Fusco: Jayhawks' quick pace may jeopardize defense

Tuesday, February 12, 2008

On Saturday night, Baylor and Kansas put on an offensive show. Circus shots, fast breaks, fadeaway three-pointers and rim-rattling dunks came one after the other. At the end of it all, the crowd offered the Jayhawks a standing ovation as they hit the century mark for the second time this season and won, 100-90.

But the high-octane affair didn’t please Kansas coach Bill Self as much as it did the Allen Fieldhouse fans.

Photo by Weston White

Senior guard Russell Robinson drives into the lane against a Colorado defender.

“I’d rather win 80-70 any day of the week,” Self said. “Because it’s fool’s gold – if you give up 90 points in the tournament, you go home.”

Self’s indictment of his team’s defense against Baylor brings to light a worrying trend: When Kansas’ opponents have been able to speed up the pace of play, they haven’t had much trouble scoring. Even though the Jayhawks have made a living on offense by pushing the ball down court with lightning-quick guards, they struggle in transition on the defensive end.

College basketball statistics Web site kenpom.com compiles team offensive efficiency ratings for each game, with 100 being average. If a team finishes above 100, it had a good offensive outing. A rating below 100 means the team struggled to score.

The average college basketball team uses about 67 possessions per game. The numbers from kenpom.com illustrate when Kansas has used fewer than 67 possessions – playing slower than average – its defense has been phenomenal.

In the seven grind-it-out, half court games they have played this season, the Jayhawks haven’t allowed an opponent to top 96 on the offensive efficiency scale. In the team’s 17 up-tempo contests, three opponents have registered higher than 100 on the offensive end. Granted, there is a difference in sample size, but it’s tough to deny that the Jayhawks’ ugliest defensive performances have come in run-and-shoot scenarios.

In the first game of the season, Louisiana-Monroe visited Lawrence and engaged in an up-and-down battle. Both teams ran the court and scorched the nets. Louisiana-Monroe shot 51 percent from the field and tallied 78 points. Unfortunately for the Warhawks, Kansas shot 56 percent and scored 107 points.

breakbox

Opponent Date FG Percentage Final Score

vs. University of Louisiana-Monroe 11/09 51% 107-78

vs. Missouri 02/04 46% 90-71

vs. Arizona 11/25 44% 76-72

at Georgia Tech 12/18 44% 71-66

at Colorado 02/02 44% 72-59

vs. Baylor 02/09 44% 100-90

In Kansas’ only loss, Kansas State didn’t play at a relentless pace, but freshman guard Jacob Pullen played aggressively on offense, frequently forcing his way to the charity stripe and making all 10 of his free throws.

Most recently, the Baylor backcourt adapted to the breakneck speed of the Jayhawk guards. The Bears’ top five guards combined to score 79 points and keep the score reasonably close for much of the game.

The Jayhawks’ inability to stop teams in transition hasn’t come back to bite them so far this season because of their offensive prowess. When Missouri picked up the pace, cut down its turnovers and scored 71 points, Kansas scored 90 and won comfortably. When Arizona buried 48 percent of its three-pointers and went to the free-throw line 21 times, Kansas shot 50 percent from the field and snuck past the Wildcats for an overtime victory.

As impressive as Kansas’ offense has been, there’s no guarantee the Jayhawks will stay hot every time they take the floor for the rest of the season.

“When you make shots, sometimes your intensity on defense goes away,” Self said. “In the tournament or in a late-possession game, you’ve got to grind it out. When you’re not making shots is when you have to be the best.”

Kansas was able to weather offensive miscues against Eastern Washington and Colorado, but could have more trouble with swift squads like North Carolina, Duke or Tennessee in March.

Sure, fast breaks and alley-oops are fun to watch, but come tournament time, a little patience could pay dividends for Kansas.

—Edited by Mandy Earles

Football report card: October 17, 2007

Sportswriter Asher Fusco evaluates the Jayhawks performance thus far this season

/news/2007/oct/17/report_card/

Kansas picks up pace on defense

Kansas looked suspect defensively in its first two games, but greatly improved ...

/news/2007/nov/22/kansas_picks_pace_defense/

Record Book: September 10, 2007

Recording the numbers for the 2007 football season.

/news/2007/sep/10/Football_Record/

Bears shoot 52 percent, end KU streak

Self says he wishes Kansas could have held Baylor to a better ...

/news/2010/jan/22/baylor-ku/

Calling a Collins Comeback

The old moves were finally back. Collins could cut, shoot and finish ...

/news/2008/feb/11/calling_collins_comeback/

Kangaroo defense pesters Jayhawks

Kansas’ battle against UMKC Sunday was far different from the Jayhawks’ easy ...

/news/2007/nov/12/BBSider/

Basketball Notes: November 14, 2007

Find out what basketball coach Bill Self had to say about the ...

