photo by: Nick Krug

Kansas forward Markieff Morris hugs teammate Tyrel Reed (14) after holding off Michigan for a 67-60 overtime victory on Sunday, Jan. 9, 2010 in Ann Arbor, Mich. Morris had 13 points and 11 rebounds against the Wolverines.

Note: Here is a listing of definitions for some terms used in this blog. Also, feel free to ask questions in the comments section below if something doesn’t make sense.

When I first started driving, I was terrified of merging onto highways.

I had no feel for it at all. When I was sure that my yellow 1986 Buick Century could outgun another car, it rarely did, and I’d have to slam on my brakes to make it safely on.

[Ed. Note — Not my car, but just like it, courtesy a Flickr user. Memories … ]

The next time, I’d overcorrect, and even when I had plenty of room, I’d slow down to let a car pass me no matter how far it was away.

The point of this story: Merging onto a highway isn’t a problem for me any more. I’ve gained a feel for it, just like most of you out there have.

The only way I was able to get better, though, was by getting experience in that high-stress situation.

Which brings us to the Kansas men’s basketball team.

I know there’s going to be some frustration from fans after KU’s 67-60 victory over Michigan on Sunday. The Jayhawks held a 15-point lead and couldn’t hold it, allowing Michigan to get back into a game it probably shouldn’t have.

http://www2.kusports.com/videos/2011/jan/09/33848/

After last year’s second-round NCAA Tournament loss to Northern Iowa, though, the general consensus seemed to be that KU hadn’t played in enough close games in the regular season to prepare itself for the tournament.

In other words, KU was a 16-year-old staring down the on-ramp of a highway trying to check each of its mirrors three times per second.

Like the game or not, the Jayhawks were able to play in a close game Sunday. Not only that, in the most important stretch of the game, the Jayhawks played their best.

photo by: Nick Krug

Kansas forward Markieff Morris hugs teammate Tyrel Reed (14) after holding off Michigan for a 67-60 overtime victory on Sunday, Jan. 9, 2010 in Ann Arbor, Mich. Morris had 13 points and 11 rebounds against the Wolverines.

Here’s a look at KU’s offensive possessions once the Jayhawks fell behind by three in overtime with 4:21:

Marcus Morris hits two free throws
Markieff Morris hits three-pointer
Marcus Morris hits two-pointer and free throw
Tyrel Reed hits three-pointer
Josh Selby misses three-pointer
Tyshawn Taylor makes one free throw
Tyshawn Taylor makes two free throws
Tyrel Reed makes two free throws

In a game where KU scored a season-low 0.91 points per possession, the Jayhawks scored 2.0 points per possession in the highest pressure situation of the game (in a hostile environment on the road).

There’s going to come a time in the NCAA Tournament when KU has a close game and it’s going to have to simply make enough plays to survive and move on.

photo by: Nick Krug

Kansas forward Markieff Morris defends as Michigan guard Darius Morris redirects his pass during the first half on Sunday, Jan. 9, 2011 at Crisler Arena.

The Jayhawks not only played at a high level with the game on the line, they also built some confidence to know that they can perform well in pressure situations that will surely arise in the future.

M.O.J. (Most Outstanding Jayhawk)

Marcus Morris takes this honor in a runaway.

photo by: Nick Krug

Kansas forward Marcus Morris goes up for a bucket against the Michigan defense during the first half on Sunday, Jan. 9, 2011 at Crisler Arena.

On a day when KU’s offense struggled, the 6-foot-9 forward carried the Jayhawks on that end of the floor. Marcus posted 1.09 points per possession used while also stepping up his involvement in the offense, ending 26.5 percent of KU’s possessions and putting up 37 percent of KU’s shots during his minutes.

I’m going to start using floor percentage more in this blog, with floor percentage simply answering the question: “What percentage of the time did a team/player score at least one point when it/he used a possession?”

On Sunday, Marcus’ floor percentage was 60.1 percent, meaning when he ended KU’s possession, the Jayhawks scored at least one point 60.1 percent of the time. That mark was second on the team behind Brady Morningstar (68.3 percent).

We also shouldn’t overlook Marcus’ rebounding. After failing to grab an offensive rebound against UMKC, Marcus snatched 13.7 percent of the available offensive rebounds and 13.4 percent of the available defensive rebounds against Michigan.

photo by: Nick Krug

Kansas forward Marcus Morris rips away an offensive rebound from Michigan defenders Jordan Morgan (52) and Zack Novak (0) during overtime on Sunday, Jan. 9, 2011 at Crisler Arena.

Away from the box score, Marcus did a great job of keeping his composure even after he was getting shoved around inside early and even when he didn’t receive a couple foul calls on what seemed like obvious whistles.

By keeping his head, Marcus allowed himself to be in the game at the end when the Jayhawks needed him the most.

Room for Improvement

Does “offense” work here?

photo by: Nick Krug

Kansas guard Josh Selby topples over Michigan forward Jordan Morgan after losing control of the ball during the first half on Sunday, Jan. 9, 2011 at Crisler Arena.

The Jayhawks 0.91 points per possession were the fewest this season and the second-fewest in the last two years (only the Memphis game in 2009-10 was worse).

Though the Jayhawks seemed to get good looks from three-point range, they only made 4 out of 24 for 16.7 percent, which again was their worst performance of the year and second-worst in the last two years. It’s a bit ironic that KU coach Bill Self just mentioned last week how pleased he was with his team’s three-point shooting before that area of the Jayhawks’ game completely deserted them in Ann Arbor, Mich.

It might be time to worry just a bit about KU’s offense, which has slipped to 11th in the KenPom rankings after being top five most of the year.

KU had a tough shooting night, which is going to happen, but the Jayhawks also haven’t produced as well this year as one would expect against good defensive opponents.

Tough-Luck Line

It’s not necessarily a good thing for the team when this is a close race, but Josh Selby’s tough shooting night makes him the pick.

photo by: Nick Krug

Kansas guard Josh Selby is fouled as he goes up to the bucket between Michigan defenders Zack Novak (0) and Stu Douglass (1) during the first half on Sunday, Jan. 9, 2011 at Crisler Arena.

The freshman — who finished 1-for-10 from the floor — posted just 0.62 points per possession used. To his credit, he didn’t hog the possessions on his off night, ending just 16 percent of KU’s possessions when he was on the floor.

His floor percentage — our new stat explained above — wasn’t pretty: When he ended KU’s possessions, the Jayhawks scored just 17.4 percent of the time.

Obviously, guards’ floor percentage is going to be lower than forwards’ because they shoot more threes, but still, 17 percent isn’t good.

Thomas Robinson (three turnovers, 1-for-4 free throw shooting in nine minutes) and Elijah Johnson (0 points, 0 assists in 10 minutes) also had rough games, but they didn’t have as much impact on the game as Selby did.

Bottom Line

KU’s defense was superb, holding Michigan to 0.81 points per possession. On the Jayhawks’ worst shooting night of the year (39.3 eFG%), they proved they could still win in a road environment by hunkering down and playing tough, pressure D.

photo by: Nick Krug

Kansas forward Markieff Morris (21) pressures Michigan guard Stu Douglass during the first half on Sunday, Jan. 9, 2011 at Crisler Arena. At left is Kansas guard Tyshawn Taylor and in back is Josh Selby.

Though perhaps the Jayhawks shouldn’t have allowed Sunday’s game to be close, they did get to play in a high-leverage situation and performed better in overtime than at any other point in the game.

The experience should help the Jayhawks be more comfortable (and less panicked) when that same type of scenario arises in March.