Kansas Basketball: Keys to beating Kentucky in SEC-Big 12 Challenge

Kansas Basketball takes its three-game losing streak into Rupp Arena at Kentucky for the Big 12/SEC challenge. Kansas has never lost four in a row in the Bill Self era.

The loss in Waco on Monday night marked a significant point in Bill Self’s tenure at Kansas Basketball. The Jayhawks under Self have lost three games in a row for just the fourth time in Self’s stint in Lawrence. Now, with a road trip to Lexington against a hot Kentucky team ahead, the Jayhawks look to avoid a four-game losing streak for the first time in Self’s 20 seasons at Kansas.

Keep pace with Kentucky’s “revival” lineup

Kentucky’s season was in major trouble after a home loss to South Carolina, but since then have won four in a row. In those four games, Kentucky upset the number one defense in the country in Tennessee and also handed Texas A&M their first SEC loss. This winning streak has largely come from John Calipari utilizing a new lineup. With Sahvir Wheeler sidelined with an injury, Calipari was forced to use a lineup of Cason Wallace, C.J. Fredrick, Antonio Reeves, Jacob Toppin, and Oscar Tshiebwe.

This lineup has not just been playing well, but destroying opponents. With the way Jalen Wilson has been playing, he can certainly help the cause. However, Gradey Dick cannot be posting 66 Offensive Ratings if Kansas expects to win games like this. Against quality opponents, if it is the Jalen Wilsons show, Kansas will lose.

Get more out of your bench

While countering Kentucky’s good lineup is key, being able to beat their other lineups is equally as important. To do that, Self is going to need to find a way to get more out of a bench that scored two points on Monday night against Baylor. Joseph Yesefu was the only Kansas bench player that exceeded 10 minutes in that game.

Fans have been critical of Self’s development of the bench, but this was a preseason concern for the Jayhawks. Ernest Udeh was considered by many to be a project, while no one knew what they were going to get from Bobby Pettiford. Four-star freshman M.J. Rice is a guy that hasn’t gotten as much playing time as some expected. He’d be a natural fit to replace Kevin McCullar, who played 35 minutes on Monday night. Regardless, there needs to be a way that this bench can make an impact and it doesn’t have to be scoring.

Starting Fast

In Kansas’ last three losses, they have been outscored by at least nine in the first 10 minutes of each game. With how little Kansas relies on depth, digging out of a hole with only five trustworthy players is extremely tough. Especially on the road.

In addition to not wanting to rely on the bench too heavily, the last thing John Calipari wants to do is rest some of his starters when the game is close early. If Kentucky can use Chris Livingston and some of their other bench players with a sizable lead, Kansas could be well on their way to their fourth straight loss.