For the first 17 or so minutes of their victory Saturday, the Kansas Jayhawks were nearly unguardable. Then Michigan switched to a 1-3-1 zone — a hallmark of any John Beilein-coached team — and KU became very, very easy to stop.

Senior guard Sherron Collins turned the ball over. Junior center Cole Aldrich made one of two free throws. Junior guard Tyrel Reed lost possession. Collins threw a pass to Michigan. KU coach Bill Self tried to gather his team’s wits by calling a 30 second timeout. Collins promptly registered another giveaway and missed a three-pointer.

In less than three minutes time, Michigan’s zone defense and timely shooting cut KU’s lead in half.

None of that mattered Saturday. The Jayhawks took care of business well enough in a plodding and ugly second half to keep the Wolverines at bay and move to 10-0. But that three-minute stretch of ragged offense and patchwork transition defense has to be the first segment of video cued up on the DVD player of any coach remaining on KU’s schedule.

Aside from the Jayhawks’ swift swoon, KU turned the ball over too often in general Saturday. Just more than 20 percent of KU’s possessions ended in a turnover: A tad bit worse than the national average and six percent worse than Michigan on Saturday. The victory was the fourth time this season KU has posted a worse-than-average turnover rate (TO%). Not surprisingly, those four games have been KU’s worst in terms of points-per-possession (PPP).

vs. Alcorn State: 20.7 TO%, 1.20 PPP
vs. Michigan: 20.6 TO%, 1.10 ppp
at UCLA: 20.3 TO%, 1.06 PPP
vs. Memphis: 31.8 TO%, 0.86 PPP

Turnovers happen, and KU actually isn’t particularly turnover prone. The Jayhawks’ 17.0 turnover rate is 23rd best in the nation. But compared to its shooting (fifth-ranked Effective FG%) and rebounding (14th-ranked Offensive Rebound Rate), KU’s turnover tendencies are far from stellar.

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What KU did well

• Shot the lights out

As has been their habit this season, the Jayhawks converted an extremely high percentage of their shot attempts into points. KU made 65.5 percent of its shots inside the arc, 31.6 percent of attempts from outside the three-point line and 73.1 percent of its free throws. KU ended up with a 58.3 Effective FG% mark, tying its season average down to a tenth of a percent. To lend a bit of context: KU has allowed its opponents a 38.4 Effective FG% this year (Michigan tallied a 39.4 percent total). Particularly auspicious examples of marksmanship for KU on Saturday included sophomore forward Marcus Morris‘ 7-for-10 performance from the field en route to a career-high 23 points and Collins’ 7-for-10 mark from the field.

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KU guard Xavier Henry gives an example of a high-percentage shot

• Got to the foul line

KU posted a 54.2 percent Free Throw Rate on Saturday, its second best performance of the year. Once at the stripe, KU made 73.1 percent of its tries, 5.4 percent better than its season average and well above the Division I standard. Once again, credit goes to Collins and Morris for their shooting acumen: They went a combined 12-for-13 from the free throw line.

• Defended uber-baller Manny Harris

Manny Harris doesn’t usually do much wrong on a basketball court (aside from the always-atrocious baggy T-shirt under the jersey). Saturday, KU made Michigan’s versatile junior wing look average at best. Harris took 15 attempts from the field to score 16 points, grabbed a sub-par four rebounds and finished with a one-to-one assist-to-turnover ratio. Freshly back from suspension, KU junior wing Brady Morningstar helped stymie Harris with his quick lateral movement and relentless ball pressure. But don’t forget about freshman guard Xavier Henry, who drew the matchup with Harris from the beginning of the game and didn’t make many missteps.

What KU didn’t do well

• Turned the ball over against the zone

(See above)

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The Bottom Line:

KU played a good-but-not-great Michigan squad on Saturday. KU played good basketball at times and countered with some not-so-great moments. KU showed it doesn’t have to be perfect in every facet to win: It has defense and shooting will usually be enough to earn a victory.

Here’s how this one looked, compliments of StatSheet.com: