BYU at Kansas Basketball Predictions: Weather the Barrage
The Kansas Jayhawks are on a bit of a roll, even without leading scorer Kevin McCullar. But there has been one Achilles heel for this team, and that is perimeter shooting.
The BYU Cougars are coming to town as a team that shoots a ton of threes, making quite a few. When these two squads collide, will Kansas be able to come out victorious? Or will the continued short bench and defensive worries be enough to lead to an upset and the first loss for Kansas in Allen Fieldhouse tonight?
Do you disagree with our picks? Make sure you read them all and then hope over to the Discord or on Twitter to share your own thoughts.
Kyle Davis
Check out our BYU Preview for Kyle's full breakdown and prediction.
Derek Noll
BYU shoots a collective 35% from three point land on the season yet only connected on 6 of 31 (19%) against K-State in their previous game. And, as we all know, teams randomly nail 78% against Kansas from deep so I expect a barrage or treys from the Cougars this evening. If they fall, Kansas is in trouble as Kevin McCullar is out and Nick Timberlake and Johnny Furphy will have to step up from three point land to compensate. But I suspect that Bill Self is ready and we’ll see a top defensive performance from Kansas. I’m looking for Elmarko Jackson and Jamari McDowell to have standout defensive games, getting full in the faces of BYU shooters. It’ll still be close, but I’ll take KU in Allen Fieldhouse.
Kansas 76, BYU 72.
Caleb Sisk
It’s been expected by many that this game will be close and I specifically don’t see that being the case. Kansas is going to have an electric night at home. Give me the JAYHAWKS!
Kansas 81, BYU 64
Eli Elrod
BYU is one of the best scoring teams in the country averaging 82.8 points per game, but seems to struggle on the road as their points per game for away games sit at just 75.3. The Cougar's struggles on the road are further emphasized by their away record sitting at (4-6), while Kansas’s home record sits at an impressive (15-1). Even with Kevin McCullar out I think the home-court advantage in Allen’s Fieldhouse will be too much for the Cougars, and the Jayhawks will win in a close one.
Kansas 78, BYU 75.
Brendan Dzwierzynski
Everyone has already touched on it pretty much, but this game is all about KU’s three-point defense. BYU scores an insane percentage of its total points on three pointers, the third-best mark in the country, in fact, so it’s not like KU is entering this game unaware of its opponents’ approach. This is a taller task without Kevin McCullar’s defensive presence and with the jury still out on Nick Timberlake’s defense, to be charitable about it. As long as the Jayhawks do a decent job on the perimeter I think Kansas should be able to hang on and win, and I agree with Derek, those young guards may have to play a huge role on Tuesday night.
Kansas 78, BYU 73.
Andy Mitts
With McCullar out for the for foreseeable future, this team is going to get extended minutes from multiple bench players. The shift lineups that Self used against Texas will likely make a comeback, but I'm interested to see if Self will decide to play a lot of zone in this game to combat the perimeter shooting of BYU.
But let's be honest this game is going to be all about the perimeter. BYU's three point shooting percentage isn't astronomically better than everyone else's. Instead, they just take an absurd volume of them. If Kansas takes advantage inside and dominates by shooting 60-70%, then the volume of points will be too much for BYU to overcome.
Kansas 87, BYU 77.
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