Hey all,
Well, as most of you already know, Carlton Bragg, Jr., made the trip to Manhattan on Sunday for Monday night’s showdown against Kansas State. I’m going to provide a few thoughts and opinions on that a much more in this thread.
1) First and foremost, I actually expect Carlton Bragg, Jr., to make his return to the court against Kansas State on Monday night. Now, whether that happens or not, I’ve got no idea. Still, and to be honest with you, I’d be shocked if Bragg, Jr., doesn’t play.
Truthfully, I just don’t see him making the trip if Coach Bill Self doesn’t intend to play him. However, it could also be a case where this is just part of the process for Coach Self and it’s the next step in the process, but I just don’t see the being the case.
Hey, I’ve been wrong before and I’ll be wrong again in the future, but I fully expect Bragg, Jr., to play against Kansas State.
2) If Kansas hopes to avoid a two-game losing streak, a number of things must happen against Kansas State. One of the most important is KU’s ability to hit free throws on Monday night. Now, you all know that Bramlage Coliseum is going to be absolutely wild on Big Monday.
If Carlton Bragg, Jr., makes his return, Bramlage Coliseum is going to be even more wild with the ball tips off a little after 8:00 CST. If the game is close, which I expect, the difference for Kansas could be its ability to convert from the free-throw line down the stretch.
On Saturday afternoon, Kansas saw its winning streak (51-games) inside AFH come to an end, and a big reason for that loss was due to KU’s struggles from the free-throw line, along with ISU hitting 18 shots from behind the arc.
Kansas, without question, will have to be much better from the free-throw line on Monday night.
3) I know that this isn’t going to surprise anybody on here, but if Kansas turns the ball over 18-20 times tonight, it’s likely going to be a long night and KU will drop its second straight game. The Jayhawks were absolutely careless with the basketball at home against ISU and it’s one of the reasons they lost to the Cyclones.
Obviously, turnovers are one thing, but live ball turnovers are the real killer and something that Kansas must avoid on Monday night. Bramlage Coliseum will already be lit later tonight, so there is absolutely no reason to give the sellout crowd more reason to raise the roof with the Jayhawks in stand.
4) Kansas, without question, is going to have to play tough tonight. For anybody that has been to Manhattan, you know exactly what I’m talking about. The crowd, should Carlton Bragg, Jr., play, is going to be as nasty as it’s ever been when he takes the court. In fact, even if he doesn’t play, he’s going to be on the bench and is going to be a prime target for the KSU fan base.
Also, I expect Svi Mykhaikuk to get a target as well. While he had no control over the situation, the refs absolutely blew it when they did call Mykhailiuk for traveling in the first meeting between Kansas and Kansas State. Sure, the game would have gone to overtime, but truly believe that Kansas would have emerged victorious in the extra session, but that is neither here nor there.
The fact is, Mykhailiuk drove to the basket with time running off the clock and converted the game winning layup. KSU fans, not surprisingly, were quite upset and they won’t Svi forget about that tonight.
5) Playing tough, at least to me, also means being aggressive on the glass and coming up with the 50/50 balls. Talent alone won’t get it done tonight for Kansas. The Jayhawks are going to have to outwork the Wildcats and come ready to play on both ends of the court.
Remember, this is a Kansas State team that is coming off a big road win against Baylor on Saturday afternoon. The Wildcats, without question, will be ready to play on Monday night. The Jayhawks will have to match their intensity and take the court ready to battle.
With so few bodies coming off the bench, Kansas, despite the short turnaround, will have to be dialed in and ready for battle in Manhattan.
"When you're playing six guys, I think short turnarounds are hard, to be honest with you,” said Kansas head coach Bill Self. “So I can't say that it's good, but I'm not going say that it's bad either. We will see how we react going over to Manhattan, which I'm sure will be a good atmosphere, but today we didn't handle it. We had control of the game and gave them confidence and then down the stretch they really, really performed well."
