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On its worst defensive night of the year, Kansas still came away with an 82-78 victory over Colorado.
You can take that one of two ways. I think it’s a positive for KU.
It’s been proven over the years that the teams that fare the best in the NCAA Tournament are the most balanced teams. It makes sense.
To get to the Final Four, a team has to win in different types of games. One team might be a slow-it-down, defensive specialist, like Nebraska, while two days later, it could be a penetrating, quick, guard-oriented team like Colorado.
Though KU was far from perfect against both of those teams this year, the Jayhawks showed that they could win in vastly different ways.
Against Nebraska, KU won by hunkering down and picking up its own defense.
Against Colorado on Tuesday, KU defeated a great CU offense by elevating its own offense even more.
In a relatively slow game (65 possessions), the Jayhawks allowed 1.20 points per possession to the Buffaloes on Tuesday, the most allowed by KU since the 2008-09 season.
For most teams, that effort would probably result in a loss; KU still managed to turn it into a road win.
KU was spectacular offensively against CU, putting up 1.26 points per possession, which was its second-best offensive showing this year behind the Baylor game.
The Jayhawks also were great on the glass, pulling down 38.7 percent of the offensive rebounds — again, second best of the Big 12 season behind the Baylor contest.
Listening to CU coach Tad Boyle talk afterwards, he didn’t seem upset with his team’s effort or his team’s defense, despite the Jayhawks making more than half their shots.
KU just out-Colorado’ed Colorado on Tuesday.
And the Jayhawks showed the ability to simply outscore another team if it has to — a skill that might be needed against a good offensive team during a tournament game in March.
**M.O.J. (Most Outstanding Jayhawk)**
We have a clear-cut winner here, and it’s freshman Josh Selby.
After a few tough offensive games in a row, Selby starred for KU on Tuesday, posting 1.59 points per possession used while ending a high number of KU’s possessions (24.6 percent). KU scored at least one point on 55.2 percent of the possessions he used, which was his second-highest mark of the year.
Selby also posted his highest assist percentage as a Jayhawk, assisting on 44.9 percent of KU’s made field goals while he was in the game.
The 6-foot-2 guard also contributed on the boards, grabbing 16.5 percent of the available defensive rebounds and 5.1 percent of the available offensive rebounds while he was in.
Though a turned ankle limited his effectiveness late, Selby’s early-game scoring helped the Jayhawks maintain a lead when they were having problems stopping Colorado defensively.
**Room for Improvement**
The KU guards could not stop Colorado’s guards, especially on dribble penetration.
Going down the line, nearly every CU guard had a great offensive night. Alec Burks put up 1.21 points per possession used, while ending a Michael Jordan-esque 35.4 percent of CU’s possessions.
Cory Higgins had 1.15 point per possessions used, while Levi Knutson had 1.73. Even Nate Tomlinson, who hadn’t hit a field goal in his last five games, posted 2.06 points per possession used while making 3 of 6 field goals.
KU’s perimeter defense also didn’t force CU into mistakes. The Jayhawks forced turnovers on just 9.2 percent of the Buffs’ possessions, their worst mark in a game this year.
Colorado’s offense is difficult to guard, as Burks and Higgins both are gifted penetrators and shooters.
One still wouldn’t have expected Colorado to have scored that easily against a KU defense that ranked as one of the best in the nation coming into the game.
**Tough-Luck Line**
Let’s start with a disclaimer here, as this is going to be an unfair “tough-luck line” as nearly every Jayhawk had impressive offensive statistics against Colorado.
The two candidates here are Markieff Morris and Tyrel Reed, though I can make a great case against either being selected here.
Markieff was the only KU player to not post at least one point per possession used, as he posted 0.55 points per possession used while ending 18.9 percent of KU’s possessions.
Still, his rebounding was one of the biggest keys to the game. Markieff grabbed 19.8 percent of the available offensive rebounds and 37.1 percent of the available defensive rebounds.
In a game where both coaches said that second-chance points were the difference (KU had 21, while CU had two), Markieff was a big reason that the Jayhawks dominated that facet.
Reed, meanwhile, posted 1.03 points per possession used, which was the second-lowest on the team Tuesday.
Somewhat unexpectedly, Reed ended a huge percentage of KU’s possessions (29.6 percent), which is more than double the number of possessions he normally uses. That’s not a good thing on an off shooting night. He also had a season-high three turnovers in 27 minutes.
Still, Reed helped the Jayhawks in other ways. Like Markieff, he rebounded well, pulling down 14.3 percent of the available offensive rebounds and 10.2 percent of the available defensive rebounds. He also hit two of the biggest free throws of the game with 28 seconds left after missing a couple earlier in the game.
I’m going with Reed here, simply because he used up an uncharacteristic amount of possessions when he wasn’t one of the most efficient players on the team. On any other night, he wouldn’t have even been in the running for this distinction.
**Bottom Line**
On a night when KU’s defense was poor, the Jayhawks won by playing well offensively and thriving in one defensive statistic: rebounding.
KU pulled down 86.2 percent of the available defensive rebounds — its best mark in the last two seasons and the sixth-best mark during KU coach Bill Self’s eight years at KU. And that was without Thomas Robinson, who would have been a great matchup against the undersized Buffs.
The Jayhawks are one of just eight teams currently ranked in the top 25 in adjusted offensive and defensive efficiency, and one of just four teams ranked in the top 15 in both (13th offense; fourth defense).
That kind of balance allows the Jayhawks to be able to beat many different styles — and should make the Jayhawks one of the most dangerous teams in the nation come NCAA Tournament time.
