Game Primer: How to Watch, Key Players and Important Information for Southeast Louisiana at Kansas

The start of the season has not gone as well as the Jayhawks have hoped this season, with three losses already to fellow Power 5 teams. They had a narrow loss on the road against Penn State, and then last week nearly upset Virginia Tech before losing by single digits to the Connecticut Huskies.

But they are back home now after being away for the last four games, hosting a Southeast Louisiana Lady Lions squad that has struggled against Division I opponents this year.

The Lady Lions are led by head coach Ayla Guzzardo, who is in her 7th season in the role. This is her first head coaching position, and she has a 81-90 record. Neither coach has faced the other team at their current school, but Coach Brandon Schneider is 6-0 against Southeastern Louisiana in his career. These two teams have never met before in school history.

Before today's important matchup, here are the essentials:

The Numbers

Editor's Note: Unless otherwise noted, all stats are provided by CBB Analytics. CBB Analytics is a new stats website in college hoops, covering both men and women's basketball in D-I, D-II and D-III. You can follow them on Twitter @CBBAnalytics

Kansas: 2-3: CBB Analytics Net Rating - 101st overall, 72nd offense, 186th defense

Southeastern Louisiana: 4-3: Net Rating - 233rd overall, 291st offense, 140th defense

Line: KU -23.5

O/U: 122.5

How to Watch

Saturday, April 1st, 4:30 p.m. CST

Lawrence, KS: Allen Fieldhouse

TV: Big 12 NOW on ESPN+

- Josh Klingler (Play-by-Play), Wayne Simien (Analyst)

Radio: IMG Jayhawk Radio Network

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

Webcast: Kansas Online Radio

Game Coverage

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Opponent Team Form

The Lady Lions have a 4-3 record, but three of those wins are against teams not in Division I. They have struggled with teams that have pace this season, especially since they prefer to play at one of the slowest paces in all of Division I. On the offensive end, there isn't much they actually do well. The offensive rebounding is horrible, they don't get to the line, and their shooting is subpar. They turn the ball over on over 20% of their possessions, and their opponents are turning those into points at roughly a 1:1 rate. As for shooting, they take most of their shots from medium depth, closer than the three point line but outside the paint. That is also one of the places where they are most effective.

Defensively, they trend to the middle of the pack. However, they don't turn opponents over very well, they don't keep the opponent off of the free throw line, and they struggle in rebounding, giving up a lot of second chance points. But the one thing they do really well is forcing opponents into bad first shots. They are in the top 50 in effective field goal defense, including only allowing opponents to shoot 20.3% on three point shots. They also do a good job clogging up passing lanes, denying assist opportunities and requiring players to create their own shots.

Players to Watch

Cheyanne Daniels - 6'3" Junior Forward

12.0 pts, 5.0 rebs, 0.9 asts, 1.3 stls, 1.0 blks, 59.7% FG%

Daniels is the key inside weapon for the Lady Lions, with her main strengths being interior defense and shooting inside. However, she is prone to turning the ball over, and fouling has been an issue.

Hailey Giaratano - 5'10" Senior Guard

12.0 pts, 5.6 rebs, 3.7 asts, 0.6 stls, 0.4 blks, 31.3% 3P%

Giaratano is the leader of the team, handling primary ball-handling duties. The offense runs through her most of the time and she isn't afraid to call her own number.

Taylor Bell - 5'11" Junior Guard

7.4 pts, 3.9 rebs, 1.9 asts, 1.6 stls, 0.6 blks, 55.6% FG%

Bell acts as a secondary ball handler and has been effective across the court for the Lady Lions.

Others of note: Coming off the bench, Kennedy Paul ranks third on the team in shot attempts.

Matchups to Watch

Height differences could be a huge impact here, as Kansas has three players that are at the same height or taller than Daniels. If Taiyanna Jackson can push that advantage, it will make this game much less stressful for the Jayhawks.

Kansas will need to take advantage of the offensive issues for Southeast Louisiana. The Jayhawks have forced a lot of turnovers this year, and they can stymie the Lady Lions well.

Prediction

Kansas will benefit from the return to Allen Fieldhouse and the lower level of competition, and they will look to build on the lessons they took from this past week and show some marked improvement. There are way too many options for Kansas to attack this team to accurately predict who scores what, but Kansas will roll.

Kansas 83, Southeast Louisiana 62.

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