Momentum?
The Jayhawks are looking to build some momentum with another strong performance in conference play following a total annihilation of Central Florida on Sunday afternoon. This time Kansas welcomes the Arizona State Sun Devils into Allen Fieldhouse for ASU’s first Big 12 game in Lawrence. ASU is led by former Dukie Bobby Hurley, now entering his 10th season as head coach for the Sun Devils and coming off a disappointing 14-18 season in their last season as members of the Pac12. Feeling a bit of heat on his coaching seat, Hurley went to work last offseason overhauling the roster and seems to have pulled it off fairly well. According to ESPN’s 2024 recruiting rankings, ASU finished with the 6th best class and that’s in addition to adding multiple players through the transfer portal.
The Sun Devils have had a solid start to the season as they currently sit 10-3 with losses to Gonzaga, Florida, and BYU in their Big 12 opener. They’re coming off a 20 point win over Colorado and they have a decent win against St. Mary’s from late November. They’ve also done a good job of sharing the scoring throughout the season with six players averaging 9 or more points per game and have been led in scoring by 5 different players this season. For comparison’s sake, Kansas has also been led by 5 different players in scoring but only have 3 players averaging more than 9 points per game. Last but not least, they’re another Big 12 team that has been better on the defensive end than on the offensive end. Torvik rates their defense as the 38th best in the country, opponents have struggled to get to the line and make 3s against them. Offensively, they play at an average pace and shoot quite a few 3s while also making them at a 37% clip.
Keys to the Game
- What Kansas team are we going to see? We’ve seen the ups and downs this year with solid wins over UNC, Michigan State, Duke, and then the domination of UCF over the weekend. However, we’ve also seen them look lethargic and lost in losses against West Virginia and Missouri. If we get the KU team that we saw over the weekend, expect good things. Hunter Dickinson was in control down low and the guards were active in both pushing the ball up the floor and in cutting to the basket when their defenders took a breath.
- Who wins the rebounding/paint battle? In KU’s losses to Creighton and West Virginia, the team didn’t get the second chance looks that can kick start a run when other shots aren’t falling. Against UCF, the Jayhawks had an offensive rebound percentage of 52.8. They won’t be that good again for a while but if they can pick up a few easy buckets here, it will be a good sign of the team playing with the energy we saw over the weekend and it’s likely a sign that Bidunga is getting enough minutes to change the game. Arizona State has a couple talented bigs that could be an issue in Basheer Jihad and Jayden Quaintance, controlling the paint will be key.
- Can KU keep the Sun Devils from staying alive with the 3 ball? The Jayhawks don’t have a problem with allowing their opponents to shoot it from deep and more often than not, it’s a solid defensive strategy. However, it can be risky if the opponent shoots the ball well like ASU. They’ve shot 50 more three-pointers on the year than Kansas while also making them at a slightly better percentage (37.6 to 35.2). If KU can limit the damage here, it’s good news.
Prediction: I don’t see KU losing two in a row at home, so we’ll go with 74-65 Jayhawks.