Quick grades for five aspects of KU’s 96-58 rout of Toledo on Tuesday night at Allen Fieldhouse.
Offense: A+
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I mean, the Jayhawks shot 75 percent in the first half, 9-of-11 from 3-point range, and nearly topped the 100-point mark. This is simply one of the most impressive offensive stretches in recent memory for a KU team.
Defense: A
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While KU’s offensive output will draw the headlines and get most of the talk in the days to come, the defense should not be overlooked. KU was terrific early on, forcing the Rockets into a season-high 14 turnovers in the first half and forcing a pair of shot-clock violations. It wasn’t just the numbers that illustrated how strong KU was defensively in this one. At the start of the second half, you would’ve had a hard time determining which team was up 29 and which was down 29 by the effort put forth by Kansas.
Frontcourt: A
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Udoka Azubuike and Mitch Lightfoot were solid but unspectacular on a night when it really didn’t matter much what they did. Lightfoot gave great minutes early, taking a charge and recording a tip-in, and Azubuike delivered plenty of his signature, rim-rattling dunks that showed just how big the difference is between Kansas talent and Toledo talent.
Backcourt: A
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Graham delivered a career-high 35 points and almost could not miss. Svi Mykhailiuk and Malik Newman were pretty good, too, even if you didn’t notice. That strong performance from the KU defense also was spearheaded by the backcourt.
Bench: A
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Lightfoot was solid, Marcus Garrett packed a lot into his 24 minutes, including just one shot, and the KU walk-ons got in on the fun once again.
