Two of the most prestigious Big 12 members, Texas and Kansas will face off to start off conference play. Is this the season that Kansas’s consecutive conference championships come to an end?
TV schedule: Friday, Dec. 29, 9:00 p.m. ET. ESPN2
Arena: Frank Erwin Center in Austin, Texas
If No. 11 Kansas 10-2 (0-0) was able to play everyone on the team’s roster, they would be the national title favorites. Unfortunately for them, transfer rules won’t allow that, leaving Charlie Moore along with KJ and Dedric Lawson on the bench for the 2017-18 season. Combine that with highly touted freshman Billy Preston still sitting out while the school investigates some potential violations, the overall depth for the Jayhawks is depleted.
That leaves the starting lineup for Kansas (Devonte Graham, Udoka Azubuike, Svi Mykhailuk, Malik Newman and Lagerald Vick) responsible for nearly 90% of this team’s production. Vick, in particular, has shown the biggest growth, leading the team in scoring at 17.1 ppg. The highlight of their season thus far has been the win over Kentucky in the Champion’s Classic.
But there was a two-game stretch where the depth for the Jayhawks was exposed, losing to Washington and Arizona State at home in a week’s span.
The Texas Longhorns 9-3 (0-0) have a depth issue of their own in terms of shooting. In a deja vu scenario from the previous season, head coach Shaka Smart still lacks shooters, and the team is once again one of the worst three-point shooting teams, shooting just 28% from long-range. Even worse, lead scorer Andrew Jones will be out for the start of league play, still recovering from a wrist injury.
That puts all the pressure on the frontcourt, Dylan Osetkowski, and Mo Bamba to provide both enough scoring along with elite defense. Both are double-digit scorers with Bamba averaging just 10 rebounds a game.
This game will be a battle of strengths and weaknesses for these teams. Kansas has an elite offense but will struggle against a Longhorns team that is a top 10 defense nationally. As bad as Texas is at shooting the ball, this team is just as good as defending it, good for No. 11 in the nation in three-point percentage.
On the other hand, Kansas has been at best average at times on defense, but won’t likely be exposed in this game against an offensively challenged Texas team.
Last season Texas was swept by Kansas in the regular season series, losing both by 10+ points. With this game at Texas, it’s a prime opportunity for the Longhorns to get not only a signature win but to send a message throughout the Big 12 world that the Jayhawks are more vulnerable than ever.
Silvio De Souza is on campus for Kansas and, in the next weeks, will add much-needed depth for Bill Self. But he won’t be available for this game, which will make this a tight one. In the end, however, the lack of offense will hurt Texas in a first-to-60 game.
Prediction: Kansas 73 – Texas 61