Big 12 Basketball power rankings: Texas Tech emerges as big threat to Kansas
1. Kansas Jayhawks (6-0)
Previous rank: 1
It was a disappointing Monday morning last week for Jayhawk fans, unable to climb back to the No. 1 spot after beating both Marquette and No. 5 Tennessee to win the NIT Season Tip-Off Tournament.
But on the bright side, preseason All-American Dedric Lawson had his coming out party with his new team, going for 24 points, 13 rebounds, and five assists in the win over the Vols. He had another great game this past Saturday versus Stanford, going for 24 and 15. But it was leading scorer Lagerald Vick’s 27 points and game-tying three-pointer in regulation that allowed Kansas to go into overtime and beat the Cardinals, 90-84.
The back-to-back overtime games have shown that the undefeated Jayhawks are vulnerable, particularly on the defensive end. They’ve given over 77 ppg, good for nearly 300th in the country. It’s worse than last year when the defense was viewed as an issue. The biggest problem is defending the three-pointer, where they’re in the 300’s.
The three-headed monster of Lawson, Vick and Udoka Azuibuike is as fearsome a trio as any in the country. But the key is the freshmen duo of Devon Dotson and Quentin Grimes. After scoring 21 points in the Champions Classic opener, Grimes has scored a combined 26 points in the following five games, with his playing time slowly decreasing after each performance. Dotson has been a bit more consistent but for Kansas to be a true national title contender, they and the team defense needs to improve.
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After a pair of good matchups against Wofford and New Mexico State, Kansas has an elite battle with the Villanova Wildcats. Their defense will be tested in a big way, so we’ll see if any improvements are made before the Dec. 15 game.