Gameday Breakdown: No. 7 KU basketball vs. No. 1 Duke

Kansas guard Josh Jackson gets a break on the sidelines as the team works on perimeter defense during a practice on Thursday, Nov. 10, 2016 at Stan Sheriff Center in Honolulu, Hawaii.

NEW YORK CITY ? No. 7 Kansas Jayhawks (0-1) vs. No. 1 Duke Blue Devils (2-0)

Time: 8:30 p.m. | Location: Madison Square Garden, New York City

TV: ESPN | Radio: IMG Jayhawk Radio Network

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Keys for Kansas

1. Bounce-back mentality

KU coach Bill Self talked openly about the disappointment of traveling all that way to Honolulu and not coming away with a victory. But that was then and in the few days since, Self and the Jayhawks have focused on getting their minds right and taking advantage of their next great opportunity.

“Coach tells us all the time that the goal is to win every time we play,” said KU senior Frank Mason. “But we can obviously get something out of losing, and we just want to fix the things that we did bad in the loss and try to fix it in the next game to give ourselves chance to be successful.”

At this particular point in time, the most glaring deficiency with the Jayhawks is their inability to defend the three-point shot. That was key in KU’s loss to Indiana and will be key again against Duke.

2. Better shot selection

There was a 10-minute stretch during the second half of their loss against Indiana when the Jayhawks played like a team playing its first game together.

Slow and sloppy on defense and inefficient on the offensive end, the Jayhawks went from having a decent lead and a chance to build on it to desperately playing catch-up down the stretch. Self said KU’s poor shot selection was to blame and he has spent the past couple of days re-emphasizing to his team what good shots are and why they’re important.

“It’s OK to shoot threes early in the (shot) clock,” Self said. “But a lot of times, when you’re playing four guards, you want to (make sure you) have guys in rebounding position and you want to give the defense a chance to break down. The other thing is, when you’re in the bonus or double-bonus, a lot of times you’re bailing out the defense by not making them guard, especially when (the officials are) calling it close. You want to put pressure on officials to make calls and the best way to do that is to put pressure on the other team to have to guard the ball.”

3. Action Jackson

He’s still adjusting to the college level and finding exactly how he fits into this veteran team. But Tuesday’s Champions Classic showdown offers KU freshman Josh Jackson an excellent opportunity to host a coming-out party.

Jackson has been decent during KU’s two exhibitions and one regular season game but has not yet shown the as-advertised ability to dominate a game and play his way to the top of the NBA Draft boards. Could the Madison Square Garden stage and a match-up with Duke be the catalyst for Jackson to break through?

“It could,” Self said. “Absolutely. I thought Josh, you know he played (through) foul trouble the other night and didn’t have a chance to get any rhythm in the game. He started out the second half had a layup, missed it and made a three and you’re thinking, we’re gonna get going a little bit. But it just never got into rhythm offensively. I’m not worried about that at all. I just want him to impact the game and I think he’s more than capable of doing that. He had a really good day (Sunday).”

Mega Matchup

KU coach Bill Self vs. Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski

Every time these two legendary coaches collide, you get a clear indication of what it means to each to find a way to beat the other. Both future hall of famers, Self and Coach K bring out all the stops in these types of games, coaching with fire and passion from start to finish.

Whether that’s been in the Champions Classic, where Self is 1-0 against Krzyzewski, or in a 2011 title-game loss to Duke in the Maui Invitational, the blood begins to boil, tempers run hot and the intensity from both coaches is on full display in the looks in their eyes and their actions on the bench. Both face different challenges in navigating their teams tonight.

Krzyzewski is dealing with injuries to three McDonald’s All-Americans who are not expected to play and Self still is in the infant stages of playing with a more perimeter-oriented attack while also dealing with a foot injury to the only proven big man on the roster in senior forward Landen Lucas. Those story lines and the big stage are the perfect recipe for another classic between Self and Krzyzewski.

Jayhawk Pulse

Self’s squads are not used to losing season openers, so this is new territory for the Jayhawks. Last Friday’s loss to Indiana ended a 14-year winning streak in season openers and also provided plenty of film for the Jayhawks to study.

“We were exposed in some ways the other night that hopefully will help us over time,” Self said.

There’s no time like the present for that. With Duke loaded with a nice blend of veteran and fresh talent, the Jayhawks will have every opportunity to show improvement in a few key areas that cost them in Hawaii.

Regardless of the disappointment that came with going all that way and coming home with a loss, the Jayhawks appear to have put the Indiana game behind them and are gunning to make a statement against the nation’s No. 1 ranked team under the bright lights in the Big Apple. “