photo by: Nick Krug

Kansas forward Thomas Robinson, left, laughs with his teammates on the bench during the second half on Friday, Nov. 11, 2011 at Allen Fieldhouse.

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.

Pay no attention to that cold offensive spell from Kansas at the end of the first half.

photo by: Nick Krug

Kansas forward Thomas Robinson, left, laughs with his teammates on the bench during the second half on Friday, Nov. 11, 2011 at Allen Fieldhouse.

In reality, KU’s 100-54 victory over Towson was probably as good of an offensive performance as we’re going to see from the Jayhawks all season.

Because the game was played at a pedestrian pace (68 possessions; KU averaged 69.9 possessions per game last year), getting to 100 points was quite an accomplishment.

The Jayhawks offense posted 1.47 points per possession against the Tigers — the most by a KU team since a 112-75 win over Tennessee Tech on Nov. 27, 2009.

It also was KU’s fifth-highest PPP mark from any game in the last 15 years and the second-highest PPP mark from any Div. I team playing another Div. I team this season.

photo by: Nick Krug

Kansas guard Tyshawn Taylor throws down a dunk off a breakaway before Towson forward Marcus Damas during the second half on Friday, Nov. 11, 2011 at Allen Fieldhouse.

Most of the time, 100-point games are the result of two teams playing at a fast pace. That wasn’t the case Friday, as the Jayhawks instead were efficient with their possessions and scored at a rate they probably won’t match again this season.

M.O.J. (Most Outstanding Jayhawk)

In a three-horse race between Elijah Johnson, Kevin Young and Conner Teahan, Young gets the nod with his balanced stat line.

photo by: Nick Krug

Kansas forward Kevin Young comes away with a steal from Towson forward Enrique Gumbs during the first half on Friday, Nov. 11, 2011 at Allen Fieldhouse.

The junior posted 1.73 points per possession used while ending 25.2 percent of the possessions he was in (a high number).

Though he only played 14 minutes, Young was extremely active. He pulled down 26.7 percent of the available offensive rebounds (a team high), 32.6 percent of the available defensive rebounds (a team high) and came away with a steal on 8.4 percent of his defensive possessions (a team high).

Not only that, he blocked 13.6 percent of the two-pointers taken while he was on the floor and assisted on 23.9 percent of KU’s made shots while he was out there.

It’s not often that a coach admits this, but KU coach Bill Self afterwards seemed to hint that this performance was the best he’d seen from Young — and that included all the team’s practices.

http://www2.kusports.com/videos/2011/nov/11/35181/

Young will have to work especially hard defensively against bigger teams, but his play on Friday still has to be considered one of the most positive developments for the Jayhawks this season.

Room for Improvement

Rarely does a team win so easily in a game it was beaten on the glass.

Towson pulled down 42.9 percent of the available offensive rebounds — an unacceptable number if the Jayhawks are being honest with themselves.

To put that number in perspective, only two teams last year had offensive rebounding percentages higher than 42.9 percent against KU — Nebraska on Jan. 15 (45.5 percent) and Kansas State on Jan. 29 (45.3 percent).

In other words, it’s not the norm for non-conference opponents to rebound like this against KU.

photo by: Nick Krug

Kansas players Conner Teahan, left, and Travis Releford tangle with Towson players Marcus Damas, left, and Enrique Gumbs as the teams vie for a loose ball during the second half on Friday, Nov. 11, 2011 at Allen Fieldhouse.

The Jayhawks actually weren’t horrible on the offensive glass, grabbing 37.5 percent of their misses — a number that would have been slightly above their average last year.

The poor numbers on the defensive glass have to be a huge worry, especially with the Kentucky game looming on Tuesday. Though Thomas Robinson was just fine (32 percent defensive rebounding percentage), he needs help from guys like Jeff Withey (6.3 percent), Travis Releford (4.5 percent) and Justin Wesley (7.1 percent).

Tough-Luck Line

It’s hard to pick a tough-luck line with a box score like this, but with a lack of good options, we’ll go with Tyshawn Taylor.

photo by: Nick Krug

Kansas guard Tyshawn Taylor looks for a steal as he defends Towson guard Deon Jones during the first half on Friday, Nov. 11, 2011 at Allen Fieldhouse.

In his first game back from suspension, the senior posted 1.29 points per possession used while ending 22 percent of KU’s possessions while he was in. Normally, 1.29 PPP used would be in the running for best on the team; in an ultra-efficient game against Towson, though, it actually was the worst.

I might be making too much of this, but did anyone else notice that Taylor was one of the last starters subbed out Friday? It seemed to me like Self was wanting to get his senior point guard a couple more minutes, just to get him back into the flow of a game situation.

Again, Taylor’s numbers weren’t terrible, they just weren’t great. His 2.4 percent steal percentage was sixth on the team, while his assist percentage (percentage of his team’s field goals he assisted on while on the floor) of 19.4 percent was sixth as well.

One area where Taylor thrived was getting to the free-throw line. His free-throw rate (free throws attempted/field goals attempted) of 85.7 was best on the team; Taylor ended up shooting exactly half of KU’s free throws (six of 12).

KU’s team free-throw rate of 17.1, by the way, ranked lower than all but four games from last season.

Bottom Line

KU put together a stellar offensive performance against Towson, mostly because it took care of the basketball.

photo by: Nick Krug

Kansas forward Thomas Robinson tries to hook a shot under the bucket amidst the Towson defense during the second half on Friday, Nov. 11, 2011 at Allen Fieldhouse.

The Jayhawks turned it over on just 7.4 percent of its possessions, which tied the best mark for a KU team in a game in the last 15 seasons (KU also turned it over just 7.4 percent of the time against North Dakota State in its first round game of the 2009 NCAA Tournament).

KU’s 6-to-1 turnover ratio also was easily the best mark for KU in the last 15 seasons, topping the previous high of 4.6-to-1 set against against UNC-Asheville on Jan. 2, 2003.

The Jayhawks also plastered the Tigers with help from good shooting (65.7 effective FG percentage; KU averaged 57.0 eFG% last year and was the nation’s leader in the stat).

On defense, KU thrived at creating turnovers, as Towson’s 33.8-percent turnover rate was the highest for a KU opponent since the 2008-09 season.

photo by: Nick Krug

Kansas guard Travis Releford signals the ball going the Jayhawks way along with a game official after forcing it out of bounds off Towson forward Deon Jones during the first half on Friday, Nov. 11, 2011 at Allen Fieldhouse.

KU now will prepare for one of the biggest schedule turnarounds in its history, trading in KenPom’s 320th-ranked team (out of 345) Towson for No. 1 Kentucky.

Defensive rebounding has to be the biggest concern for KU — especially against the future pros that coach John Calipari will bring to Tuesday’s game.