Quick Analysis: Three Takeaways from Oklahoma at Kansas
The Kansas Jayhawks alternated between struggling mightily and looking unstoppable in today's 71-69 win over the Oklahoma Sooners, but ultimately, they did just enough to keep the top spot in the Big 12 standings.
With the Sooners making a concerted effort to shut down Ochai Agbaji, it took a big effort from multiple other Jayhawks, but with plenty of options, Kansas was able to stave off a late run to escape with the win.
We'll have more analysis of this game coming up on the podcast and during the upcoming week, but for now, there were 3 main takeaways from this game:
Kansas redshirt sophomore forward Jalen Wilson (10) talks with freshman forward Zach Clemence (21) during the second half of Saturday's game against Oklahoma inside Allen Fieldhouse.
© Evert Nelson/The Capital-Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK
1. Clemence has a valuable role on this team.
David McCormack spent the first half of the basketball game shutting Tanner Groves down in the paint. His physical play led to multiple extra opportunities for the Jayhawks on the offensive end, and with Groves trying to play inside, McCormack clogged up the lane and helped to prevent offensive rebounds.
But in the second half, Porter Moser started to bring Groves outside more, and McCormack was much less effective. With driving lanes opening up, Kansas started to sag off of Groves, and he finally started to heat up. Enter Zach Clemence.
With Clemence in the game, the Kansas offense was much more open. His ability to play on the perimeter forced Groves towards the outside, which opened up additional driving lanes for Kansas, and Jalen Wilson and Christian Braun especially.
And on defense, Clemence was able to stick with Groves much more easily, preventing completely wide-open shots. While he was a little rusty, it was good to see him back in for this team and giving Bill Self another viable option.
Feb 12, 2022; Lawrence, Kansas, USA; Kansas Jayhawks forward David McCormack (33) reacts during the second half against the Oklahoma Sooners at Allen Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Jay Biggerstaff-USA TODAY Sports
© Jay Biggerstaff-USA TODAY Sports
2. Kansas has the post depth to handle pretty much anything.
Kansas has 4 legitimate post players, all of which have their own roles and thrive in a different situation.
McCormack is obviously the preferred option. His physicality and abilities inside allow Kansas to play against lineups with traditional bigs, and he is easily the most consistent player on the offensive end.
Mitch Lightfoot is the first guy off the bench, and he obviously has the trust of Self. There isn't one specific thing he does well, but typically can handle most general situations ok.
KJ Adams is the quicker, less physical version of David McCormack. He is best suited for the style of play that Texas Tech has, where he is going to have to play on multiple wings that are somewhat interchangeable but still dive into the lane for the majority of their offense. However, while he can generally move better laterally, he can't handle the bigger post players as well.
And now, Clemence has emerged as the best counter to a big man that can stretch the floor. A big that plays more around the perimeter to stretch the defense and can hit the outside shot is a challenge for pretty much everyone on the roster, but it's the type of role that Clemence is suited for on the offensive side as well.
Feb 12, 2022; Lawrence, Kansas, USA; Kansas Jayhawks guard Ochai Agbaji (30) dives for a loose ball against Oklahoma Sooners guard Elijah Harkless (55) during the second half at Allen Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Jay Biggerstaff-USA TODAY Sports
© Jay Biggerstaff-USA TODAY Sports
3. Maybe we are being too hard on this offense...
Look, I hate the offensive lulls as much as the rest of you. Consistency in offensive performance would be spectacular, and would go a long way toward lowering my blood pressure during games. Talk to almost any Kansas fan, and they are worried about that 7-minute stretch where the opponent goes on a 17-3 run dooming the possibility of a deep tournament run.
But in this game, Kansas had a long stretch in the first half where they went cold and allowed Oklahoma to take an 8 point lead. They looked discombobulated at times and had way too many turnovers in that first half. It was ugly and frustrating and caused me to tweet yet another "it could be worse" tweet at the half.
But they still had a 15-2 run in the second half and ended the game scoring 1.19 points per possession, which is a phenomenal number. Add in the fact that they are having these types of performances consistently against top 40 defenses EVERY SINGLE GAME, and it's hard to really find fault with the offense. Against defenses that good, you are going to have stretches where you go cold for a bit. The difference between a 12-3 run and a 12-9 run for the opponent is a couple key stops in the few possessions that you were going to score.
Ultimately, if Kansas ends their season early, it won't be because the offense went cold. It will be because the defense didn't hold up their end when the offense inevitably misses a few shots.
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