Kansas Pre Game Thoughts

[Orangezoo]

First off, Kansas has a very smart and mature backcourt that likes to play fast and has been shooting it lights out. Their pace , paired with the shooting and athletes they have has seen them just absolutely roll over non P5 opponents so far as they are doing to Toledo tonight.

Given the difference in play style and of course the fact the transitive property means nothing even when comparing opponents both teams have faced, the only game to really try and get a feel on is their win over UK.

Against UK, Kansas shot 35 pct and UK had 10 blocks. Now facing a much tougher defense and the game slowing down, their crazy shooting numbers came way down.

Kansas' guards do a great job getting into the paint and spreading the floor to force you to guard vs packing it in. Kentucky did a nice job making it tough for them to finish inside plus rejecting them 10 times.

The biggest worries I have are Vick and that kid with the weird last name (Mykaleck sp?) As they both have good size and can light it up. Keeping them in check is a headache.

My expectation is that they will be too much and keep the game just out of reach with their ability from deep and the leadership of Graham.


Despite this expectation, as with their game against UK, we present a major problem for Graham to get into the paint and make a living on driving to the rim. This paired with having an overall size and rebounding advantage based on results to date, and the game should not be the track meet Kansas wants or full of open shots all game. Clearly breaking their rhythm and making life difficult on offense is our best shot but given the gritty identity this team has started to forge, it's doable.

If Battle is not 100 pct or close to it however, I just don't think we have enough offense to pull it off. If we get a healthy Battle, and the game is tight down the stretch I love our chances. It is a lot of fun to be talking positive about cuse hoops again. Last year still hurts..

 

[realorange]

First off, Kansas has a very smart and mature backcourt that likes to play fast and has been shooting it lights out. Their pace , paired with the shooting and athletes they have has seen them just absolutely roll over non P5 opponents so far as they are doing to Toledo tonight.

Given the difference in play style and of course the fact the transitive property means nothing even when comparing opponents both teams have faced, the only game to really try and get a feel on is their win over UK.

Against UK, Kansas shot 35 pct and UK had 10 blocks. Now facing a much tougher defense and the game slowing down, their crazy shooting numbers came way down.

Kansas' guards do a great job getting into the paint and spreading the floor to force you to guard vs packing it in. Kentucky did a nice job making it tough for them to finish inside plus rejecting them 10 times.

The biggest worries I have are Vick and that kid with the weird last name (Mykaleck sp?) As they both have good size and can light it up. Keeping them in check is a headache.

My expectation is that they will be too much and keep the game just out of reach with their ability from deep and the leadership of Graham.


Despite this expectation, as with their game against UK, we present a major problem for Graham to get into the paint and make a living on driving to the rim. This paired with having an overall size and rebounding advantage based on results to date, and the game should not be the track meet Kansas wants or full of open shots all game. Clearly breaking their rhythm and making life difficult on offense is our best shot but given the gritty identity this team has started to forge, it's doable.

If Battle is not 100 pct or close to it however, I just don't think we have enough offense to pull it off. If we get a healthy Battle, and the game is tight down the stretch I love our chances. It is a lot of fun to be talking positive about cuse hoops again. Last year still hurts..

If the defense is solid, we may only need an 80% Battle. The last thing JB wants is a run and gun game in the 90s.

 

[DonLightfoot]

Thanks for the scouting report, I've been waiting for one

 

[NateW]

It’s been said before but I’ll say it again — we MUST get back on defense!

 

[iommi]

Great post, zoo. I don't expect JB to implore our guards to race up the floor too much unless our halfcourt offense is absolute dog doo. I doubt JB will want to get into a track meet. Our best chance is to limit our turnovers and as you said, cut off their driving. I do think they have the shooters to carve us up. We are due for a good shooting game ourselves.

How will our players react to being away from the Dome? Glad it's at a neutral site for our first game away from home. We need someone like Oshae to shoot well from deep.

