Kansas proved up for the so-called Big 12/SEC Challenge Saturday at Allen Fieldhouse, where the No. 5-ranked Jayhawks followed up a road loss at Oklahoma by [taking care of Texas A&M][1].
The Jayhawks’ 15-2 advantage in fast-break points stood out, for sure, but there were plenty of other numbers that told the story of a 79-68 victory over the Aggies.
Here are five statistics that leapt off the box score for KU.
3-point weaponry
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The Jayhawks cashed in on at least 12 3-pointers for the ninth time this season in their latest home win.
Connecting on 12 of 26 from downtown versus Texas A&M, KU’s 46.2% accuracy — a more-than-welcome success rate — was only the seventh-best shooting display of the season for the marksmen of Kansas, currently hitting 40.7% on the year.
As often has been the case at Allen Fieldhouse, KU came out firing for an early lead. Four different Jayhawks had drained a shot from beyond the arc before the midway point of the first half.
In the first five minutes, Kansas went 4-for-6 on 3-pointers, with both sophomore Malik Newman and senior Svi Mykhailiuk knocking down a pair. This season, KU is now 28-for-43 (65.1 percent) on 3-pointers taken in the first five minutes of games inside the fieldhouse.
Making the opponent pay
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For the second straight game KU thrived off of its opponent’s mistakes.
Although scoring 22 points off 16 Oklahoma turnovers wasn’t enough for a Jayhawks road win four days earlier, they put the Aggies in a double-digit hole early by routinely feasting on A&M’s giveaways.
KU benefited from 14 Aggies turnovers to the tune of 24 points. A&M, though, only managed 5 points off KU’s 9 turnovers.
The Jayhawks’ 19-point advantage in the category was the most since throttling Toledo and out-scoring the Rockets by 25 in points off turnovers.
Over its last six games, KU has averaged 17.7 points off turnovers
Marcus Garrett’s 2nd-half scoring
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The same freshman who had scored 6 or fewer points in each of KU’s previous 15 games led the team in scoring during the second half against A&M.
Marcus Garrett, who entered averaging 3.9 points on 42% shooting and 19% 3-point accuracy, made all four of his shot attempts in the second half — including a 3 from the right corner — to give Kansas 9 points in 11 minutes off the bench.
Garrett’s scoring outburst proved timely, as well, with typical leading scorer Devonte’ Graham going 0-for-7 in the half.
The 6-foot-5 freshman guard’s 9 points in the win were the most for Garrett since scoring 10 versus Oakland in late November. His career high of 13 came Nov. 21 against Texas Southern.
An effective driver for KU off the bench, Garrett had made just 5 of 27 3-pointers (18.5%) before confidently draining one off a Graham pass against the Aggies.
No letdown
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In five of their previous six games the Jayhawks led by double digits at some point. Each time that KU built at least a 10-point cushion, though, it resulted in a single-digit win or a loss (at OU).
Kansas had no such issues in the Big 12/SEC Challenge. Once Graham knocked down a 3-pointer with 9:58 to play in the first half, the home team had a double-digit lead for good. That’s right, A&M, didn’t even cut it back to single digits at any point during the final 29:58 of play.
KU’s ability to keep an opponent at bay led to its first double-digit win since beating Stanford, 75-54, on Dec. 21.
Not many freebies
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Free throws were the primary subject most who follow KU basketball wanted to talk about earlier this week, in wake of Oklahoma’s Hack-A-Dok strategy and the free-throw struggles of the Jayhawks’ starting center, Udoka Azubuike.
However, Azubuike didn’t get a single shot at the foul line during his 22 minutes.
The rest of his teammates didn’t get many free-throw tries, either. Kansas attempted just 11 as a team, making 7. It was the fewest free-throw attempts for the Jayhawks since Big 12 play began.
In league games, KU is averaging 20.8 free throw attempts per game and 13.9 makes (66.9%).
[1]: http://www2.kusports.com/news/2018/jan/27/jayhawks-speedier-sizable-aggies-79-68-victory/
