Three Keys: Jayhawks must pace themselves against Red Raiders
The Kansas Jayhawks head out on the road for a Big Monday game for the second time in as many weeks, and this time they do it with an extremely short bench. While they defeated Baylor on Saturday, they did it without Kevin McCullar (knee injury) and Jamari McDowell (illness). They will be without those players again tonight, so what can they do to avoid another road loss on short rest?
Texas Tech has also been struggling recently, dropping three straight games before holding on for a win against the UCF Knights on Saturday. But with no need to travel, will they have a huge advantage in the rest department tonight?
Here are three keys that will might prove crucial if the Jayhawks are going to pull off a victory tonight.
Play Slow
Bill Self noted after the Baylor game on Saturday that they wanted to play a slow-paced game that would allow plenty of rest and avoid tiring the short bench too quickly. We saw fatigue being a factor in the Monday game in Manhattan last week, and I expect the Jayhawks to do everything they can to avoid it tonight as well.
It helps a lot that Texas Tech likes to play slow and don't score much off of fast breaks. Plus they don't force a lot of turnovers to give themselves easy offensive buckets. That is all perfect for a Kansas squad that might already be gassed just coming into Lubbock.
Focus on the Inside
The Jayhawks have a clear way to be successful in this game, and that is to go inside early and often. Texas Tech is one of the few teams that has a player that theoretically can match Hunter Dickinson in size, but they haven't really been able to take advantage of that size.
While Texas Tech is great from beyond the arc, their low volume of shots means that the Jayhawks can put extra pressure with some early scoring in the interior.
Restrained Defense
The short bench was a much bigger issue than many probably realized against Baylor, as the team was gassed most of the night and failed to close out on open three point shooters. Texas Tech is just as dangerous from beyond the arc, and it will be even more important to close out on shooters.
The normal swarming defense that the Jayhawks play also uses a lot of energy. Unless Bill Self is ready to play Wilder Evers and Michael Jankovich for extended minutes during the middle points of the game, they may need to dial the defense back a bit in order to leave some energy for the end of the game.
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