 

[SoBeCuse]

Myhailiuk...Ukrainian dude. Sort of a smaller Stretch 4 type. Can really shoot it. If Battle isn’t close to 100% then I think Lagerald Vick shuts him down. Can Frank get by Devonta Graham? Will be interesting to see. They are up freaking 50 on Toledo now. I don’t care who you are...that is VERY impressive.

 

[Orangezoo]

Myhailiuk...Ukrainian dude. Sort of a smaller Stretch 4 type. Can really shoot it. If Battle isn’t close to 100% then I think Lagerald Vick shuts him down. Can Frank get by Devonta Graham? Will be interesting to see. They are up freaking 50 on Toledo now. I don’t care who you are...that is VERY impressive.

Toledo with 20 turnovers a big part of that too. It really seems like we took the wind out of Toledo in all fairness as well. After our game they lose to Cornell and now seem more like a lamb for slaughter vs Kansas.

 

[bballbeadle]

I can add nothing to this discussion, since I haven’t seen Kansas play, except this: My son texted me out of the blue a few minutes ago and said, “SO Kansas must be afraid to play us.” I asked why and he said, “We don’t lose to Kansas.” At first I dismissed this with a laugh, then thought about it. When is the last time we’ve lost to Kansas? Yeah, that’s right! Don’t we beat them always???

I think my son is very deep.

 

[OrlandoCuse]

Not to be Debbie Downer, but I’m just hoping we keep it within 20. KU looks like the best team in the country right now. They are destroying every team they play. The same teams we beat by 8 to 20 they are beating by 40+. Hopefully the zone slows them down.

 

[moqui]

if we can dictate tempo (i think we can), then we should be able to stay with them as long as boo & choo stay on the floor. but if our bigs foul out, it could get ugly fast.

kansas is running teams out of the gym, but kentucky was able to dictate tempo. and our guards are bigger & more experienced than uk'

it's true that we haven't faced anything like kansas, but on the other hand, they haven't faced anything like us. big, physical, experienced guards; a unique defensive scheme designed to slow tempo; athleticism at all 5 positions

in the prediction thread i'll pick kansas to win by 10-12, but i think we can play with them.

 

[moqui]

Myhailiuk...Ukrainian dude. Sort of a smaller Stretch 4 type. Can really shoot it. If Battle isn’t close to 100% then I think Lagerald Vick shuts him down. Can Frank get by Devonta Graham? Will be interesting to see. They are up freaking 50 on Toledo now. I don’t care who you are...that is VERY impressive.

if vick is checking battle & graham is on frank, then that creates a huge mismatch for whichever forward malik newman has to take.

we have a physical/size advantage at all three perimeter positions regardless of how the jayhawks get assigned

 

[iommi]

if vick is checking battle & graham is on frank, then that creates a huge mismatch for whichever forward malik newman has to take.

we have a physical/size advantage at all three perimeter positions regardless of how the jayhawks get assigned

Graham is really good (obviously) but he's also usually not bothered by having a size deficit. His athleticism, quickness, savvy and skills usually outweigh his size disadvantage.

 

[dollarbill44]

If the defense is solid, we may only need an 80% Battle. The last thing JB wants is a run and gun game in the 90s.

For the defense to be solid, Battle must >80%.

 

[SoBeCuse]

if vick is checking battle & graham is on frank, then that creates a huge mismatch for whichever forward malik newman has to take.

we have a physical/size advantage at all three perimeter positions regardless of how the jayhawks get assigned

Perhaps but the flipside is that the offense gets so discombobulated and hard to initiate if Frank and Tyus can’t function against Graham and Vick...entirely possible, IMO. Having forwards handling the ball and initiating offense too much around the 3-point line won’t be good. There’s no Carmelo, Durant, or Wiggins here.

 

[realorange]

For the defense to be solid, Battle must >80%.

Played D pretty well against the Terps at what JB said was 50%

 

[Cusefan0307]

Their guards struggled with Quade and Diallo playing defense against them. I’ll take Battle and Franks defense over those 2.

I think Oshae has the advantage in this game if he can make some shots. Kansas struggled guarding Knox in the UK game.

