Postgame Report Card: Kansas 89, Davidson 71

By Matt Tait     Dec 17, 2016

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Kansas guard Devonte' Graham (4) gets in for a bucket past Davidson forward Peyton Aldridge (23) during the first half, Saturday, Dec. 17, 2016 at Sprint Center.

Quick grades for five aspects of KU’s 89-71 Sprint Center victory over Davidson on a cold and crummy Saturday night.

Offense: A
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The Jayhawks were good in the first half and even better in the second half, bailing out their 0-for-8 first-half three-point shooting slump with a 6-of-13 clip in the second half. Kansas shot .485 from the floor for the game and finished with 23 second-chance points on 15 offensive rebounds.

Defense: B
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KU’s first-half defense was slightly below average and its second half defense well above average. That rounded out to a solid B, trending toward a B+ because they saved their best for last and won the game with a strong defensive showing in the final 20 minutes.

Frontcourt: B+
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KU coach Bill Self was plenty pleased with the combination of 22 points and 16 rebounds in 50 minutes from four-headed monster Udoka Azubuike, Landen Lucas, Carlton Bragg Jr., and Mitch Lightfoot. That’s good enough for me.

Backcourt: A
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Four of KU’s five guards reached double digits and the unit combined for 67 of KU’s 89 points. But what earned them the A grade was their defense that swiped nine steals and frustrated the Wildcats into 36 percent shooting in the second half.

Bench: B
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Lucas, Bragg and Lightfoot all gave good minutes and Lagerald Vick played one good half. There was nothing overwhelming about the bench’s performance but it definitely was as solid as it needed to be.

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Written By Matt Tait

A native of Colorado, Matt moved to Lawrence in 1988 and has been in town ever since. He graduated from Lawrence High in 1996 and the University of Kansas in 2000 with a degree in Journalism. After covering KU sports for the University Daily Kansan and Rivals.com, Matt joined the World Company (and later Ogden Publications) in 2001 and has held several positions with the paper and KUsports.com in the past 20+ years. He became the Journal-World Sports Editor in 2018. Throughout his career, Matt has won several local and national awards from both the Associated Press Sports Editors and the Kansas Press Association. In 2021, he was named the Kansas Sportswriter of the Year by the National Sports Media Association. Matt lives in Lawrence with his wife, Allison, and two daughters, Kate and Molly. When he's not covering KU sports, he likes to spend his time playing basketball and golf, listening to and writing music and traveling the world with friends and family.