Gameday Breakdown: No. 3 KU basketball vs. Texas Tech

Kansas guard Josh Jackson (11) gets a high five from Kansas guard Devonte' Graham (4) after a dunk during the first half, Thursday, Dec. 22, 2016 at Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas.

No. 3 Kansas Jayhawks (13-1 overall, 2-0 Big 12) vs. Texas Tech Red Raiders (12-2 overall, 1-1 Big 12)

Time: 6:15 p.m. | Location: Allen Fieldhouse, Lawrence, Kansas

TV: ESPN2 | Radio: IMG Jayhawk Radio Network

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Keys for Kansas

1. Get to the offensive glass

Rarely is there a statistic for an upcoming game that so clearly lays out the key objective for a team seeking a victory as the rebounding stat facing the Jayhawks in this one.

Through 14 games, Texas Tech has out-rebounded its opponents by 148 rebounds — nearly 11 per game — and done so by controlling the defensive glass.

“They’re not allowing anybody to get to the offensive glass on them,” KU coach Bill Self said earlier this week.

The Jayhawks are and should be a good offensive rebounding team and have not allowed an opponent to out-rebound them since the Stanford game, which KU won by 15.

That said, both TCU and K-State played the Jayhawks even on the boards in the first two Big 12 games of the season, but this one could come down to one simple message — control the glass, win the game.

2. Defense wins

Forever a fan of making opponents play poorly and holding opposing offenses to 40 percent field goal shooting or worse, Self marveled at the way Texas Tech’s offense has reached its 79.8 points per game average so far this season.

“I think we’re like at 51-and-a-half (percent shooting) or something like that, and they’re shooting a little bit better than us for the season,” Self said recently. “But they also take good shots, they’re patient, and they’ve got some big guys that can score. They just have really good balance.”

Five Red Raiders average in double figures, with two more chipping in seven points per game or better. Kansas has struggled with its defense of late and figures to get another real test against Tech.

If KU is not able to do a better job of guarding the ball and keeping Texas Tech players from getting to the rim, this one could very easily resemble the thrilling K-State game from a few nights ago.

3. Reestablish home court edge

Although the Wildcats ultimately fell short, their ability to take the Jayhawks to the wire on Tuesday night inside Allen Fieldhouse opened the door for other Big 12 programs to believe something similar could be in their futures.

“It definitely does,” said Texas Tech guard and leading scorer Keenan Evans. “When we see that, it’s like, anybody can step up and play great there and we want to be that team that gets the job done.”

Asked what he’s told his teammates about the difficulty of playing at Allen Fieldhouse, Evans said: “It’s something like Iowa State but it’s way worse. You’re gonna have to tune out the crowd and focus in and get the job done.”

The Jayhawks had multiple opportunities to put the Wildcats away on Tuesday but never did. If Kansas finds itself in a similar situation on Saturday against Texas Tech, it will be interesting to see if the home team can bury the Raiders and, in doing so, send a message to the rest of the league that wins in Lawrence are not an option.

Mega Matchup

Frank Mason and Devonte’ Graham vs. Devon Thomas and Keenan Evans

Evans and Thomas lead the Red Raiders’ balanced offense in assists and both are capable of handling the ball and running the team. It’s up to Mason, who likely will be on Thomas, and Graham, who will match up with Evans, to disrupt their games and create problems for the Texas Tech guards. Self said earlier this week that the best way for the Jayhawks to improve their man-to-man defense was by cutting the head off of the opposing player who makes the offense go. He also pointed to Graham and Mason as the two players who should step up and shoulder the load of making that happen. Never has there been a better time for both of them to show they’re capable of doing just that than against this balanced Red Raiders’ offense that features a couple of quality and heady playmakers running the show.

Jayhawk Pulse

Holding serve at home has become one of the more cliche’ phrases in Big 12 basketball during the round-robin era, and no team has been able to do it quite like Kansas.

So that makes every game played inside Allen Fieldhouse a big game and will go a long way toward determining whether the Jayhawks are able to navigate their way to a record-tying 13th consecutive Big 12 title.

There is, however, one more reason that today’s game is a big game and it goes deeper than the fact that the Red Raiders just upset No. 7 West Virginia, one of the conference’s two biggest threats to KU’s title streak.

A win Saturday night would make Kansas just the second program all-time to notch 2,200 victories, joining Kentucky, which leads with 2,217 all-time Division I wins. Kansas currently sits at 2,199 wins and 837 losses in the more than 100-year history of the program.

Only North Carolina, which sits at 2,190 victories all-time, is even within reach of joining KU and Kentucky in the 2,200 club. Fourth-place Duke just reached 2,100 with its most recent victory.

In a season of streaks and milestones — KU coach Bill Self is just two wins away from 400 at Kansas, by the way — add this one to the growing list.