Three games in three days… That’s what the Jayhawks will have played following Saturday’s Big 12 championship game against Iowa State, a destination they reached with a 62-52 victory over fourth-seeded Baylor in Friday’s semifinals.
There was some talk among fans about whether KU, which is banged up at a lot of different positions, would be better off to lose early in the Big 12 tourney so it could get some rest ahead of next week’s NCAA Tournament run.
But I think this is the better outcome. KU’s confidence has risen and Perry Ellis has returned and now knows what he can do with that knee brace. Both are great news for the Jayhawks, who more than any KU team in recent memory, need to have a lot of things lined up just right to play their best basketball.
Quick takeaway
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It’s very clear that this team understands the importance of defense. They’re offensively challenged in a couple of ways and, unless they catch lightning in a bottle or enjoy a ridiculously hot shooting night (which could come) this group of guys really seems to have figured out the recipe they need to stir together to win games. It includes great effort and energy, a lot of toughness and some grind-it-out plays on both ends. It also includes mistakes, which are going to come, but if you think about it these guys actually do a pretty decent job of playing through those and moving on to the next play.
Three reasons to smile
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**1 – KU’s defensive intensity and overall effort was fantastic from start to finish** and the Jayhawks clearly answered the challenge laid out by Bill Self one night earlier. Now that Kansas is in the Big 12 title game and will be playing for its life in every game that follows it, it will be very interesting to see if this squad finally brings that energy to the table without being called out to do so. Perry Ellis’ return certainly had something to do with lifting the entire team’s intensity.
**2 – KU’s defensive game plan was so solid and so simple.** It basically involved throwing bodies at players and doubling the post in an attempt to make Baylor over-think, over-pass and panic. I don’t know if Baylor ever panicked, but they definitely were affected by KU’s active defense and it showed up in the form of missed shots all over the place. Baylor made just 4 of 22 three-pointers, but also missed from point-blank range and did not convert very many of the 14 offensive rebounds it got. The fact that Kansas out-rebounded Baylor without Cliff Alexandder and with Perry Ellis at less than 100 percent shows you what kind of team effort Friday’s victory was.
**3 – Hunter Mickelson continues to impress.** He only played six minutes and was probably too overmatched physically to be out there for much longer than that, but you couldn’t exactly tell that by watching him. All he did was score a bucket on a nifty reverse layup, block two shots — including Baylor big man Rico Gathers in a one-on-one situation — and snag two steals. He’s playing in the NCAA Tournament. How much depends on how the other guys play.
Three reasons to sigh
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**1 – Too many turnovers.** And it was not really the number that was troubling, (though 18 is crazy high) it was the way many of them came. Too many times KU just coughed it up right to a Baylor defender or got too sped up and lost control. That can kill seasons from this point on. Luckily for Kansas, the Bears were equally as careless with the ball on Friday, and a good chunk of that had to do with the KU defense.
**2 – KU’s Wayne Selden was great in this one, especially in terms of just finding ways to put points on the board, but he was just 6-of-12 from the free throw line** and the Jayhawks, as a whole, missed 10 free throws. The off night from the line never created grave danger, but Kansas would not have even had to sweat this one out at all had they just made five or six more from the line.
**3 – Kelly Oubre and Perry Ellis knocked in the first two three-pointers Kansas attempted on Friday night but the Jayhawks finished just 1 for their next 10** and went home with a 3-of-12 shooting night from three-point range. Not awful. And you can bet these guys felt good about seeing a couple of them finally fall. But the problem is not fully fixed and probably won’t be until Wayne Selden and Brannen Greene find their strokes again.
One for the road
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KU’s semifinal victory over Baylor on Friday night:
• Made Kansas 26-7 on the season, giving the Jayhawks 26 wins for the eighth time in the last nine seasons.
• Improved KU to 11-7 in games away from Allen Fieldhouse (5-6 in true road games and 5-1 on neutral floors).
• Jumped the Jayhawks’ record in the Big 12 Championship to 19-16 in conference tournament semifinal games (11-6 in the Big 12 era).
• Moved Kansas into the conference tourney finals for the 11th time in Big 12 history and 19th time overall.
• Pushed KU’s record in 68-25 in conference tournament play and 38-9 in the Big 12 Championship.
• Improved Kansas’ record in Sprint Center to 27-5 all-time and 3-0 this season.
• Moved Self to 351-76 while at Kansas, 33-10 in conference tournament action (24-5 while at KU in the Big 12 tournament) and 558-181 overall.
• Made KU 2,152-829 all-time.
Next up
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KU will play in tonight’s Big 12 title game against No. 2 seed Iowa State at 5 p.m. KU and ISU split the regular season and got both games out of the way by mid-January.
