Kansas Jayhawks Basketball vs UMKC Kangaroos: A (Semi) Statistical Recap

It was a shootout worthy of Westworld, but this time it was the visitors who couldn’t kill the hosts. Kansas started scoring early and didn’t stop en route to a 105-62 win in which the Jayhawks scored 1.48 points per possession and allowed just .87 points per trip.

A strong second half unfortunately kept the Jayhawks from shooting better from three than two. Kansas shot 57 percent inside, while they shot 55.6 percent from three. Clearly Kansas will cool off from deep and have some poor games from outside, but as long as they are getting the types of looks they got last night there should be zero problem with Kansas attempting 2 out of every 5 shots from deep. Even when Kansas missed it wasn’t all bad as the Jayhawks grabbed 57 percent of its misses. Couple that with a turnover rate of 17 percent and yeah, it was a good night.

Defensively, Kansas rebounded well after a pretty poor first half that in fairness was largely due to UMKC drilling a bunch of deep threes. UMKC finished 10-26 from three, and 12-36 from two. This isn’t the best game to make this point due to UMKC’s height, but for all the talk of KU’s interior defense being so poor, opponents are shooting under 40 percent inside. That won’t keep up through Big 12 play, but Kansas likely looks to be in line with a lot of Bill Self’s defenses in the past.

No grades I believe.

• Frank Mason tied a career high with 30 points, and was 5-7 from two and 6-7 from three. That seems good. He also had 5 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 steals, and 0 turnovers. Safe to say that is the best game by a KU player this year not taking opponent into consideration.
• Josh Jackson had some turnover issues and off the ball defense issues, but was 8-11 from two, had 12 rebounds (6 offensive and 6 defensive), 5 assists, a block, and a steal. His passing remains incredible.
• Devonte Graham didn’t attempt a 2, but was 6-8 from three, had 4 assists, and 1 turnover.
• Lagerald Vick had a bit of a rough one, but was 1-2 on twos and 1-1 from three. He also had 3 assists and 2 blocks.
• Udoka Azubuike struggled a bit as well against the smaller Roos. It would obviously be preferable if he could destroy some of these smaller lineups, but he is much more needed against teams with some bigger options.
• Svi Mykhailiuk was 2-5 on twos but just 2-7 from three. He took some wild shots that I don’t think he would take in a closer game against a legit opponent, but quit killing your percentages Svi. He also had 7 rebounds.
• Mitch Lightfoot had 5 rebounds in 14 minutes, but didn’t score.
• Landen Lucas played just 14 minutes, made his only shot, and had 5 rebounds.
• Carlton Bragg had some struggles, but finished 4-9 on twos and had 5 rebounds in 12 minutes.
• Dwight Coleby was 3-5 and had 2 rebounds in just 5 minutes.