Andrew Wiggins Saves Kansas In Win Over Texas Tech

For the second road game in a row, Kansas nearly fell victim to the three point lottery. Texas Tech, shooting 33% from three on the season, made 50% of its attempts from beyond the arc in a near upset of Kansas. The Jayhawks, meanwhile, were just 4-14 from three. The defense struggled as a whole, though, allowing the Red Raiders to shoot 46% from two, and allowing them to grab 46% of its misses. Each missed shot was basically a 50/50 proposition in fact, with Kansas rebounding 50% of its missed shots.

But Texas Tech is no longer a pushover (I don't think). They're getting outscored in league play, but I think that is more of a function of the league being extremely difficult vs. any poor qualities Tech might have. They're ranked 67th in KenPom; it's not their fault that happens to be the second worst rank in the Big 12. (for comparison's sake, it would be 2nd best in the Missouri Valley).

I don't think this win shows that Kansas has any special magic winner's pixie dust, since nothing of the sort exists, but any road win is a good win in the Big 12, and combined with Texas's loss at Iowa State, Kansas will clinch a share of the Big 12 if it wins its next two games.

One final note, via Jesse Newell, the 53 possessions in this game were the fewest of the Bill Self era. Kansas totally came in and let Tech dictate the pace. Some of that is natural due to Kansas being a young team and on the road, but in the NCAA tournament they need to be able to push the pace a lot more when needed.

Naadir Tharpe: 3. This was definitely Tharpe's worst game of the year. He was just 1-7 from the field, had just 2 assists to 4 turnovers, and repeatedly got abused defensively by players who had no business doing so.

Andrew Wiggins: 8.5. Wiggins was great in this one. After a slow start, he started attacking, and kept attacking. He had a tip back dunk, he finally dunked a ball when going to the rack, and on the last play of the game, he showed off his impressive basketball IQ, something he never gets credit for. He also had 6 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 blocks, and 2 steals.

Joel Embiid: 8. The interior defense hasn't returned yet, but otherwise, Embiid is back. He was 6-7 from the field, 6-8 from the line, and had 8 rebounds. There are still a lot of questions about Kansas's defense, but a healthy Embiid allows Jayhawks fans to dream about a national championship.

Wayne Selden: 6. Another rough one for Selden. He was 2-4 from three, but 0-4 from two and he grabbed just 3 rebounds. He also struggled defensively.

Perry Ellis: 4. Ellis was 0-3 from two, had just 2 rebounds, and really struggled defensively.

Jamari Traylor: 6. Traylor made both of his field goals and grabbed 3 rebounds.

Tarik Black: 6. Like Traylor, Black provided energy, went 2-2 from two, and grabbed 3 rebounds.

FIRST HALF MINUTES FOR ANDREW WHITE WOOO: White grabbed an offensive rebound in two minutes played.