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The Kansas Jayhawks finish off the NIT Season Tip-Off with a matchup against the Tennessee Volunteers. Will KU get off to a slow start, and if they do, can they recover from it?
Mike.Plank: So Tennessee is a top-5 team in basketball, huh? Weird. I don’t really know what to make of that. This could be one of those games where #Motivation is not on KU’s side, and if the Jayhawks only play half a game like they did against Marquette, Tennessee appears to be good enough to punish Kansas. We’ll hope that Bill Self is greater than the two potential problems I just mentioned and has Kansas ready to play. Kansas 90, Tennessee 83.
Fizzle406: if Kansas wins this game they will be the #1 team in the country again. I feel like bill self in that I think they are overrated. They haven’t really impressed me this season and I think Tennessee will come out of top. Tennessee 77, Kansas 71
Kyle_Davis21: For the first time in several games, Kansas will face a team that doesn’t jack up a ton of threes (only 31% of the Vols’ shots are from beyond the arc). But the Jayhawks will have to contend with Grant Williams, which will make for a must-see matchup with Dedric Lawson. Tennessee is one of the most efficient teams on both sides of the ball, so they don’t beat themselves. Kansas will have to shoot well, and I think they shoot just well enough to win a close one. Kansas 82, Tennessee 78
dnoll5: Kansas finally looked focused again in the second half against Marquette, and I think they’ll look in the mirror and see that when they play with that intensity, they are really good. Tennessee will be a tough challenge, but I think KU stays perfect. Kansas 85, Tennessee 83.
Andy Mitts: I don’t know that it really matters if they don’t play well in the first half, other than for my own health. This team is very talented, and Vick’s hot start means that as long as they are focused in the second half, they can come back from pretty much any deficit. I do think they get started a lot faster than they normally do, but Dedric Lawson should be able to pick up where they left. Kansas 87, Tennessee 82.