Hey all.
I spent the last couple of days thinking about KU’s loss to Cincinnati in the second round of the Big 12 Tournament on Wednesday night. I remember talking to a couple of writers sitting next to me and we spent a little time just talking about how different it felt covering “that” particular game.
In losing to Cincinnati, 72-52, KU’s starting five consisted of Dajuan Harris, Jr., Johnny Furphy, Elmarko Jackson, Nicolas Timberlake, and KJ Adams, Jr.
With Kevin McCullar, Jr., and Hunter Dickinson watching from the bench due to minor injuries, I expected Kansas to struggle on Wednesday night. The Jayhawks trailed by 17 points in the first half, pulled to within two points in the second half, and ended up losing by 20 points in the second round of the Big 12 Tournament.
I’m not sure how everybody else felt, and I’m not being negative here, but when Kansas pulled to within two points of Cincinnati, the feeling just wasn’t the same as it was when Kansas rallied inside T-Mobile Center or the Sprint Center in previous years.
Kevin McCullar, Jr., wasn’t going to make a big play to push Kansas over the hump. Hunter Dickinson wasn’t going to make a big play to push Kansas over the hump. There would be no Remy Martin or Malik Newman type of performance against the Bearcats on Wednesday night.
Despite playing without its two best players, Kansas fought like hell and had a couple of chances to take the lead in the second half, but after the Jayhawks came up short on a couple of attempts, I believe KJ Adams, Jr., missed a jumper and then had his shot blocked, Cincinnati regained control and never looked back.
Much of Wednesday night was a struggle for Kansas. Self’s squad shot just 21-of-62 from the field, 3-of-20 from behind the arc, and attempted just 10 free throws (made seven).
Cincinnati was 28-of-73 from the field and 7-of-9 from the free-throw line on Wednesday night. However, the Bearcats also hit 9-of-26 shots from behind the arc and won the battle on the glass, 49-38.
I went back and looked at some numbers from some recent games.
Kansas (52): 3-of-20
Cincinnati (72): 9-of-26
Kansas (46): 3-of-21
Houston (76): 11-of-29
Kansas (74): 4-of-13
Baylor (82): 7-of-17
Kansas (68): 3-of-15
BYU (76): 13-of-34
Moving forward in the NCAA Tournament, Kansas MUST find a way to hit some shots from behind the arc, and if the Jayhawks continue to struggle from downtown, it could be a very short run through March.
“When you can't stretch it, it puts a lot of people around Hunter, but we had -- the bottom line is, you know, we haven't shot the ball well beyond the arc since the second game of the season,” said Kansas head coach Bill Self. “But what we have done is run really good offense and score a lot of twos, a lot! Probably as efficient as anybody in America inside the arc. But, you know, the bottom line is we need to be able to make six or seven threes. When you get outscored 15 to 30 points every game from beyond the arc, that's a lot of twos and you don't have enough opportunities to make those up.
“So, we do have to shoot it better,” he added. “Johnny has been in a slump obviously shooting the ball. And, you know, Nick shot it well on senior night and did tonight and Juan has to be able to make one out of two or one out of three from beyond the arc. We just didn't do that tonight. When we do have our full complement of guys and you put Kevin out there, we've got enough threats that we can stretch the defensive and run good offense.”
You all know what to expect when Kansas takes the court for its opening round game of the NCAA Tournament. You’ve all seen it a million times and probably have the script memorized. Kansas can count on a few guys who haven’t hit any shots all season to go crazy from behind the arc next Thursday or Friday. The blood starts pumping and the adrenaline is at an all-time high, which leads to guys going off against Kansas.
When it happens, and it's going to happen, Kansas simply has to answer on the other end. Hunter Dickinson, Dajuan Harris, Johnny Furphy, Jamari McDowell, Elmarko Jackson, Kevin McCullar, and Nicolas Timberlake are all capable of hitting shots from behind the arc.
I know about the numbers and percentages. I know that, as a group, this team has struggled from behind the arc this season. I also know that for Kansas to make a run, the guys mentioned above need to put those struggles from the regular season behind them and embrace this new start.
