Lubbock, Texas — Quick grades for five aspects of the Kansas basketball team’s 66-62 win over Texas Tech on Saturday.
Offense: B-
——-
• The Jayhawks missed a lot of shots in the first half (39% shooting), but still headed to halftime up 32-24 versus the Red Raiders.
Points in the paint made that possible, as KU outscored Tech, 14-6, in the first 20 minutes.
That helped offset KU’s 3-point shooting, with the No. 1 team in the country going just 3-for-12 in the first half.
• Although the Jayhawks turned it over 7 times in the first half, Tech only scored 2 points off those miscues.
• A slow offensive start to the second half (2-for-11 shooting, 0-for-2 3-pointers, six minutes in) kept Tech right in the thick of it with KU.
• KU shot 43% in the second half and on the day outscored Tech, 38-16, in the paint. The Jayhawks shot 1-for-5 on second half 3-pointers.
Defense: B
——-
• KU’s guards occasionally had trouble cutting off the long strides of Terrence Shannon Jr., when the 6-foot-6 freshman sought out driving lanes, but the visitors mostly proved effective at keeping Red Raiders out of the paint.
• The Jayhawks ran into even more trouble defending the arc. The Red Raiders opened 4-for-9 from 3-point range 12 minutes in, before KU only allowed 3 more attempts (all misses) before intermission.
• As has been on the case on the road all season long, it was KU’s defense that made a victory possible. Even without a gaudy amount of steals and blocks, the Jayhawks just made it difficult for the Red Raiders to score — a must in a hostile environment versus a well-coached team.
• Tech, after shooting 30.3% from the field in the first 20 minutes, however, came out guns blazing in the second half. Starting 4-for-5 from the floor, Tech, after trailing by as many as 8, tied the game at 37.
• The Red Raiders shot 37% on the day and went 8-for-26 on 3-pointers.
Frontcourt: B
———
• Udoka Azubuike drew tons of attention from Tech defenders whenever KU could get him the ball in the paint, but the senior center mostly handled those situations well, even after a couple of potentially discouraging turnovers early on.
Azubuike scored 8 of his 15 points in the first half, and executed some nice passes out of the post to open shooters.
The big man played his final regular season game for KU, posted another double-double, with 11 rebounds.
Backcourt: B
——–
• Devon Dotson came out attacking, scoring two of KU’s first four baskets off dribble attacks that got him layups.
In the midst of a terrific atmosphere and a tight game early on, Dotson’s pick and roll with Azubuike for a dunk, when the big man already had a couple turnovers in the paint, felt like an important moment for the offense.
Even better for the Jayhawks’ chances, Dotson often set up teammates for good looks at Tech, too, with 4 assists on KU’s first 10 field goals.
A surefire first-team All-Big 12 guard, Dotson didn’t let a stepback air-balled 3-pointer to open the second half ruin his day. The sophomore point guard was driving to finish at the rim over length a minute later.
Dotson on a 6-for-15 shooting day, ultimately was productive, putting up 17 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists, while struggling from time to time with turnovers (5).
• Marcus Garrett, always the glue guy, provided KU with stellar defense, great effort on the glass and leadership.
His perfect entry pass into Azubuike with 2-plus minutes left gave KU a crucial basket in crunch time. In the final minute, he drove in for a clutch layup that put KU up 4.
A junior guard, Garrett finished with 9 points,, 2 assists and 9 rebounds.
• Isaiah Moss hit his first 3-pointer with 6:38 left in the first half. And though he missed his next 2 attempts in the half, KU functioned well with him on the floor, because Tech defenders have to respect him as a long-range threat.
Moss put up 3 points and went 1-for-5 from deep
• Ochai Agbaji knocked down a right corner 3-pointer early on, and every time that someone other than Moss or Christian Braun connects from downtown, that’s a good sign for the Jayhawks’ offensive potential in the weeks ahead. However, his next three 3-point tries misfired.
What helped Agbaji stand out, though, was his willingness to keep making effort plays when his shots weren’t falling. His hustle in transition to follow a Dotson miss on a toughly contested layup paid off, as Agbaji fushed a follow jam.
He also hit a timely 3-pointer under the 10-minute mark of the second half, with the Red Raiders surging and the crowd giving them even more life.
The sophomore guard posted 12 points and 6 rebounds in the regular season finale.
Bench: B+
—–
• David McCormak harnessed his energy well in the first half when he came in to give Azubuike a breather. The backup big asserted himself to look for shots and hit the offensive glass. Even though he needs to finish some of the looks he got inside as a result of his approach, he gave KU more positives than negatives.
McCormack got on the floor to secure a key defensive rebound in the second half, with a little more than 7 minutes to go, leading to a transition layup for Dotson.
KU’s backup big provided 5 points and 6 rebounds.
• Braun delivered what was a rare basket for KU early on in the first half. Spotting up in the left corner, he attacked a closeout off the bounce to seek out a layup, and he drew a foul for an old-fashioned 3-point play.
The freshman guard gave KU 5 points and 4 rebounds, and finished a must-have fast-break layup — set up by his steal — smoothly with less than 1:30 left.
• Tech’s reserves were a bit more impactful, overall, than KU’s on a heated March afternoon, and Tech prevailed in bench points, 16-10.
