carolina, a team that hit 10 threes in its first game as well.

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