 

[Cusefan0307]

Played D pretty well against the Terps at what JB said was 50%

Yeah and Gmac said today on his radio show they expect him healthier Saturday. Today’s a day off and they will ease him into practice the rest of the week.

 

[dollarbill44]

Played D pretty well against the Terps at what JB said was 50%

It's a lot easier to play solid defense against that UMd team than KU. Battle struggled with his movement on the d side on Monday.

 

[AlaskaSU]

The stupid ESPN computer model gave us a 14% chance of beating Kansas before the Maryland game. After the game they raised it to 15%.

 

[SWC75]

I can add nothing to this discussion, since I haven’t seen Kansas play, except this: My son texted me out of the blue a few minutes ago and said, “SO Kansas must be afraid to play us.” I asked why and he said, “We don’t lose to Kansas.” At first I dismissed this with a laugh, then thought about it. When is the last time we’ve lost to Kansas? Yeah, that’s right! Don’t we beat them always???

I think my son is very deep.

3/18/01 Kansas 87 Syracuse 58

 

[rrlbees]

The big win vs Maryland makes this game all gravy.

 

[SWC75]

First off, Kansas has a very smart and mature backcourt that likes to play fast and has been shooting it lights out. Their pace , paired with the shooting and athletes they have has seen them just absolutely roll over non P5 opponents so far as they are doing to Toledo tonight.

Given the difference in play style and of course the fact the transitive property means nothing even when comparing opponents both teams have faced, the only game to really try and get a feel on is their win over UK.

Against UK, Kansas shot 35 pct and UK had 10 blocks. Now facing a much tougher defense and the game slowing down, their crazy shooting numbers came way down.

Kansas' guards do a great job getting into the paint and spreading the floor to force you to guard vs packing it in. Kentucky did a nice job making it tough for them to finish inside plus rejecting them 10 times.

The biggest worries I have are Vick and that kid with the weird last name (Mykaleck sp?) As they both have good size and can light it up. Keeping them in check is a headache.

My expectation is that they will be too much and keep the game just out of reach with their ability from deep and the leadership of Graham.


Despite this expectation, as with their game against UK, we present a major problem for Graham to get into the paint and make a living on driving to the rim. This paired with having an overall size and rebounding advantage based on results to date, and the game should not be the track meet Kansas wants or full of open shots all game. Clearly breaking their rhythm and making life difficult on offense is our best shot but given the gritty identity this team has started to forge, it's doable.

If Battle is not 100 pct or close to it however, I just don't think we have enough offense to pull it off. If we get a healthy Battle, and the game is tight down the stretch I love our chances. It is a lot of fun to be talking positive about cuse hoops again. Last year still hurts..

That's good because we are +45 against Texas Southern, Oakland and Toledo and they are +124. I'm glad that means nothing.

But I'm more concerned that our last two opponents shot 23 for 48 from the arc, (47.9%) and that Boeheim has been furious that we aren't getting back on the fast break.

Of course, we will seek to slow it down, which makes me kind of sad.

 

[moqui]

Their guards struggled with Quade and Diallo playing defense against them. I’ll take Battle and Franks defense over those 2.

I think Oshae has the advantage in this game if he can make some shots. Kansas struggled guarding Knox in the UK game.

and diallou went for 14-5-4. missed all his 3s but shot 50% on his twos and got to the line. and battle is better than ham, imo.

nobody here is taking kansas lightly, few are predicting an outright win.

but they shouldn't take su lightly, either

 

[FrancoPizza]

Perhaps but the flipside is that the offense gets so discombobulated and hard to initiate if Frank and Tyus can’t function against Graham and Vick...entirely possible, IMO.

That’s my main concern as well. Frank really hasn’t seen hounding ball pressure yet this season and his handle still doesn’t look tight enough. Dribbles too high and loose. The zone won’t matter if Kansas can score off turnovers and completely disrupt our halfcourt flow.

 

[iommi]

Played D pretty well against the Terps at what JB said was 50%

Battle gave everything he could. There were a few possessions where he couldn't move well and it cost us. His D was solid overall, considering he wasn't himself.