Game Day Breakdown – No. 5 Kansas at Stanford

Kansas center Udoka Azubuike (35) stuffs a shot by Monmouth forward Nikkei Rutty (21) during the first half on Friday, Nov. 15, 2019 at Allen Fieldhouse.

No. 5 Kansas Jayhawks (9-2) vs. Stanford (11-1)

Time: 2 p.m. | Location: Maples Pavilion, Stanford, Calif.

TV: ABC | Radio: IMG Jayhawk Radio Network

Log on to KUsports.com for our live game blog coverage and follow the KUsports.com staff on Twitter: @KUSports @mctait @bentonasmith @SJacksonLJW & @ByBradenShaw

Keys for Kansas

1. Find a way to close

The big topic of conversation on the Jayhawks’ first day back from their break was closing games out.

The reason, of course, was their recent late-game collapse against Villanova. Up 4 with the ball and just over 70 seconds to play, KU watched the Wildcats steal a 1-point victory by scoring the final 5 points of the game.

There is no guarantee that the Jayhawks will be in position to close today against a good Stanford team. But if they are, they have identified a couple of things that they must do better to avoid another disappointing loss.

“We just have to finish,” freshman guard Christian Braun said Friday. “We talked about that for a long time (Thursday), just being able to execute at the end of games and just being close. All of us have to step up and do our thing because we each had a part in the Villanova loss.”

So what does it take to close?

“I think it’s more just being more of a team and being tougher at the end of games,” Braun said.

Kansas coach Bill Self said he made that clear to the Jayhawks in the wake of the Villanova loss and ahead of their final nonconference game before Big 12 play.

“I think some of it is experience,” Self said. “And I think some of it is just competing. I mean, kids have to understand that competing isn’t trying hard; competing is focus and concentration, film study, playing the tendencies and things like that that don’t show up to fans that just watch the game. You could tell when we played Villanova that we didn’t compete, not from a try standpoint down the stretch; we compete from an execution standpoint.”

2. 3-point D… still

Averaging 25 3-point attempts per game heading into last weekend’s game, Villanova took a whopping 41 against the Jayhawks, setting its own school record for 3-point attempts in a game and tying for the most ever attempted against Kansas in a single game.

Somewhat uncharacteristically, the Wildcats shot just 24.4% from 3-point range, but had they hit closer to their season average, with that many attempts, they would have won the game much more easily.

For a number of reasons, opponents are firing away from behind the 3-point line against the Jayhawks and it remains one of the most important pieces of the puzzle for this KU team.

Per KenPom.com, KU currently ranks 351st out of 353 teams in opponents’ 3-point rate, with KU’s foes taking nearly 50% of their shots against the Jayhawks from behind the 3-point line. For perspective, 65.1% of Villanova’s shots were from behind the arc, and the national average is 37.7% of teams’ shots coming from 3-point range.

Over the past five seasons, KU has allowed a much more normal 36% of shots to come from 3-point range, and the current spike by KU’s opponents is definitely catching the eye of the KU coaching staff and players.

Before the Villanova game, Self referenced the fact that having Udoka Azubuike as a key piece on the floor in a game that has gotten smaller and smaller likely has a lot to do with why teams are more comfortable shooting from distance against Kansas. That’s both because Azubuike is not as sound defending on the perimeter and because his presence in the paint keeps teams from wanting to test the inside.

And it has been well documented that when KU plays two big men, both David McCormack and Silvio De Sousa have struggled to guard smaller 4 men on the perimeter.

Overall, KenPom ranks KU as the fourth most efficient defensive team in the country, so the Jayhawks’ 3-point issues, though concerning in the big picture, have not been devastating.

But when a team is allowing so many 3-point attempts in a sport that has started to rely more and more on the 3-point shot, the risk of facing a team that catches fire and runs away certainly increases.

Opponents are shooting just 29% from 3-point range against the Jayhawks to date. And Stanford enters the game shooting 39.4% from 3-point range as a team on an average of just 18.2 attempts per outing.

3. Who wins the turnover war?

Turnovers are a key part of every game, but in this one it’s hard to tell who has the advantage.

