Note: Here is a listing of definitions for some terms used in this blog. Also, feel free to ask questions in the comments section below if something doesn’t make sense.
It’s getting difficult to come up with new adjectives to describe just how well this Kansas team is playing through five games this season.
So here’s one we haven’t been able to use with KU until today: No. 1 in the nation.
Following KU’s 98-41 demolishing of Ohio (KU was only an 18.5-point favorite), there’s a new No. 1 team in Ken Pomeroy’s college basketball ratings.
That’s right. It’s the Kansas Jayhawks, who leapfrogged both Duke and Ohio State to take the top spot.
Before we talk about the highlights against Ohio (and there were plenty of them), let’s look at just how good KU has been through five games, according to KenPom’s statistics.
Currently, KU is …
• **No. 1 in the nation in adjusted defensive efficiency** (a number that takes into account schedule strength).
• **No. 2 in the nation in adjusted offensive efficiency.**
• **No. 1 in the nation in effective field goal percentage** (64.8 percent).
• **No. 1 in the nation in two-point field-goal percentage** (66.7 percent).
• **No. 1 in the nation in three-point field-goal percentage defense** (16.7 percent).
I know, I know. KU’s schedule is only ranked 226th according to KenPom. That’ll fix itself, as KU takes on KenPom’s 12th-ranked (Arizona), 46th-ranked (UCLA) and 21st-ranked (Memphis) teams over its next three games.
One other tidbit: KenPom now gives KU an 8.46-percent chance of going undefeated in the regular season and a 16.37-percent chance of going unbeaten in Big 12 play.
That’s definitely not a prediction, but it does show just how well the Jayhawks have performed statistically through five games this season.
As for the Ohio game, here’s a few of the impressive numbers (deep breath).
http://www2.kusports.com/videos/2010/nov/26/33547/
• **Even in a game with 73 possessions (well above the NCAA average), KU still allowed only 41 points.** That means Ohio managed just 0.56 points per possession, its worst offensive showing in at least 15 seasons.
• **Ohio’s eFG% of 23.7 percent also was the lowest for the team in at least 15 years.**
• **Ohio was 0-for-18 from three-point range**, its worst outside shooting performance since an 0-for-19 effort against St. Bonaventure on Dec. 5, 1997.
• **Ohio’s 41 points tied for the worst offensive showing in the team’s last 15 seasons.**
• **KU scored 1.34 points per possession, its second-best outing this year.**
It’s hard to overstate how good KU was Friday night.
**M.O.J. (Most Outstanding Jayhawk)**
Travis Releford probably played his best game as a Jayhawk, but it wasn’t enough to take this honor away from Marcus Morris.
The KU junior scored 26 points on just 14 field-goal attempts (he made 11 of them) in 24 minutes. He posted 1.30 points per possession used, and that’s while using a whopping 31.9 percent of KU’s possessions while he was on the floor. Marcus also was active on the boards, picking up 18.5 percent of available offensive rebounds and 14.4 percent of available defensive rebounds.
But he did double his turnover count for the season, as he had two against Ohio. Now, he has a whopping four turnovers in 126 minutes this season.
Marcus has managed to increase his aggressiveness without having his efficiency take any sort of a dip. Even when Josh Selby completes his suspension, KU’s offense should run through Marcus.
**Room for Improvement**
Uh, well, um … Here we go. KU only had steals on 5.5 percent of its defensive possessions, well below its season average of 12.7 percent.
Then again, KU had five steals but still forced 22 Ohio turnovers. (The Bobcats turned it over on 30.1 percent of their possessions). Ohio threw the ball away a lot, but the official scorer might have also missed a couple of KU steals.
So “room for improvement” goes to KU’s ball-swiping defenders. Or the official scorer. You make the call.
**Tough-Luck Line**
It wasn’t the best night for KU forward Thomas Robinson, who had been playing well coming in.
The sophomore had three points, two turnovers and four fouls (along with a technical foul for talking trash) in his nine minutes. He posted just 0.7 points per possession used and turned it over on two-thirds of his used possessions.
KU will need him to forget about the bad game quickly, as he’ll still be the Jayhawks’ first big man off the bench against Arizona.
**Bottom Line**
In the last blog, we talked about KU making the average teams go bad.
On Friday, the Jayhawks made a decent team go absolutely terrible.
If you’re a KU fan and you can’t appreciate what KU coach Bill Self and his team have accomplished through these first five games, then it might be time to find a different team or a different sport.
The Jayhawks have shown a level of dominance against inferior opponents so far this year that might be unprecedented in school history. KU’s average margin of victory is 40.8 points through five games. That’s unheard of at the Div. I level.
KU takes on an underrated Arizona team tonight, and KenPom lists the game as KU’s fourth-toughest left on the schedule.
Tonight, we’ll see how No. 1 responds to its toughest challenge of the season.
