Kansas Basketball: Making or breaking Jayhawks 2020 Final Four chances

Hitting shots and active hands

Of the teams that can be considered contenders to make it to Atlanta for the Final Four, only Dayton and Gonzaga have a higher shooting percentage than Kansas.

It must be noted however that Kansas plays in the Big 12, which is ranked second among conferences in Strength of Schedule. The 48% success rate by the Jayhawks is a substantial advantage.

There is every reason to suggest that this will continue due to the fact they only attempt 18.3 three-pointers a game, which is tied for 290th in the nation.

The team leader in field goal percentage for the Jayhawks’ is senior center Udoka Azubuike. In addition, guard Devon Dotson is a big contributor by connecting on over 46% of his shots. It seems like a simplified predictor of success, but the lack of dependency on threes is what will make success sustainable throughout the tournament for the Jayhawks.

On the defensive side of the ball, fellow Big 12 members Kansas State and Baylor may rank higher in steals per opponent’s possession, however, it plays a more instrumental role in how Kansas piles up victories.

Their 7.5 steals per game go hand-in-hand with their second-most blocks in the Big 12 per game at 4.7. Not only do they get these steals and blocks, but they are also efficient at it. With only 18.8% of opponent’s possessions resulting in the Kansas defense fouling. With this in mind, any opponent of Kansas leading up to the Final Four knows that scoring on the Jayhawks is a daunting task.