Stanford’s offense turns the ball over at a fairly high rate (21.6% of the time, good for 278th in the country per KenPom), and its unforced errors — essentially non-steals — account for 13% of that number, ranking 325th in the country.

In short, the Cardinal guards tend to be a bit careless with the ball and Kansas would do well to pressure the ball and play the passing lanes from start to finish.

Defensively, Stanford actually does a solid job of getting a lot of those giveaways back, turning opponents over on 23.6% of possessions, which ranks 28th in the country.

The Jayhawks have improved dramatically in the turnover department since coughing it up 28 times in the loss to Duke to open the season.

Kansas gives it away just 19.2% of the time, good for 156th in the country, and is averaging 13.8 turnovers per game.

Marquee Matchup

Freshmen vs. Freshmen

Even though the numbers don’t fully illustrate it and the outcome did not go Kansas’ way, the Villanova game was a big step forward for Braun and fellow KU freshman Tristan Enaruna.

Both played key minutes in place of the injured Marcus Garrett — who is expected to be back on the floor in this one — and both showed an ability to play with emotion and passion while not thinking too much about what they were doing.

Self said Friday that having that picture fresh in his mind may lead to him trusting both players with bigger roles and at more critical times. And he added that both have an ability to shoot the ball from the outside that has not really shown up yet and would only make them more dangerous all-around players.

A second consecutive strong outing from the KU duo would go a long way in this one, given the fact that Stanford starts a pair of freshmen who are enjoying strong seasons.

Together, Stanford freshmen Tyrell Terry and Spencer Jones are averaging 26 points, nearly 10 rebounds and 4 assists per game while also contributing on the defensive end and logging an average of nearly 30 minutes per game apiece.

The 6-foot-7, 195-pound Jones has started all but one game for the Cardinal this season and 34 of his 40 field goals have come from 3-point range, where he leads the team at 47.2% to date.

While Braun and Enaruna might find themselves matched up with Jones from time to time in this one, it’s KU sophomore Devon Dotson who will have his hands full with Terry.

The 6-foot-2, 160-pound point guard has run the show for the Cardinal so far this season, and his double-double of 20 points and 11 rebounds against Oklahoma — one of two this season — shows exactly what he’s capable of despite his smaller frame.

Jayhawk Pulse

A week removed from their second loss of the season and their first true road test, the Jayhawks have emphasized the idea of focusing as they prepare to take their show on the road for the final tuneup before the start of Big 12 Conference play.

Because of Stanford’s recent hot play and stout defense, this one figures to be every bit the type of tough test away from home that last weekend brought.

Kansas owns an 11-3 all-time series advantage against Stanford, including victories in each of the last three seasons. Today’s game is the final leg of a four-game series that was actually scheduled before former KU guard Jerod Haase took over as the Stanford coach.

Now in his fourth season with the Cardinal, the 45-year-old Haase is 59-50 at Stanford and 139-103 overall in eight seasons as a head coach. That includes an 80-53 record in four seasons at the University of Alabama at Birmingham before taking over at Stanford.

Last season, No. 2 Kansas overcame a 12-point second-half deficit at Allen Fieldhouse to force overtime and defeat the Cardinal, 90-84. KU senior Lagerald Vick scored 19 of his game-high 27 points in the final eight minutes, including a deep 3-pointer with 12 seconds left that tied the game and helped force OT.

Stanford is currently ranked 12th in the NET Rankings (KU is fourth) and is projected as a 5-point underdog by KenPom.com, which ranks Stanford as the nation’s 55th-best team.

Probable Starters

No. 5 Kansas

G – Devon Dotson, 6-2, 185, Soph.

G – Ochai Agbaji, 6-5, 210, Soph.

G – Marcus Garrett, 6-5, 195, Jr.

F – David McCormack, 6-10, 265, Soph.

C – Udoka Azubuike, 7-0, 265, Sr.

Stanford Cardinal

G – Daejon Davis, 6-3, 185, Jr.

G – Tyrell Terry, 6-2, 160, Fr.

G – Bryce Willis, 6-6, 195, Soph.

F – Oscar da Silva, 6-9, 225, Jr.

F – Spencer Jones, 6-7, 195, Fr.

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