On the scoreboard, Kansas’ dispatching of Radford might not look special: Big 12 teams are expected to defeat Big South visitors and the nation’s No. 1 team is supposed to win every time out. But given the Jayhawks’ complete and utter dominance on offense, one could make a case for Wednesday night being KU’s most impressive victory.

KU scored 99 points against Radford, its third best total of the season and just nine more than its
per game average. As impressive as nearing the century mark is, it takes a look deeper to see how efficient the Jayhawks were. According to StatSheet.com, KU used 70 offensive possessions Wednesday. That number is approximately one possession faster than the national median of 68.6 possessions per game and nearly two possessions slower than KU’s season average of 71.6 per game (95th fastest nationally). The national points-per-game median, according to BasketballState.com, is 67.4. So the Jayhawks topped the national scoring median by 32 while using just one more possession than a middle-of-the-road team would.

KU ended up tallying 1.41 points per possession, an outstanding mark and its third best of the season. Thing is, KU had only topped 1.41 points per trip against Central Arkansas and Alcorn State, teams ranked 271st and 338th, respectively, in defensive efficiency. Radford was ranked 109th in the nation defensively entering Wednesday. The Highlanders are not elite, but they aren’t pushovers.

A look at Radford’s season, in terms of points and eFG percentage allowed (Glossary of terms, including eFG percentage):

W vs. Navy: 0.82 points/possession, 38.5 eFG%

W vs. Lynchburg: 0.96 points/possession, 46.1 eFG%

L at Duke: 1.42 points/possession, 61.1 eFG%

L at Duquesne: 0.91 points/possession, 50.0 eFG%

W at Winthrop: 0.76 points/possession, 36.4 eFG%

W at Presbyterian: 0.89 points/posession, 44.2 eFG%

L at Kansas: 1.41 points/possession, 57.9 eFG%

Duke (ranked 5th in the nation in offensive efficiency) and KU (2nd) are the only teams to have scored more often than average against Radford. Lighting up the Highlanders for nearly triple-digit points is more impressive than it might seem.

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Nick Krug/LJW Photo — KU’s sophomore guard Tyshawn Taylor scores two of his six points

How did KU do it? Let’s investigate.

What went right for KU

• Rebounding

Despite its nearly constant size advantage up front, KU has not been as strong a rebounding team as coach Bill Self said he would like. The Jayhawks had their second-best night of the season on the boards Wednesday, pulling down 45.9 percent of available offensive rebounds and 75 percent of defensive rebounds. Credit goes to junior center Cole Aldrich (nine rebounds, 36 percent rebound rate), freshman forward Thomas Robinson (seven rebounds, 47 percent rebound rate) and sophomore guard Tyshawn Taylor (five rebounds, 32 percent rebound rate). KU’s rebounding was especially impressive given Radford’s size. Radford center Artsiom Parakhouski, 6-foot-11 and 260 pounds with the body composition of a cornerback, was legitimately larger than Aldrich. Three other Highlander starters checked in at 6-foot-6 or taller, giving them major-conference height (if not major-conference offensive skill).

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Nick Krug/LJW Photo — KU’s freshman forward Thomas Robinson fights for a rebound

• Even offensive distribution

In 2008, KU’s championship-winning squad was touted as the example of depth, unselfishness and shared offense. That team did tend to dole out its points across the box score, but didn’t play with the same balance of this year’s team. Forward Darrell Arthur was an offensive black hole of sorts (but an efficient one!), using 24.8 percent of the team’s possessions. On the flip side, guard Russell Robinson rarely asserted himself, using just 16.6 percent of possessions. This season, none among the eight Jayhawks who have played the most minutes has used more than 21.9 percent of the group’s possessions (freshman guard Xavier Henry). Fun fact: Among starters, senior guard Sherron Collins has been the least offensively active, using 19.7 percent of trips down the court. Wednesday night wasn’t anything out of the ordinary for the Jayhawks. Of players with more than 40 percent of the team’s minutes, only Tyshawn Taylor shot more than 25 percent of the time. Six KU players scored in double figures and six attempted between four and six field goals.

What went wrong for KU

• Joey Lynch-Flohr scored 26 points

After watching the game, I’m not quite sure how Radford’s senior forward managed 27 points. The hook shot heavy Highlander didn’t stand out in the same way the larger Parakhouski did or seemingly heave up a shot on every trip like his teammate forward Lazar Trifunovic. On closer inspection, Flohr tallied 27 points by posting a sneakily efficient 9-for-14 from the floor and getting to the free throw line more often than any other Highlander or Jayhawk (7-for-9). His highly-regarded teammate, Parakhouski*, didn’t have much luck with Aldrich in the first half but settled in nicely in a more relaxed second half, finishing with 21 points on 12 field goal attempts.

*As an aside, Did Parakhouski remind anyone else of former Nebraska center Aleks Maric? Good news for the Radford big man and his financial future: Maric is playing pro ball in Serbia. Parakhouski certainly looked like a pro, if not an NBA player.

The Bottom Line: KU played some of its best offense of the season against Radford, a physically-gifted team that could end up in the NCAA Tournament for the second consecutive season. When the Jayhawks score like they did Wednesday, not many teams can keep up.