Postgame Report Card: Kansas 83, Seton Hall 79

By Matt Tait     Mar 17, 2018

Kansas guard Malik Newman (14) elevates to the bucket against Seton Hall guard Myles Powell (13) during the first half, Saturday, March 17, 2018 in Wichita, Kan.

Quick grades for five aspects of KU’s 83-79 2nd Round NCAA Tournament victory over Seton Hall in Wichita.

Offense: A
———-

Even on a night when leading scorer Devonte’ Graham shot 1-of-7 from the floor, the Jayhawks had enough offense to reach the Sweet 16. Malik Newman was terrific, finishing with 28 points on 8-of-14 shooting and the Jayhawks, after starting 3-of-13 from 3-point range, made 6 of their last 8 3-pointers to knock out the Pirates. The Jayhawks, as a team, shot 50 percent from the floor, 42.9 percent from 3-point range and got to the free throw line 10 more times than Seton Hall (26-16).

Defense: B-
———-

There were a few key stops and the Jayhawks forced Seton Hall into 15 turnovers — many of them coming in the key stretch that opened the game and gave Kansas control — but overall, the Jayhawks had very little answer for Angel Delgado, got beat up inside during the 18 minutes when Udoka Azubuike was not in the game and, according to KU coach Bill Self, did not do a very good job of making Seton Hall play bad at any point in the game. Still, they scrapped out enough key plays and made enough big shots to survive and advance.

By the Numbers: Kansas 83, Seton Hall 79.

Frontcourt: B+
————–

Mitch Lightfoot did all he could do but simply was not built to bang bodies with a man so much bigger and stronger than him in Delgado. And Silvio De Sousa too often looked lost on the floor again to play more than four minutes. Luckily for the Jayhawks, Azubuike proved that his injured left knee has made major improvement and he was able to gut out 22 crucial minutes to the tune of 10 points and 7 rebounds, neither number coming anywhere close to illustrating Azubuike’s impact on the game.

Backcourt: A
————

Malik Newman and Svi Mykhailiuk bounced back from sub-par nights in the opening round with big nights in this one, combing for 44 points to help pace the KU offense. Both players were at their best driving to the rim, which either led to tough buckets inside or trips to the free throw line. Lagerald Vick also had an under-the-radar solid game, finishing 5-of-9 from the floor for 13 points and four rebounds in 33 active minutes. Vick looked turned up all night and really appears to be playing an aggressive brand of basketball on both ends when it counts the most. Marcus Garrett had an off night and Devonte’ Graham did, as well, finishing with five times as many turnovers as made shots. But the play of Newman, Mykhailiuk and Vick more than carried the day for the Kansas backcourt and Graham dished nine assists to keep all of them involved.

Bench: A
——–

He started the second half, so Azubuike was only a part-time bench player on Saturday night. But boy were those bench minutes enormous. The big guy helped KU’s defense survive Delgado and also gave KU a real threat in the paint on the offensive end. He’s not fully recovered from that ailing left knee, but you never would’ve known that from watching him play. He was aggressive, played hard and attacked the ball and rim whenever possible. Azubuike’s play alone earned the bench an A. And, provided all goes as well next week as it did this week with his healing, that likely will be the last time we see him come off the bench for Kansas.


More news and notes from Kansas vs. Seton Hall



PREV POST

'It's been hard': How Silvio De Sousa keeps strong ties with family, Angola

NEXT POST

51845Postgame Report Card: Kansas 83, Seton Hall 79

Author Photo

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.