Kansas Jayhawks Basketball vs Texas Tech Red Raiders: A (Semi) Statistical Recap

Even though Kansas allowed just over a point per possession against Texas Tech, the signs were there that maybe Kansas could put together a good defense after all. The Jayhawks forced Tech into a lot of guarded long twos, and even the shots the Red Raiders took at the rim were for the most part difficult ones. For the game, Texas Tech shot just 42 percent on twos.

The Jayhawks also caused turnovers on 21 percent of their possessions, something they’ll have to do more of going forward. In the end, Tech got to 1 PPP on the back of their 3-point shooting, shooting 39 percent from deep and taking almost half their shots from three. Considering how few Texas Tech had taken coming into this one, it is another good sign that Kansas took Tech out of its gameplan so much.

Offensively, Kansas was excellent. They scored 1.27 points per trip, shot 52.6 percent from two, and made half of their threes. They also were 18-22 from the free throw line if you’re one of those people who puts an overemphasis on performance at the free throw line. They turned it over too much (again), but also rebounded 45 percent of their misses against one of the best defensive rebounding teams in the country (although there likely was some schedule issues there). It’s almost boring writing about the offense at this point. They get a lot of good shots and they make a lot of shots. The end.

Letter grades.

• Devonte Graham: B+. Graham had 4 turnovers, which was his only blemish, and was 4-6 on twos, 4-8 on threes, and had 4 assists.
• Frank Mason: A-. Mason was 3-7 from two, 3-4 on threes, 11-12 from the line, and added 5 rebounds and 4 assists (though 3 turnovers).
• Landen Lucas: B+. Lucas gets a lot of credit for the improved defense, and also had 8 points and 6 rebounds, and also drew one of the funniest technicals you’ll ever see.
• Josh Jackson: A. This was probably his best game overall. Jackson was 6-13 on twos, 1-2 from three, and had 10 rebounds, 3 blocks, and 2 steals. He’s good.
• Svi Mykhailiuk: C-. I didn’t notice any glaring mistakes from Svi, but he just wasn’t present during the game. He was 1-2 on twos, 1-3 from three, had 4 rebounds, 2 steals, and fouled out. It happens.
• Lagerald Vick: C-. Vick had an OK game offensively, 2-3 on twos with 2 assists, and he added 2 steals, but he consistently got lost off the ball defensively.
• Carlton Bragg: C-. Bragg had the full experience last night, making all of his shots and grabbing 6 rebounds in just 17 minutes, but also committing 3 turnovers and committing 4 fouls.