Kansas Basketball: Jayhawks cement status as conference front-runner
When it comes to the Big 12 and Kansas basketball, don’t underestimate the power of Bill Self.
In the biggest of games, Bill Self and the Kansas Jayhawks always seem to put together magnificent performances, which has sparked 11 straight Big 12 regular season conference titles.
On Saturday afternoon, Devonte’ Graham and the Jayhawks put themselves in solid position to advance their streak to 12 straight titles by delivering a textbook performance, squeaking out a victory over the third-ranked Oklahoma Sooners, 76-72, in Norman.
Kansas, who defeated the Sooners 109-106 in triple overtime earlier in conference play, finished off the season sweep and is now tied atop the conference standings at 9-3, alongside West Virginia.
While Buddy Hield (a 90 percent free throw shooter coming into the game) missed a critical freebee with 26 seconds remaining, it was Kansas’ grit, passion and aggressiveness that helped lead them to one of the biggest road wins in college hoops this season.
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How can you count out Bill Self and company?
The Jayhawks certainly don’t have a go-to scorer or a dominate star player, but what they do have is one of the best coaches in college hoops. Self puts his players in the best position to be successful with a crisp offense that runs through Perry Ellis and a solid defense that made life difficult for the National Player of the Year front runner, Buddy Hield.
Self has depth, experience and toughness at his disposal. Their ball movement and unselfish play makes it difficult for opposing teams to key in on one player, as Wayne Selden Jr., Graham, Ellis and Frank Mason III can all get hot at any given time.
Also, Self has done a terrific job of balancing freshman Cheick Diallo and Carlton Bragg Jr’s minutes, giving both an opportunity to make plays in spurts while limiting their mistakes. The former McDonalds All-Americans are clearly not capable of impacting conference games for heavy stretches, but Self also realizes giving his starters a breather is important.
With games against Oklahoma State, Kansas State and Texas Tech down the stretch, the Jayhawks have a favorable schedule and a coaching staff that no one should ever bet against.
Devonte’ Graham had the game of his life
The former Appalachian State commit had the best performance of his career on Saturday, scoring 27 points on 8-of-13 shooting. Graham only turned the ball over twice and knocked down six threes, including two critical jumpers in the final three minutes, but most importantly was his activity at the defensive end of the court.
The sophomore guard was assigned to defend Hield and the sharp shooter was held without a field goal in the opening half. While Hield finished with 24 points and had numerous long threes in the second frame, the Sooners’ best player was inefficient (5-of-15 shooting) because of the physical play by Graham and the help from his teammates when Hield came off a ball screen.
Oklahoma was stone-cold
The Jayhawks were out-classed on the offensive glass, were out-played in the paint and had three more turnovers than Lon Kruger’s unit, but they put the ball in the basket and limited the home team’s transition buckets. Also, Oklahoma did not receive strong production from Jordan Woodard (10 points on 1-of-6 shooting from downtown).
Even though they remain one game back in the regular season conference title race, the Sooners’ Achilles heel is evident and it could come back to bite them come March.
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They rely heavily on the three-pointers and if those aren’t falling and the supporting cast outside of Hield and Cousins isn’t flowing, the Sooners could be picked off in the early round of the NCAA Tournament.