Game Primer: How to Watch, Key Players and Important Information for Kansas vs Jacksonville

Tonight, the Kansas Jayhawks Women open the 2022-23 season tonight at home on the heels of the biggest turnaround year in program history.

Contents

1. Overview
2. The Numbers
3. How to Watch
4. Game Coverage
5. Key Players (2021-2022 Stat Line)
6. Fun Facts

The Kansas Jayhawks kick off the 2022-23 season tonight with a home game against the Jacksonville Dolphins. The Jayhawks are entering the season tabbed as the 5th best team in the conference, and are looking to build on a fantastic end to the 2021-22 season.

Overview

The Jayhawks return four of their starters and 11 players overall this year from a squad that went 21-10 and finished 5th in the Big 12 Conference standings. They returned to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2013, where they advanced out of the first round with a 77-58 win over the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets. They fell in the second round to the overall 2nd seed Stanford Cardinal.

Head Coach Brandon Schneider is entering his eighth season as head coach, and is coming off a year where he was named the Big 12 Conference Coach of the Year. Senior Holly Kersgieter was named to the All-Big 12 preseason team for the first time this year after being an honorable mention honoree the last two seasons. Senior guard Zakiyah Franklin and senior center Taiyanna Jackson both received honorable mentions this season.

The Kansas Jayhawks received votes in both preseason polls, with enough votes to slot in as the 28th-highest vote-getters in the AP Poll and the 33rd-highest vote-getters in the Coaches polls this week. 

This will be the first meeting between these two teams. The Jayhawks are 43-11 all-time in season opening games, including 6-1 under Coach Schneider. They have won the opening game in each of the last five seasons. Jacksonville opened the season with a 109-23 victory over Johnson University on Monday.

Here are the essentials:

The Numbers

Kansas: 0-0

Jacksonville: 1-0

Line: KU -23.5

O/U: 128.5

How to Watch

Wednesday, November 9th, 7:00 p.m. CST

Lawrence, KS: Allen Fieldhouse

TV: Big12 Now on ESPN+

- Josh Klingler (Play-by-Play), Brenda VanLengen (Analyst)

Radio: IMG Jayhawk Radio Network

- Steven Davis (Play-by-Play), David Lawrence (Analyst)

Webcast: Kansas Online Radio

Game Coverage

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Key Players (2021-2022 Stat Line)

Holly Kersgieter (13.4 pts, 4.7 reb, 1.8 ast, 1.8 stl, 37.5% FG%, 37.5% 3P%, 78.6% FT)

Kersgieter is the undisputed face of the team, being thrust into the spotlight in the last few years as the Jayhawks have improved greatly. She can do a bit of everything, but her defense is probably a bit underappreciated when looking at box scores. She will have one of the biggest roles in determining the ultimate fate of this team.

Taiyanna Jackson (8.9 pts, 8.1 reb, 0.9 ast, 1.6 stl, 3.1 blk, 61.4% FG%, 56.3% FT)

Jackson is the main threat down low for the Jayhawks, and her low post presence was one of the biggest boosts to Kansas last season. She was one of the best (if not THE best) shot-blocker in the conference last season, and that is expected to continue into this season.

Zakiyah Franklin (12.0 pts, 3.3 reb, 4.0 ast, 0.9 stl, 41.8% FG%, 30.5% 3P%, 85.6% FT)

Franklin served as the primary ball-handler last season, a role that she is expected to continue. While she got better as the season went on, her biggest area for improvement from last season is her shooting ability. Early indications are that you should expect a big improvement, which could be one of the missing pieces for a top finish in the conference.

Wyvette Mayberry (14.1 pts, 4.0 reb, 2.9 ast, 1.4 stl, 44.5% FG%, 43.0% 3P%, 77.4% FT)

Kansas added several new players to replace the loss of Julie Brosseau and other key role players, but Mayberry is the player with the best chance to have a large impact on the game consistently throughout the season. She was something of a 3-point specialist at Tulsa, but has the all-around game to get more time on the floor. How fast she integrates into the Kansas sets could dictate how well this team starts.

Fun Facts

Taiyanna Jackson's 95 blocks last season set a single-season school record, and she is only 5 blocks away from hitting 100 for her Division I college career.

The Jayhawks have 6 opponents on the schedule who appear in the Preseason AP Top 25.

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