Statistical Rearview: Kansas vs. Baylor

When is a win no longer a win?  During last nights game two camps emerged during the course of the game.  On one side we had the "it's going to be fine, we'll pull this out" group. This side probably leans toward the one game at a time philosophy and strongly believes that coach Bill Self will eventually put the pieces together and get things working the way they should when it counts.

On the other side we had the, "it's not about one game, it's about how this team looks on a day to day basis" group.  Here we have the folks who generally look at the body of work.  They probably see a Kansas team that blows out bad teams but struggles with decent ones. These are the folks who don't believe this works like a light switch, they don't believe anyone can turn it on and off whenever they choose.

Without a doubt Baylor is good, but how many can honestly say they felt like Kansas played a solid game?  Which group is right?  The one game at a time, or the body of work.  Is a win a win every single time? or is it reasonable to begin to expect a high level of intensity and focus in every game?  Regardless of whether the shots are falling or the other team is shooting lights out, shouldn't the intensity and focus reach some consistency?  Shouldn't the mental mistakes and errors be kept to a minimum? 

It's a long season, but sometimes it's not long enough.  The question at this moment, for me at least, is whether Kansas can put together the team chemistry and mental toughness to go with the talent at hand night in and night out.  If they can do this, they have the potential to be a very good team.  If they can't, things could get interesting.

Plain and simple Baylor shot well, specifically LaceDarius Dunn shot very well.  In terms of eFG% the Bears shot 12.5 ticks higher than the Jayhawks.  It doesn't take a brain surgeon to say this, but in close games where other teams shoot above average, Kansas struggles to go blow for blow.  Do you want to be a Mike Tyson, go down swinging type fighter or do you want to be a technical boxer that makes life very difficult for his opponent in the ring? Kansas clearly is at it's best when it takes the latter approach primarily because Sherron Collins is the only proven punch that can be thrown consistently.  Not to mention, defense never has an off night if you bring the same level of tenacity to the table.  The '07-'08 team understood that.

After my rant about defense of course I get to point out that Baylor turned the ball over 20 times last night.  15 of those on steals by the Jayhawks.  Solid job in this department by Kansas.  The Jayhawks capitalized on a team that likes to run, push the ball and often leaves some out there to be taken. 

From a rebounding standpoint, Kansas again finds themselves in a hole.   Overall it was a slow rebounding night for both sides as turnovers and made buckets dominated the evening.  Still when they were there for the taking, Baylor grabbed more.  Kansas usually wins this area and it's one I'm fairly confident in, however there are definitely some very intense and scrappy teams coming up(K-State, Missouri) that will push Kansas in this department.

Free throw shooting rate, pretty much a wash in this one.  Ultimately Baylor had enough empty possessions and Kansas took care of the ball.  The result is 14 more shots on the night for Kansas resulting in a win.  A good win, but not a great win...then again, maybe that's just who we are.

Stat	Game		Season Avg		Opp Season Avg
Points	75	81	79	85	63	61
FG Att	48	62	57	59	60	59
FG Made	25	27	28	29	22	21
FG Pct	52.1	43.5	50.1	49.8	36.5	36.3
FT Att	19	25	19	24	18	18
FT Made	15	19	13	17	11	12
FT Pct	78.9	76.0	67.0	70.8	62.9	67.7
3pt FG Att	21	21	19	19	22	19
3pt FG Made	10	8	8	8	7	6
3pt FG Pct	47.6	38.1	41.2	41.8	33.6	31.2
Rebounds	34	29	42	40	31	33
Off Rebs	9	14	13	12	12	12
Def Rebs	25	15	29	28	18	20
Team Rebs		3	2	2	4	3
Assists	13	18	15	18	12	12
Steals	5	15	5	9	6	6
Blocks	7	0	7	6	1	3
Turnovers	20	7	14	12	11	15
Fouls	21	17	17	18	17	20

Individual player impacts bring us back to the unbalanced days of old.  A whole lot of Sherron on the night.  Cole still lingering at his sophomore level of production.  Xavier good but not great. 

The biggest bright spot was and continues to be Marcus Morris.  Now this is a trend I can get behind.  Ever since he found himself not starting against Nebraska, McMorris has elevated his play to a level Kansas needs in order to be very good.  Now, if we can just get the rest of the group to match that level.  Is Marcus Morris the savior? No he isn't, but he is the example right now.  The example of playing hard, executing and putting yourself in a position to succeed.

		S	MIN	PTS	FGM	FGA	FG%	FTM	FTA	FT%	3PM	3PA	3P%	OR	DR	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PF
	T. Carter	*	39	17	5	13	38	4	4	100	3	9	33	0	1	1	7	0	0	3	4
	L. Dunn	*	38	27	8	14	57	6	8	75	5	8	62	2	7	9	2	4	1	5	1
	A. Jones	*	33	9	4	6	66	0	0	0	1	2	50	2	4	6	0	0	1	3	5
	E. Udoh	*	29	10	4	9	44	1	1	100	1	1	100	2	2	4	3	0	1	4	4
	J. Lomers	*	14	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	4	4	1	0	1	3	4
	Q. Acy		28	10	4	4	100	2	2	100	0	0	0	3	6	9	0	1	1	1	2
	N. Dennis		9	1	0	0	0	1	2	50	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	0
	C. Jefferson		8	1	0	0	0	1	2	50	0	0	0	0	1	1	0	0	1	0	1
	A. Walton		2	0	0	2	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
		S	MIN	PTS	FGM	FGA	FG%	FTM	FTA	FT%	3PM	3PA	3P%	OR	DR	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PF
	S. Collins	*	38	28	9	16	56	5	6	83	5	9	55	0	1	1	4	2	0	0	1
	X. Henry	*	31	12	3	13	23	4	4	100	2	7	28	2	2	4	2	7	0	2	1
	M. Morris	*	29	22	8	11	72	6	7	85	0	0	0	4	4	8	1	2	0	0	5
	C. Aldrich	*	27	10	4	7	57	2	4	50	0	0	0	2	2	4	2	1	0	0	3
	B. Morningstar	*	24	5	1	4	25	2	2	100	1	3	33	0	1	1	3	2	0	1	2
	M. Morris		19	4	2	6	33	0	2	0	0	0	0	2	3	5	1	0	0	2	3
	T. Taylor		15	0	0	3	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	5	0	0	0	1
	T. Reed		10	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0
	T. Robinson		4	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	2	3	0	0	0	2	0
	E. Johnson		2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	C. Henry		1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1