KU needed just four minutes from freshman eighth-man Cole Aldrich to defeat Memphis, 75-68, in overtime and win the school’s third NCAA tournament title.

The key to getting away with a shallower-than-typical rotation involves staying out of foul trouble. No Jayhawk had more than three personal fouls in that 45-minute game.

The Jayhawks defended aggressively without fouling excessively in defeating Memphis. Pulling off that delicate balancing act will be the key to Kansas coach Bill Self not needing to dip any deeper down his bench than he did in Friday night’s 86-80 victory at TCU. Self used just seven players.

All seven have started multiple games this season, and since the dropoff is so significant after the first seven, don’t expect it to be the final time the eighth and ninth scholarship players, freshman Mitch Lightfoot and junior Dwight Coleby, watch for 40 minutes.

Foul trouble is the one factor that will change that on some nights. At TCU, only Jackson encountered that. He fouled out in 12 minutes.

Carlton Bragg and Lagerald Vick, both of whom have made five starts, were the only reserves to get in the game, but a two-deep bench doesn’t mean it’s too shallow. TCU first-year coach Jamie Dixon can attest to that.

“The great thing about Kansas is that Vick comes off the bench and really hurts us,” Dixon said afterward. “That was something that we didn’t plan for. He’s had some big games, we know that, but his production, 17 points and 34 minutes, really was huge. That was big. So Jackson being in foul trouble allowed Vick to get some things going, so that was huge for them.”

Jackson’s absence hurt defensively more than anything because when TCU set perimeter screens with big man Vladimir Brodziansky and Lucas hedged them to stop the guard’s penetration, it typically was the job of either Vick or Svi Mykhailiuk to help off his man to keep the rolling Brodziansky and other screeners from catching a pass for an easy hoop. Vick too often looked lost and Svi didn’t bring enough urgency to a task that Jackson instinctively performs well.

Offensively, Svi and especially Vick, performed well.

A seven-man rotation certainly isn’t ideal, but Kansas can get away with it if it can figure out how to defend aggressively without piling up fouls.