But the truth is, IU’s big man was a non-factor in the first half. Jackson-Davis didn’t score for the first 18-plus minutes of the game before he got an easy basket via an alley-oop in transition. By then, though, the Jayhawks (10-1) had already doubled the Hoosiers (8-3) on the scoreboard and were in complete control from start to finish.

Jackson-Davis, a National Player of the Year candidate who was averaging nearly 17 points per contest entering the game, was certainly priority No. 1 for KU on the defensive end.

“We had all week to prepare,” Dajuan Harris Jr. said. “Coach has been preaching (to) us about defense. We just played one of the best bigs in the country and that was our main focus, trying to slow him down.”

The Hoosiers were supposed to have the advantage inside in this game, thanks to a frontcourt duo of Jackson-Davis and Race Thompson. Even freshman reserve Malik Reneau is a future star in the Big Ten. Yet Kansas outscored Indiana, 50-24, in the paint.

So how were the Jayhawks able to limit TJD’s impact en route to a fourth consecutive win? The answer to that question has some nuance.

KU sophomore KJ Adams Jr., who started the game with a 7-0 run all by himself, served as the primary defender on the IU big man. His task was to prevent a clean entry pass as much as possible, which led to a steal and a coast-to-coast layup on the game’s opening basket.

When the ball did enter the post, a help defender came over to double Jackson-Davis as soon as he touched the ball. Kevin McCullar Jr. typically had the honors of serving as the help defender, and did so on multiple possessions prior to the first media timeout.

The goal for the double team was to make Jackson-Davis pass the rock to literally anybody else, as Harris and Gradey Dick were lurking in the passing lanes and were ready to pounce on an errant pass and push the ball in transition. Kansas finished with 17 steals, a team-best since recording 18 against UMKC in 2011.

“It was a collective effort,” McCullar said. “He’s an All-American-type player, and we knew we’d have to throw a lot of different looks at him. I was doubling a lot and leaving my man. Juan and Gradey were playing the passing lanes, picking stuff off. Trying to just make it hard on him.”

The strategy made it hard for the entire Indiana squad to find any sort of rhythm, particularly in the first 20 minutes of action.

The Hoosiers, who came into the matchup averaging 11.5 turnovers per game, coughed it up 23 times. Indiana averaged 17.7 3-pointers per contest prior to Saturday, but attempted 14 (and made just five) triples in the first half alone.

“(That was) probably a good sign for us that they weren’t getting what they wanted inside as much,” Kansas head coach Bill Self said. “We just respected a good player and tried to limit his good touches.”

Indiana coach Mike Woodson admitted it was an effective strategy when talking to reporters after the game during a postgame scrum outside the locker room, though he wasn’t too surprised.

“If I’m coaching against this team, I’m going to double him too,” Woodson said. “He is not going to get a lot of touches. Guys around him have to be able to step up and hit shots and make plays. There is nothing scientific about it. If you double team their best player, somebody else has to step up and make plays.”

On this particular day, that didn’t happen. The Jayhawks posted their best defensive efficiency of the season with a mark of 81.7.

According to Synergy Sports Technology, Kansas threw a hard double team on over half of Indiana’s post-up plays. The result was a measly average of 0.750 points per possession. For comparison, IU is averaging 1.0 PPP and ranks in the 86th percentile in the nation on post-up plays this season.

Per KenPom.com, Jackson-Davis finished with an offensive rating of 98 in 29 minutes of action. He has only posted two worse marks on the year, registering a 94 against Arizona last time out and a 79 against Rutgers on Dec. 3. Both were Indiana losses.

Saturday’s showing altered the betting market for the NPOY award, too. Jackson-Davis had the second-best odds entering the weekend with a 10/1 price at FanDuel Sportsbook, but his odds have since plummeted to 20/1. KU’s Jalen Wilson remains at 10/1, with Zach Edey of Purdue serving as the frontrunner at -135.

Whether Wilson emerges as a serious candidate remains to be seen. This game mostly proved how the Jayhawks can defend one of the best players in the sport, and they might just be scratching the surface on that end of the floor.

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Former Journal-World sports reporter Shane Jackson recently returned to Kansas after a stint in Las Vegas and he will be helping us cover Kansas basketball as a freelance writer during the 2022-23 season.