For much of the season, Kansas head coach Bill Self has been asking his team to make opponents play poorly. Essentially, he wants KU’s defensive play to be so disruptive that opposing teams are not getting what they want on offense.
KU’s 78-55 win over Oklahoma on Saturday was perhaps the best example of what that looks like. The Sooners were held to their third-fewest points of the season, while committing a season-high 24 turnovers.
“I think (our defense) has to be (a strength) for us to be good because we’re not good enough offensively to carry the load when other teams are playing well,” Self said. “The key for us — and that’s the key for a lot of teams — is we need to be at least average (or) better offensively. But we need the other team to play poor.”
“Most of my better teams have been really good on that end and can make another team play bad,” Self added. “To win in this league against these defenses, you are not going to play good all the time.”
For one day at least, it looked like this year’s version of the Jayhawks figured out how to do that.
The 24 turnovers forced by Kansas matched a season-best performance, which was previously accomplished against Tennessee on Nov. 25. It marked the most turnovers by a Big 12 opponent since Feb. 16, 2019 vs. West Virginia (24), and the most on the road in conference play since Feb. 13, 2006 at Oklahoma State (24).
KU had active hands on the defensive end of the floor for the entire matchup, recording 16 steals for its best performance in a league matchup since notching 19 steals against Colorado on Jan. 27, 2007. It is the most steals Kansas has recorded in a road conference game since 2006 as well.
Jalen Wilson, who is the team’s leading scorer, set the tone with a team-high five steals. Dajuan Harris Jr., the do-everything point guard, finished with three steals. As did Kevin McCullar Jr., who is the team’s best defender. Seven different players recorded a steal, including Michael Jankovich in the closing minutes of a blowout win.
“We guarded. That’s been our emphasis all week since the practice before Texas,” Harris said. “We’ve been meeting up, we had a great team talk. We just want to get our energy (from) the defense and that’s what our main focus is now.”
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PHOTO GALLERY: Kansas basketball at Oklahoma
Box score: Kansas 78, Oklahoma 55
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It hasn’t always been the main focus for the Jayhawks, however. They just gave up 80 points in a win over the Texas Longhorns on Big Monday. KU appeared disinterested on the defensive end in a loss to Iowa State last weekend. Even in the first meeting with Oklahoma, Porter Moser’s squad scored 75 points.
This time around, Kansas elected to not double the post and switch every ball screen against Oklahoma. Backup big man Ernest Udeh Jr. held his own whenever he was switched on a guard, which adds an interesting element to KU’s overall outlook on that end of the floor.
The Jayhawks also made sure to limit OU guard Grant Sherfield, who scored just 10 points on 4-of-14 shooting after recording a game-high 25 points in the first meeting in Lawrence.
“My game plan the first time stunk,” Self said. “We did some things and they played out of it and made us pay. We didn’t do that this time and it worked better for us.”
Saturday was a promising sign for a Kansas squad that hasn’t always been locked in on the defensive end. For the season, the Jayhawks rank 11th in overall adjusted defensive efficiency, but just fourth in the Big 12 in conference-only defensive efficiency, per Ken Pomeroy.
Now, KU must build off this performance ahead of an expected defensive battle with Oklahoma State in Stillwater on Tuesday. KenPom currently projects a 69-68 victory for the Jayhawks in Tuesday’s matchup.
“Today was better,” Self said of KU’s defense. “I think we are up and down, but hopefully we are gaining an identity. I don’t think a team is good until they actually know who they are. I think we are still figuring out who we are and what our identity is.”
The Jayhawks might just discover that on the defensive end in the coming weeks.
