Three Keys: Jayhawks poised to outgun Bears
The Kansas Jayhawks suffered another brutal road loss at Kansas State on Monday, and once again are needing to bounce back. This time, they at least have a decent reason for the loss, as they looked extremely fatigued coming off a win over Houston just 48 hours before. But the Big 12 Conference gives no breaks as the Baylor Bears come to town for a College Gameday matchup.
The Bears have dealt with some struggles of their own recently, but how can the Jayhawks take advantage? And what does the extra few days of rest let them do in today's matchup against another formidable foe?
Here are three keys to that will go a long way to ensuring that Kansas is victorious today.
Limit Turnovers
Baylor's success on defense this season has come from forcing other teams to speed up and make mistakes. They are better at individual face-up defense than Houston, which plays a bit better when they bring pressure than the all-out in-your-face style. According to CBB Analytics, the last 5 games has seen the Jayhawks giving up turnovers at a rate that would put them in the top 20 over the course of the season, so it has been quite the turnaround.
Also helping that trend is the performance of Baylor in the last few games. They aren't forcing quite as many turnovers, and when they do force them, they aren't turning them into points nearly as often. If those trends continue, the Jayhawks will have a huge leg up in this game early.
Strong Defense - Without Fouling
Despite some pretty big lapses on the road against teams of questionable offensive strength, the Jayhawks have actually had a very good season defensively. And in the last 5 games, Kansas has been even better, keeping opponents off the boards and stifling shooting inside the arc. But what they haven't done as well is avoiding fouling. Baylor is one of the best teams in the nation at getting to the free throw line, and Kansas doesn't have any bench depth. Foul trouble could go a long way to determining the outcome of this game.
Score, Score, Score
I would be shocked if this game was a low-scoring affair, especially given the shooting prowess of the Bears. That means Kansas is going to have to score early and often, and thankfully Baylor has been especially accommodating in that regard. They have one of the worst defensive efficiencies in their last 5 games, allowing opponents to shoot nearly 60% from the field. Kansas has been hitting shots at roughly the same clip during that time period, so a big offensive game should be in store.
But despite the better recent performance, Baylor has shown the ability to shoot lights out for stretches of games without any warning. Kansas needs to be able to match that, which means not only strong cuts to the basket, but also an ability to hit at least some outside shots.
