Kansas Basketball: 3 Keys to victory against Auburn in Round of 32

By Chris Kern | Mar 22, 2019

SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH - MARCH 21: Devon Dotson #11 of the Kansas Jayhawks reacts during the first half against the Northeastern Huskies in the first round of the 2019 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Vivint Smart Home Arena on March 21, 2019 in Salt Lake City, Utah. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images) /

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SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH – MARCH 21: Mitch Lightfoot #44 of the Kansas Jayhawks reacts during the second half against the Northeastern Huskies in the first round of the 2019 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at Vivint Smart Home Arena on March 21, 2019, in Salt Lake City, Utah. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images) /

This is not your typical Kansas basketball team but they did come to play in their first game of the NCAA Tournament. Now they need to lock in against Auburn to advance to the Sweet 16.

The Kansas Jayhawks picked up a good win Thursday afternoon against Northeastern and they will need another good performance on Saturday if they want a chance to advance to the Sweet 16. The fourth-seeded Jayhawks will have a unique advantage if they’re able to get this win as they will have homecourt advantage next week in Kansas City.

They’ve had homecourt advantage before in the NCAA tournament but that’s when they’ve been a top seed. Despite them having an up and down season and being selected as a four seed they have a chance to secure a home-court advantage against some of the top teams in the country. They do have their work cut out for them against a very good Auburn Tigers squad.

They’ve been very inconsistent this season just as Kansas has but when they’re locked in and knocking down shots, they’re very tough to beat. We did see them show off their full potential when they won the SEC Tournament which included a dominating win over Tennessee.

For as good as this Auburn team can be at times the Jayhawks still need to focus on themselves. They do need to make sure they do a good job defensively but they need to control what they can control. Kansas needs to make sure they’re playing well before they worry about their opponent.

When the Jayhawks have lost games this season, the majority of the time it is because they play poorly and aren’t getting contributions from enough of their guys. They will need everyone to contribute if they want to win this game. Here are three keys to victory in the Round of 32 meeting with Auburn.

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