The Kansas Jayhawks will continue their title defense without head coach Bill Self once again. Could the North Dakota State Bison trip them up?
TV Schedule: Thursday, November 10, 8:00 PM ET, ESPN+
Location: Allen Fieldhouse in Lawrence, Kansas
The Kansas Jayhawks’ second game of their title defense will have some major similarities to the first game. For starters, they’ll be without head coach Bill Self, who is serving a four-game suspension to start the year. They’ll also be playing against an overmatched opponent.
Kansas had little issue with Omaha in the opener on Monday. The Jayhawks crushed the Mavericks, 89-64, behind 23 points from freshman Gradey Dick. Jalen Wilson had 19 points, 11 rebounds, and seven assists.
The North Dakota State Bison are coming to down to face the Jayhawks. The program managed to make it to the Summit League title game a year ago, but the Summit and the Big 12 are light years apart.
The Bison open the season with two impossible road games. On opening night, North Dakota State lost at Arkansas, 76-58. The team’s reliable three-point shooting was absent and only two players managed to muster any real offense.
Kansas is still adjusting to a bevy of key departures. Ochai Agbaji, Christian Braun, David McCormack, and Remy Martin are all gone. Even if the Jayhawks have the talent to replace them, it will probably take a few weeks to get their ducks in a row.
Wilson is back, though. Pound-for-pound, there’s nobody on NDSU that can match him. Last season, he averaged 11.1 points and 7.4 rebounds per game. A two-year starter, Wilson has a legitimate chance to be the Big 12 Player of the Year.
Dejuan Harris Jr. also returns to provide Kansas a competent point guard. He’s not much of a scorer, but he’s a decent distributor and even better defender. That should be vital to the Jayhawks this season.
Norm Roberts is plenty experienced, so NDSU isn’t even going to be able to steal a coaching advantage in Self’s absence. David Richman is no schlub, though, taking the Bison to two NCAA Tournaments (and it would’ve been three had the 2020 tournament happened).
One of the biggest problems Kansas will have is defending Andrew Morgan. The 6-foot-10 big man has the ability to bang around inside and space the perimeter from time to time. Zach Clemence and Ernest Udeh Jr. are the only Jayhawks who can match Morgan’s size, which may set up the big man for a big day.
The Bison are also expected to be a solid team from three this year. Kansas will have to try and keep North Dakota State off the three-point line; strong outside shooting is one of the biggest ingredients in an upset recipe.
These teams are simply in different stratospheres from a talent perspective. Kansas is coming off a national championship and has one of the top ten teams in the country entering the year. North Dakota State is considered a middle tier team in the Summit.
That talent disparity should on full display Thursday.
Prediction: Kansas 85, North Dakota State 64