Honestly, what else can Self say to those guys? Build them up, make them believe, and then go out and deliver.
A challenge will be issued at some point before the opening round of the NCAA Tournament. Not long from now, we’ll see how this Kansas team responds under the bright lights of the NCAA Tournament.
It also needs to be said that Kansas, if everything goes as expected, will be a completely different team when the NCAA Tournament kicks off next week. The Jayhawks took the court against Cincinnati without two guys who average close to 20 points per game each.
Both Kevin McCullar, Jr., and Hunter Dickinson should be plenty rested when Kansas takes the court for its first NCAA Tournament game.
“Hunter for sure couldn't (play against Cincinnati),” said Self late on Wednesday night. “Kevin probably could have, but Hunter, when it popped out of place and the MRI and what the doctor said, he's got to pass some tests before we put him out there. But, you know, you could make a case that if this game was played on Saturday, could he have played? The answer may be yes. But he should be good to go by next week.
“Kevin, you know, he's probably practiced three times in the last four or five weeks,” said Self. “And he didn't practice after the K-State game and then felt good enough to play against Houston, at least that's what he said, and once he got out there realized it was a bad idea. So, whenever Hunter went out, to me it was an easy decision to sit Kevin. You know, you try your butt off to win a game, and with the risk of injuring him. It was an easy decision.”
Obviously, this season hasn’t played out the way everybody expected when Kansas was tabbed the No. 1 ranked team in college basketball before the start of the regular season. However, when complete and healthy, this team has proven that it is capable of beating any team in college basketball.
I’ve read some posts on here from people saying they can’t wait for the season to be over or this team won’t make it out of the first weekend or they don’t plan to watch, etc. I’ve got no idea what to expect when Kansas opens up its NCAA Tournament run. I mean, I just don’t have a feel, one way or the other, for this team right now.
However, If Kevin McCullar, Jr., and Hunter Dickinson return next week, which I expect, and if both are healthy, this Kansas team is capable of playing with and beating any team in college basketball.
I spent the last couple of days thinking about KU’s loss to Cincinnati in the second round of the Big 12 Tournament on Wednesday night. I remember talking to a couple of writers sitting next to me and we spent a little time just talking about how different it felt covering “that” particular game.
In losing to Cincinnati, 72-52, KU’s starting five consisted of Dajuan Harris, Jr., Johnny Furphy, Elmarko Jackson, Nicolas Timberlake, and KJ Adams, Jr.
With Kevin McCullar, Jr., and Hunter Dickinson watching from the bench due to minor injuries, I expected Kansas to struggle on Wednesday night. The Jayhawks trailed by 17 points in the first half, pulled to within two points in the second half, and ended up losing by 20 points in the second round of the Big 12 Tournament.
I’m not sure how everybody else felt, and I’m not being negative here, but when Kansas pulled to within two points of Cincinnati, the feeling just wasn’t the same as it was when Kansas rallied inside T-Mobile Center or the Sprint Center in previous years.
Kevin McCullar, Jr., wasn’t going to make a big play to push Kansas over the hump. Hunter Dickinson wasn’t going to make a big play to push Kansas over the hump. There would be no Remy Martin or Malik Newman type of performance against the Bearcats on Wednesday night.
Despite playing without its two best players, Kansas fought like hell and had a couple of chances to take the lead in the second half, but after the Jayhawks came up short on a couple of attempts, I believe KJ Adams, Jr., missed a jumper and then had his shot blocked, Cincinnati regained control and never looked back.
Much of Wednesday night was a struggle for Kansas. Self’s squad shot just 21-of-62 from the field, 3-of-20 from behind the arc, and attempted just 10 free throws (made seven).
Cincinnati was 28-of-73 from the field and 7-of-9 from the free-throw line on Wednesday night. However, the Bearcats also hit 9-of-26 shots from behind the arc and won the battle on the glass, 49-38.
I went back and looked at some numbers from some recent games.
