10 things to know about Kansas Jayhawks basketball for NCAA Tournament, March Madness
Here are 10 things to know about the top-seeded Kansas Jayhawks basketball team ahead of its first game of the NCAA Tournament in March Madness:
1. KU’s greatest strength is on the run
The Jayhawks rank sixth nationally in Ken Pomeroy’s adjusted offensive efficiency, which has been helped a lot by the team’s mastery in fast-break settings.
KU runs more often than an average NCAA team, and according to Synergy Sports Technology, it scores in the 89th percentile with those opportunities. That’s a considerable improvement from a season ago when the Jayhawks ran less while also ranking 68th percentile in transition scenarios.
2. Big on boards
This is coach Bill Self’s best offensive rebounding team in nearly a decade, as KU is 34th nationally in offensive rebounding percentage. That’s the best national rank for a Jayhawks team since 2013-14 — the Self team that featured top-three NBA picks Andrew Wiggins and Joel Embiid.
3. The defense is getting better ...
KU is 24th in Bart Torvik’s advanced defensive rankings, but it got to that high point with some late improvement. Since Feb. 1, KU has the 13th-best defense, according to Torvik, while rating as the third-best team overall.
4. And part of that is from an altered scheme
KU has recently adjusted to bring its big men further out on the perimeter to guard ball screens. Self has talked about doing this to keep opposing guards from having a chance to get a running start on drives; previously, KU had sagged its big men deeper in the lane.
Here’s a good example in KU’s last game against Texas Tech. Mitch Lightfoot incorrectly stays toward the lane on an early ball screen, with Self screaming at him from the sideline to correct his mistake. However, on a later ball screen the same possession, Lightfoot does come forward as instructed, and his presence helps KU create a deflection and steal.
5. Ochai has a hot spot
KU senior guard Ochai Agbaji — he became a consensus first-team All-America selection this week — has a location where he’s particularly lethal: the corners. According to CBB guide put together by Dylan Burkhardt, Agbaji’s 35 corner threes this season rank sixth-highest among all NCAA Tournament players. He’s also made 47% of those three-point attempts.
6. The Jayhawks aren’t deep ... and that’s probably OK
Self loaded his roster in the offseason, leading many analysts (like me!) to believe this might be the most depth he’d had in his 19 seasons at KU.
It hasn’t turned out that way. According to Pomeroy, KU ranks 298th in bench minutes while getting only 25% of its time on the court from reserves.
That, though, should not be a hindrance at this point in the season. Twenty-nine of the last 40 Final Four teams have ranked 200th or worse in bench minutes, while 17 of those squads were 300th or lower.
With longer media timeouts and officials less likely to put players in foul trouble at this critical stage, Self shouldn’t fret much about the fact that he’ll likely be leaning heavily on his starters from this point forward.
7. An unexpected post weapon
KU backup forward Mitch Lightfoot doesn’t take a lot of shots, but he’s proven to be efficient this year when he does get the opportunity.
According to Synergy, among players with at least 40 possessions ended on post-up opportunities, Lightfoot’s 1.37 points per possession ranks second out of all players nationally. No. 1 in the stat? That would be Iowa’s Keegan Murray, who was named an AP first-team All-American earlier this week.
8. Killing with freebies
KU forward David McCormack has excelled in an unusual way for a 6-foot-10 forward: with outstanding free-throw shooting.
Since 2010, 33 Jayhawks players attempted 50 free throws or more in conference play; McCormack’s 84% accuracy ranked second out of that group, behind only 2012-13 Ben McLemore — a guard whose calling card in the NBA has been his ability to shoot.
McCormack also is elite on the offensive glass, where he ranks third nationally in offensive rebound percentage. Only Purdue’s Zach Edey and Kentucky’s Oscar Tshiebwe are ahead of him in that category.
9. Don’t wait
Studies have shown that college basketball offenses generally get less efficient field-goal attempts later in the shot clock.
KU mostly has followed that rule, though this year’s team especially seems to need to avoid holding it until the end.
According to Hoop-Math.com, KU’s adjusted shooting percentage is 56% on attempts 1-10 seconds into the shot clock, 55.7% on tries between 11-20 seconds and 47% between 21 and 30 seconds.
The Jayhawks’ best shooter in the final 10 seconds of the shot clock? Among starters, it’s Agbaji, who’s has been helped by making 54% of his threes in those more-stressful settings.
10. Not bad company
Using Torvik’s site, you can look at which NCAA teams in the past have the most similar offensive and defensive numbers to this year’s Jayhawks. Here’s a look at the top 10.
There are some encouraging signs on there for KU. The most similar team — 2015-16 North Carolina — made the national championship game, while five of the nine who played in the NCAA Tournament reached the Final Four or better.
This story was originally published March 17, 2022 at 12:13 PM with the headline "10 things to know about Kansas Jayhawks basketball for NCAA Tournament, March Madness."
