Temperature Check Ahead of Iowa State Home Game

So how are we feeling going into this weekend’s game against Iowa State? Me, I am a bit concerned. KU is four games into their conference schedule and is in a familiar spot atop the conference standings at 4-0, tied with Iowa State, a team that has seen consistent success over the long haul in the conference, and usual bottom feeder K-State. The Jayhawks have had one romp beating West Virginia, and have eeked out three wins over the Sooners, Cowboys, and Red Raiders. The record of those 3 teams, excluding the games against the Jayhawks, is 2-7 in the conference and 29-16 overall, not exactly a murderers’ row.

My biggest concern? I don’t know. I have started this paragraph for the third time. Originally I was going to point at not having a Mitch Lightfoot-like player coming off the bench to spell KJ Adams. But the stats don’t bear that out. When you look at Udeh and Ejiofor, they seem to fill that role as well as or better than Mitch did. I then turned my eye to the team as a whole adjusting to not playing with a dominant big man as they have in the past with McCormack, Azubuike, Ellis (yes Perry Ellis), and Embiid. But again, the stats do not seem to bear that out. Season to date, the stats I looked at seem to be similar to last season. Even the free throw percentage is no worse than last season, in fact, it is the same at 71.7%.

So I ask again how do you feel about the Jayhawks as they enter the game this weekend? I am uneasy despite their lofty ranking and top-of-the-conference position. I just cannot pinpoint what is causing that uneasiness. Maybe it is just how they are winning. It does not feel like they have been dominant in a lot of games this season outside of the wins against MU and West Virginia. The games against Southern Utah, NC State, Wisconsin, Oklahoma State, and OU have me thinking there is a reason for concern. These are all games that should not have been nearly as difficult as they turned out to be.

Or maybe I am overthinking it. Maybe those teams are better than I give them credit for. Help me deal with my feelings about this team so far this season. One thing I know, the cliche “We will know a lot more after this game” applies to the Iowa State game.