Kansas basketball benefiting from putting defense first

Kansas guard Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk (10) comes away with a steal from Toledo forward Nate Navigato (35) during the first half on Tuesday, Nov. 28, 2017 at Allen Fieldhouse.

They put up 96 points in a 38-point win, scored 59 in the first half and shot 75 percent from the floor during the first 20 minutes and 59 percent for the game.

Yet, Tuesday night, during No. 2 Kansas’ 96-58 victory over Toledo, it was defense, and not offense, that was never far from the Jayhawks’ minds.

“Coach Self kind of reminds us of it,” sophomore guard Malik Newman said with a laugh. “So it’s nothing we have to remind ourselves of. It’s just going out, playing defense and having fun. Offense will take care of itself.”

That it did on Tuesday, as the Jayhawks forced 20 Toledo turnovers and converted those into 22 fastbreak points and an overall wildly efficient night on the offensive end.

Four players reached double figures in scoring. Devonte’ Graham, who joked after the game that he “felt like Svi,” poured in a career-high 35 points on 14-of-19 shooting and Kansas (6-0) drained 12-of-20 3-pointers as a team and did not miss a free throw.

Still, it was Graham’s defense that KU coach Bill Self wanted to talk most about after the victory.

“I don’t know what you guys thought,” Self began. “But I thought he really defended well. But it’s too much for him to be our best perimeter defender. Lagerald (Vick) needs to do that, but Lagerald, obviously tonight, wasn’t into it.”

For the second consecutive game, Newman was. And the back-to-back improved defensive efforts from the first-year Jayhawk left Self in a joking mood about his feelings on Newman’s defense.

“Higher,” Self quipped when asked about being high on Newman’s recent defensive performances. “I’m a glass-half-full guy.”

Half full, or even half empty, it’s hard to argue with the numbers, both those that Kansas limited Toledo to during Tuesday’s victory and the team’s overall defensive statistics through the season’s first six games.

In addition to forcing 20 turnovers — with a season-high nine steals — the Jayhawks held the Rockets to just 40 percent shooting during Tuesday’s victory, a mark that included a 30 percent clip in the second half.

For the season, KU’s opponents are shooting just .359 from the floor and barely 30 percent from 3-point range.

Kansas also is out-rebounding opponents by an average of nearly nine boards a game and has been whistled for 15 fewer fouls than its opponents while limiting foes to 61.5 points per game.

It’s still early, and several of those numbers figure to change as the competition KU faces becomes tougher in December and beyond.

But it’s not so much just the numbers that has KU feeling good about its defensive production thus far as it the mindset that has been established.

“I think it all starts on defense,” sophomore Mitch Lightfoot said. “We have to be able to defend and force people out of their offense, because if they can’t pass the ball to the opposite side, they can’t run their offense. “That’s a big thing for us (and so is) having pride when it comes to turnovers, rebounds, 50-50 balls, second and third efforts, stuff like that.”