Kansas (52): 3-of-20
Cincinnati (72): 9-of-26
Kansas (46): 3-of-21
Houston (76): 11-of-29
Kansas (74): 4-of-13
Baylor (82): 7-of-17
Kansas (68): 3-of-15
BYU (76): 13-of-34
Moving forward in the NCAA Tournament, Kansas MUST find a way to hit some shots from behind the arc, and if the Jayhawks continue to struggle from downtown, it could be a very short run through March.
“When you can't stretch it, it puts a lot of people around Hunter, but we had -- the bottom line is, you know, we haven't shot the ball well beyond the arc since the second game of the season,” said Kansas head coach Bill Self. “But what we have done is run really good offense and score a lot of twos, a lot! Probably as efficient as anybody in America inside the arc. But, you know, the bottom line is we need to be able to make six or seven threes. When you get outscored 15 to 30 points every game from beyond the arc, that's a lot of twos and you don't have enough opportunities to make those up.
“So, we do have to shoot it better,” he added. “Johnny has been in a slump obviously shooting the ball. And, you know, Nick shot it well on senior night and did tonight and Juan has to be able to make one out of two or one out of three from beyond the arc. We just didn't do that tonight. When we do have our full complement of guys and you put Kevin out there, we've got enough threats that we can stretch the defensive and run good offense.”
You all know what to expect when Kansas takes the court for its opening round game of the NCAA Tournament. You’ve all seen it a million times and probably have the script memorized. Kansas can count on a few guys who haven’t hit any shots all season to go crazy from behind the arc next Thursday or Friday. The blood starts pumping and the adrenaline is at an all-time high, which leads to guys going off against Kansas.
When it happens, and it's going to happen, Kansas simply has to answer on the other end. Hunter Dickinson, Dajuan Harris, Johnny Furphy, Jamari McDowell, Elmarko Jackson, Kevin McCullar, and Nicolas Timberlake are all capable of hitting shots from behind the arc.
I know about the numbers and percentages. I know that, as a group, this team has struggled from behind the arc this season. I also know that for Kansas to make a run, the guys mentioned above need to put those struggles from the regular season behind them and embrace this new start.
Honestly, what else can Self say to those guys? Build them up, make them believe, and then go out and deliver.
A challenge will be issued at some point before the opening round of the NCAA Tournament. Not long from now, we’ll see how this Kansas team responds under the bright lights of the NCAA Tournament.
It also needs to be said that Kansas, if everything goes as expected, will be a completely different team when the NCAA Tournament kicks off next week. The Jayhawks took the court against Cincinnati without two guys who average close to 20 points per game each.
Both Kevin McCullar, Jr., and Hunter Dickinson should be plenty rested when Kansas takes the court for its first NCAA Tournament game.
“Hunter for sure couldn't (play against Cincinnati),” said Self late on Wednesday night. “Kevin probably could have, but Hunter, when it popped out of place and the MRI and what the doctor said, he's got to pass some tests before we put him out there. But, you know, you could make a case that if this game was played on Saturday, could he have played? The answer may be yes. But he should be good to go by next week.
“Kevin, you know, he's probably practiced three times in the last four or five weeks,” said Self. “And he didn't practice after the K-State game and then felt good enough to play against Houston, at least that's what he said, and once he got out there realized it was a bad idea. So, whenever Hunter went out, to me it was an easy decision to sit Kevin. You know, you try your butt off to win a game, and with the risk of injuring him. It was an easy decision.”
Obviously, this season hasn’t played out the way everybody expected when Kansas was tabbed the No. 1 ranked team in college basketball before the start of the regular season. However, when complete and healthy, this team has proven that it is capable of beating any team in college basketball.
I’ve read some posts on here from people saying they can’t wait for the season to be over or this team won’t make it out of the first weekend or they don’t plan to watch, etc. I’ve got no idea what to expect when Kansas opens up its NCAA Tournament run. I mean, I just don’t have a feel, one way or the other, for this team right now.
However, If Kevin McCullar, Jr., and Hunter Dickinson return next week, which I expect, and if both are healthy, this Kansas team is capable of playing with and beating any team in college basketball.
