Kansas put forth its weakest defensive effort of the season Friday and still came away with a 37-point victory, a testament to just how efficient KU was on the offensive end.

The Jayhawks weren’t terrible on defense, but they weren’t their usual stellar selves. KU allowed Tennessee Tech .99 points per possession, barely less than this season’s national median of 1.01. The Golden Eagles scored on more than half of their possessions — a good indicator of offensive success — because they shot 78.9 percent from the free throw line and rebounded approximately 40 percent of their own missed shots.

On offense, KU played like the juggernaut it has been in four of five games this season. The Jayhawks scored an eye-boggling 1.47 points per possession, tied for the seventh best single-game performance by any team this season. The last time a KU team was as proficient on offense was in a 109-51 victory against Texas Tech on March 3, 2008 (Senior Night for the eventual national champions).

Not much to say about this one.

KU played like the best team in the nation and Tennessee Tech played like a middle-of-the-road Ohio Valley Conference squad. Anyway, here’s what we at The Recap gleaned from 40 minutes of Friday night hoops.

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Richard Gwin/Journal-World Photo KU’s Tyshawn Taylor battles Tennessee Tech’s Elijah Muhammad for the ball

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What went right for Kansas

• Even-handed offense

Remember that ultra-efficient 2008 Kansas team that did a fair bit of dominating in the regular season and a lot of winning in the NCAA Tournament? The buzzword around that team was balance. No one player monopolized offensive possessions, but plenty of players could do damage with the ball in their hands. Friday night, KU shared the ball and the scoring in the same way the ’08 group did. Senior guard Sherron Collins scored 12 but only used nine percent of the team’s possessions (lowest among KU starters!) to get his points. Sophomore guard Tyshawn Taylor found his three-point touch and scored 18 points on just nine shots. Only freshman guard Xavier Henry shot more than 10 times, and he did that while leading the Jayhawks in assist percentage.

• Picked up the pace, held onto the ball

For the third consecutive game, KU took great care of the ball, giving possession away just 13.2 percent of the time. Friday’s showing was most impressive, given the accelerated pace of play. Each team used 76 possessions, well past the national average of approximately 69 possessions per game. The Jayhawks moved the ball exceptionally. KU registered nearly three assists for every turnover and assisted 72.5 percent of its field goals. Give some credit to Henry, Collins and freshman guard Elijah Johnson for the seamless execution: The trio delivered 14 assists and just three turnovers.

• High post options

Sophomore forward Markieff Morris might not look like a bonafide three-point gunner, but he made both of his attempts against Tennessee Tech. That versatility is valuable: Markieff and his brother Marcus have displayed good passing skills from the high post this season (each has an assist percentage hovering near 10 percent, decent for such large players). With the Morris twins’ long-distance shooting an added threat, junior center Cole Aldrich might not have to deal with as many double teams. That should make feeding the post even easier for the fast-developing brothers.

What went wrong for Kansas

• Tennessee Tech fast-paced, free and easy

Tennessee Tech, which ranked among the 25 fastest-paced teams in the nation the past two seasons, pushed the pace against the Jayhawks. Unlike most teams, Tennessee Tech didn’t go into turnover mode. The Golden Eagles posted a 19.7 percent turnover rate, their second best in seven games this season. The KU teams of recent years haven’t hung their hats on forcing turnovers, instead choosing to focus on forcing bad shots. Tennessee Tech certainly took some desperate shots, but sharpshooting senior guard Frank Davis and sophomore guard Zach Bailey made quite a few. Davis and Bailey played a combined 48 minutes and scored 39 points.

The Bottom Line: Whether Tennessee Tech’s nearly point-per-possession scoring is cause for KU fans to be alarmed remains to be seen. Friday night certainly wasn’t a bad showing for KU: The Jayhawks did win by 37 points.

Check out a full box score with advanced statistics here.