Kansas Basketball: How to win the Battle of the Bluebloods

Contain Marvin Bagley III

Both Kansas and Duke are elite offensive teams. In fact, the Blue Devils will be the first team that the Jayhawks have faced in a while that averages more points per game than they do.

But both teams go about things differently on offense.

Kansas relies on their shooting, and they’ve got the shooters to do that effectively. The Jayhawks’ top three scorers (Devonte’ Graham, Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk, and Malik Newman) are all perimeter-oriented players.

Duke, on the other hand, does most of their damage in the paint, let by freshman phenom Marvin Bagley III.

Bagley averages more than 21 points per game, and he’s one of the most polished big men offensively in the country. He’s an efficient scorer with good range who can attack a defense in multiple ways.

And he’ll look to attack a Jayhawk offense that can be very soft in the middle at times.

Against Clemson, the Tigers were able to score effectively in the paint, shooting 20% better from inside the arc than outside. That post offense keep Clemson in the game.

If Kansas can’t tighten up their defense in the key, with a particular focus on containing Bagley, this game’s score could hit the 90’s.