Kansas Basketball: 3 takeaways from blowout loss at Tennessee

1. When they needed him most, Kansas’ deadliest shooter in Christian Braun was nowhere to be found

First and foremost – again – Kansas’ offense was incredibly woeful all game.  David McCormack and Marcus Garrett were the lone consistent sources of offense for Kansas, with both scoring six points each in the first half – and McCormack putting in another 11 in the second stanza, while Garrett added nine.

Jalen Wilson – coming off the bench for the first time since November 27th – and Ochai Agbaji both struggled to score, but they still combined for 19 points, 11 rebounds, and nine assists.  Likewise, both have routinely posted double-digits on numerous occasions this season – this was just the second game this season where Agbaji tallied single-digits, and this was a good sign for Wilson after going scoreless against TCU.

What needs to be addressed, however, is the other member of the starting five in Christian Braun – and the lack of his consistent production.  Arguably, there may not be a deadlier scorer on Kansas’ roster than Braun.  His 30-point performance against Saint Joseph’s is the highest single-game point total of any Jayhawk this season.

When Braun is on, he is on.  He has reached double-digits on five occasions this season, averaging just below 19 points in those five games – and his clips in those tilts have been impressive, too, with marks of 9-16 (2PT), 22-39 (3PT), and 9-11 (FT).  He has fallen just short of the double-digit mark a few times, scoring nine or eight points four times – but his streakiness, paired with his recent struggles, needs to be figured out.

Again, Braun has reached double-figures five times this season – meaning he has produced single-digit performances in 12 games.  And, since pouring in 17 points in the January 18th loss at Baylor, Braun has struggled to do much of anything in Kansas’ last three outings, going 0-5 from the floor with two points against Oklahoma, scoring just five points in the win over TCU, and again going scoreless from the floor – with just two points, again – in the loss to Tennessee.

There should be no reason why Kansas’ deadliest shooter should be this wildly inconsistent.  Another issue plaguing the Jayhawks has been the lack of stellar bench play – meaning there have not been many options to plug into Braun’s spot when he is performing poorly.  If the Jayhawks hope to be taken seriously moving forward in the Big 12 and on the national level, then Braun desperately needs to improve his game – or he could, potentially, find himself on the bench before long.