/news/2007/nov/14/basketball_notes_november_14_2007/

Jayhawks win bragging rights

/news/2005/jan/24/sports_basketball_womens_brag/

Kansas ready to run with conference's best

Kansan writers preview Big XII women's teams.

/news/2009/oct/28/kansas-ready-run-conferences-best/

Keefer: Jayhawk streak falls, team wins big

0-for-9 night from behind the arc ends 270-game old streak

/news/2008/feb/11/keefer/

Pass defense improves from previous seasons

The improved pass defense is one of many reasons why Kansas is ...

/news/2007/sep/19/defense/

Bear-ly defeated

/news/2005/feb/24/sports_basketball_womens_gamer/

Soccer loses to two ranked opponents

The Kansas Women’s Soccer team finished its non-conference schedule with losses to ...

/news/2007/sep/24/soccer/

Hockey team sticks to fourth Nebraska defeat

The KU hockey team finished 9-1 and 4-1 to seal a season ...

/news/2008/jan/28/club_hockey/

The High/Low

Kansas defeated Baylor 100-90 Saturday night.

/news/2008/feb/11/highlow/

Moore: Defense wins championships

"As a childhood teammate used to say, 'If they don’t score, they ...

/news/2007/mar/09/moore/

Breaking down challengers for conference crown

Kansan writers examine the Big XII men's race.

/news/2009/oct/28/breaking-down-challengers-conference-crown/

Nation’s weekend pigskin roundup

The Michigan vs. Ohio State game highlights the weekend of college football. ...

/news/2007/nov/16/nation/

Kansas wins Big 12

The Jayhawks won their fifth straight Big 12 regular season championship with ...

/news/2009/mar/07/halftime_update_texas_44_kansas_37/

High, low of Wright

Remember Julian Wright's big-time dunks during the Big 12 Tournament championship game ...

/news/2007/apr/10/highlights/

No. 3 Kansas sets Bear trap at ...

Jayhawks ride Sherron Collins' 28 points to a narrow victory over the ...

/news/2010/jan/20/no-3-kansas-looks-avoid-bear-trap/

Non-conference schedule announced

The men's basketball team will host its own tournament, the Jayhawk Invitational, ...

/news/2007/may/22/nonconference_schedule_announced/

Kansas cruises in season opener

Kansas had a 25-10 run during the first seven minutes of the ...

/news/2007/nov/10/kansas_cruises/

Basketball team has struggled from outside

Most of the team’s points have come from inside and at the ...

/news/2008/feb/14/bball/

Wheeler: Shutout not forecast of Big 12 ...

Though KU had its first shutout since 2000 last weekend, Southeastern Louisiana ...

/news/2007/sep/13/Wheeler/

Volleyball squares off with Baylor

The match will break a tie for sixth place in the conference ...

/news/2010/nov/16/volleyball-squares-baylor/

Kansas holding on

/news/2005/feb/02/sports_basketball_womens_holding/

Offensive droughts plague Kansas

Lengthy scoreless periods significantly contribute to Texas Tech loss.

/news/2010/mar/02/offensive-droughts-plague-kansas/

Burras shucks ’Huskers

/news/2005/feb/21/sports_basketball_womens_kansasnebraska/

Game Day: Kansas vs. Baylor

Kansas plays Baylor in a three-game series at Hoglund Ballpark. The series ...

/news/2007/apr/13/kugameday/

Team plans to make up for Collins' ...

With sophomore guard Sherron Collins’ recent foot injury, the men’s basketball team ...

/news/2007/nov/15/Collins/

Jayhawks prepare for stronger opponents

The Kansas men’s basketball team is preparing to meet a tougher opponent ...

/news/2007/nov/19/basketball/

Kansas to play many styles in tournament

The Big 12 Tournament will showcase the conference’s diverse playing styles on ...

/news/2007/mar/08/robinett/

Special teams, defense lead way in rout

The Jayhawks took until midway through the first quarter Saturday to begin ...

/news/2007/sep/10/Football_Teams/

2012 football schedule announced

With two new teams on the schedule and a new coach at ...

/news/2012/feb/17/2012-football-schedule/

Women’s basketball team falls to Baylor

Coach goes to the bench early hoping to build momentum but the ...

/news/2007/mar/08/wbb_gamer/

Jayhawks fall to number one Baylor

Kansas lost to Baylor 76-45 on Friday night.

/news/2012/feb/25/jayhawks-fall-number-1-baylor/

Hawks prepare for Border War after loss

Despite losing point guard Goodrich, Kansas gears up for its game against ...

/news/2010/jan/15/hawks-loss/

Poor shooting hurts Kansas in showdown with ...

Jayhawks only scored 16 points in first half in loss.

/news/2012/feb/26/poor-shooting-hurts-kansas-showdown-baylor/

Jayhawks successful at weekend meets

The Kansas track and field won 11 events in four different meets ...

/news/2011/may/02/jayhawks-successful-weekend-meets/

Use the comment form below to begin a discussion about this content.

Sign in to comment

Or login with:

OpenID