Halftime Musings: Kansas beating Houston at their own game, lead 43-28 at the half
The Kansas Jayhawks expected a dogfight when they tipped off against the Houston Cougars today in Allen Fieldhouse. But what most didn't expect was that the Jayhawks were going to be able to dish back the same level of physicality. Kansas has actively turned the strengths of the Houston defense back on them, and they lead at the half by a dominant 43-28 margin.
Here's how they did it:
Killer Passing
Houston has built the best defense in the country by applying huge defensive pressure. They do a great job of bringing double teams, trapping players and forcing you to take shots that you don't want to. But Kansas is the best passing team in the country, with multiple players who can pass all over the floor and the highest percentage of baskets with an assist. And they used that passing to their advantage.
The first half was littered with examples of the Jayhawks passing 5 or 6 times to find an open man for a fantastic shot. And the Jayhawks took full advantage by shooting 68% from the field. If Houston doesn't change up their defensive approach in the second half, Kansas will be able to keep passing at will to find whatever shot they want.
Suffocating Defense
Kansas is doing to Houston exactly what Houston tries to do to everyone else. They swarmed Houston all over the floor, contesting three pointers and affecting every shot on the inside. But despite all of that, Houston was still shooting pretty close to their season averages for the first 16 minutes of the half. The main difference was that the defense was so dominant that they were able to box out and prevent offensive rebounds. The Jayhawks absolutely dominated the boards in the first half, pulling down 24 to Houston's 10.
Extreme Physicality
Houston plays very physical basketball, as evidenced by their high number of fouls. But in this game so far, there just haven't been many fouls. Kansas has only been called for 4, while Houston has 6.
But that hasn't changed how physical the game is. Both teams are dishing out and receiving a lot of physical punishment, and they've adjusted to it as the game has gone on. But even though Houston has benefited from not getting called for fouls, they aren't used to getting the same physical game back from their opponent. We'll see if that is allowed to continue in the second half.
