A Win is a Win: Lessons Learned from the Kansas win over Oklahoma
Some close wins are a lot of fun to relive and write about. KU's 71-69 victory over Oklahoma on Saturday does not fit into this category. There is a lot to be said about Kansas playing from behind most of the way, and nearly suffering another late game collapse, but as always, this will take a more analytical view of the game as a whole.
Let's start with a positive. Oklahoma's defense has been excellent this year, and though it's been less effective in conference play, Kansas scoring 1.15 points per possession was impressive. KU shot nearly 43% from three, but the two point offense was so good (57%), it's hard to even get too upset about only 14 of the Jayhawks' 49 shots coming from behind the arc. I do still advocate for this team shooting more threes, but in a game where you're scoring effectively from everywhere, you don't want to turn your nose up at easier shots that the other team is struggling to defend.
Kansas' defense was another story. As thrilled as one might be with Kansas hitting 57% of their twos, they would have to be equally (or more) displeased with Oklahoma converting on an insane 61% of them. Self's teams have historically been great at forcing opponents to take tough shots, and as a result, opponent shooting percentages are typically low against his squads. This year, of course, has been an exception.
Part of this particularly bad performance likely has something to do with David McCormack getting just 18 minutes of playing time. While McCormack is not a Withey/Aldrich/Azubuike type room protector, he has been the Jayhawks' best interior anchor on that side of the court this year. And his block rate does rank 8th in the conference, so it's not as though he doesn't block or affect shots in the paint. Despite only fouling twice, he lost some minutes at center to Mitch Lightfoot and Zach Clemence. McCormack's limited PT was far from the only reason Oklahoma shot so well, but in a game with such a razor thin margin, KU is fortunate that Oklahoma decided to take half their shots from three, and that one more of them didn't go in, as they shot a pedestrian 33% from outside.
Individually, this was the type of game Jayhawk fans want to see more of from Jalen Wilson. He was also part of the reason for McCormack's limited time, but I don't think anyone minded Wilson getting 38 minutes of run in this one. He scored 22, shooting 7-10 from two, 1-2 from three, and 5-6 at the line. He also dished out two assists, never recorded a turnover, and pulled in nine rebounds. Expecting those same numbers from Wilson on a regular basis is a bit too much, but it's nice to see him flash the type of performance he's looked capable of putting together from day one. Christian Braun also had a noteworthy performance, especially with Ochai Agbaji having a rare quiet game. Braun scored 18, grabbed eight rebounds and notched three blocks. The only complaint with him was poor free throw shooting (a sore spot given how the Texas game ended), as he hit only 4-8 tries. Despite being a very good shooting team overall, the Jayhawks just aren't great at the line, hitting 70% for the season as a team.
A win is a win, but some can still be frustrating. This one counts as such, but it kept Kansas in 1st place in the Big 12. Tomorrow, we'll dive deeper into the Big Monday matchup with Oklahoma State.
