Kentucky vs. Kansas: 5 storylines to watch for 2020 Champions Classic

1. Kansas frontcourt and how they fair against Kentucky

Even with Dotson leaving, by far the biggest impactful loss from last year was the offensive firepower and rim-protecting in Udoka Azubuike. McCormack isn’t much of an offensive threat and doesn’t have near the defensive presence. Jalen WIlson is still young and Mitch Lightfoot hasn’t gotten out to the best start with just 2.5 points and three rebounds per game.

It was expected for Kansas to rely on the guards to score the ball quite often. The biggest surprise for the Jayhawks has been the emergence of sophomore guard Christian Braun. After scoring eight points in their opener, he exploded against St. Joseph’s, ending up with 30 points and nine rebounds. He shot 5-8 from beyond the arc and was 76% from the field in that contest.

Braun has a good balance of being a spot-up shooter and being able to finish near the rim as he did both at an efficient clip against St. Joseph’s. Maybe the most consistent offensive player from the past weekend was Ochai Agbaji and his 17 point performance against Gonzaga.

Agbaji was among the best-returning starters offensively last year and was looked upon to be the catalyst to consistently run this offense. In 2020 so far, he has looked the part as he added 18 more in their last game.

The prowess of Marcus Garrett will always be there as the defensive player of the year added three more steals in the win. Even freshman Bryce Thompson has brought a good spark to the team by averaging 9.5 points over the first few contests. The Kansas backcourt was able to have success against Gonzaga on offense, the question if they can keep up the play against a Brandon Boston led-Kentucky defensive perimeter.