Jan 5: Game Day Headlines for KU vs SDSU
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###SDSU last nonconference test for KU men###
For Kansas University’s men’s basketball players and coaches, the quest for a 10th straight Big 12 title is near, but not yet here. A major event precedes Wednesday’s league opener at Oklahoma: Today’s nonconference showdown between the No. 16-ranked Jayhawks (9-3) and No. 21 San Diego State Aztecs (11-1).
####** Newell: KU’s Self switches up practice to help ailing defense**####
After Kansas’ lackluster defensive effort against Toledo last week, coach Bill Self spent almost all of his team’s practice time this week working on defensive drills.
####** Five-Minute Scout: Why one Jayhawk should have big game against San Diego State**####
Team: San Diego State
Record: 11-1
KenPom (Ken Pomeroy) Ranking: 22
####Keegan: Aztecs guard Thames a tough matchup for Jayhawks####
The 21st-ranked San Diego State men’s basketball team not only features the nation’s second-best two-point field goal percentage defense (.388) and the least-praised great coach of his era(s?), Steve Fisher, it also has the country’s most underrated guard.
Xavier Thames, a fifth-year senior who spent his freshman season at Washington State, leads the Aztecs in scoring (16.3 points per game), assists (2.5), steals (2.0) and three-point percentage (.474).
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Gosh, sounds like we don’t have a chance!
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~5-10 in real inches Naa guards 6-3 Thames or a 6-7 wing when Selden switches off, or when Frank plays point? How do you say Brannen Greene, or AW3 get a lot more minutes!
~Perry gets another chance to see if he can finally be efficient and glassvac against guys his size.
~Selden is in for his first D1 taste of being shorter than his man for an entire game. It usually unnerves all but the best.
~Wigs finally gets a taste of playing with a floor full of guys that can get up and can get down the floor close to the way he can. Here we see if Wigs is ready to turn it on and keep it on.
~Game hinges on the glass, if Self has Hawks playing better defense (and that is a huge if). Control the glass and Self can turn it into a half court game for stretches, which lets Self prevent Fish from getting our saplings too sped up. Fail to control the glass on an opponent our size and with a big MUA at PG, and a whole cascade of bad things happen. Our front court depth means we should eventually get control in a fast paced game.
~SDSU is vulnerable to fatigue fouling against a team their own size, but so is KU, if Self has to wait too long to go to his bench.
~If SDSU shoots well, Self will have to mix up the defenses to stay in it.
~Self’s tight rope walk is keeping the pace up the court fast enough but also running the stuff long enough to make KU’s depth give KU an energy advantage down the stretch of both halves, while not letting SDSU speed KU up.
~Fish needs to speed KU up and avoid as much time defending in half court as possible. It also means getting inside quick on offense and drawing fouls to stop the action as much as possible to keep legs strong for the stretch runs of both halves.
~Both teams are too L&A for either to force either a full time half court, or a full time running game. This leads to a game of squirts of breakneck pace broken up by lots of foul shooting. SDSU WINS IF IT CAN CONTROL THE GLASS AND CAN DICTATE MORE SQUIRTS OF SPEED BALL AND TRANSITION BASKETS.
KU WINS IF IT CAN CONTROL THE GLASS, PREVENT OUT OF CONTROL RUNNING BY SDSU, AND EXPLOIT ITS ENERGY ADVANTAGE DOWN THE STRETCH OF BOTH HALVES PROVIDED BY ITS FRONT COURT BENCH.
~KU is about to learn how tough life can be without a lot of freebie lobs.
~KU is also about to learn how well Naa and Frank play up and under defense against guys a half foot taller.
~Wiggins and Ellis are the decisive MUAs to exploit.
~Embiid is likely to have some trouble getting untracked against their length, and Perry always has a tough time with length.
~Control the glass, protect, change up the defenses, hope Brannen’s wild hair is trimmed, and get Wigs his touches early and often.
~If Naa and Frank have to play much together, fuggedaboutit.
KU by 5.
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Game will probably be close. Most regular season games on CBS are. Good for ratings I guess. We must reduce the amount of garbage put back buckets that we have given up lately. I was impressed with the way we attempted 3 point shots in our last game. It is time for our 3 point assassins to step out on a National Stage and demonstrate what they are capable of. This will silence the Talking Heads that are quick to point out that we have no outside shooting, in their opinion of course. I like this year better than years past because we know exactly who we are because we have been tested, weaknesses exposed, and hopefully deficiencies corrected. In years past we have played softer schedules and thought we were much better than what we were. Last year, we were one of the best teams in the nation, but we couldn’t close games very well. This year, we must prove we can close games. The Florida game is the only game where we did not put ourselves in a position to win. We should be a one loss team, but we are not. Hopefully, the early season losses will motivate our team to take care of business from the moment they step on the court.
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@jaybate 1.0 we must hit the floor for loose balls, 50/50 balls. Our guards can play. I think Frank Mason can get into the paint against anybody. Tharpe seems ready to lead this team. Not worried about their size, we have plenty of that as well. I think it comes down to hustle and pace. No one should be allowed to come into Phog Allen Field House and dictate the pace of the game. What a non conference schedule! We have played against every type of team imaginable. Physical, finesse, fast, slow, zone, mam-to-man, and not to mention refs swallowing their whistles one-sidedly (10 minutes, 30 seconds the Villanova Game). Home games, away games,Neutral Sites, Large Venues and Small Venues. This team has seen it all. Today is the last test before conference, hopefully we have studied well.
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On a different note, OSU got knocked off by KSU yesterday. Get ready fellas, Big 12 will be quite a ride this year.
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Yes. Conference road games will be tough…tougher than usual for us with a young team. KSU apparently helped us yesterday. Of course, our theory going in to the game was that OSU is more of a threat to our streak than KSU is. My philosophy is that if 2 opponents are equal threats to win the conference, you root for the home team. Otherwise, the road winner has a leg up on us. Based on recent play, and on last year’s results, is KSU now as much of a threat to win the conference as everyone else? We’ll see if they can win on the road.
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If this game were played on a neutral court, I’d be very worried at this point in the season. I see a close game with the magic of the Phog allowing us to pull one out.
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I have no doubt that KU will be able to score; however, the main question is if it will allow SDSU to control tempo and score of turnovers, and I believe that this stat will dictate how the game develops.
20+ turnover - Loss
15 turnovers - Close game
10 turnovers - Win
5 turnovers - Comfortable win
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What happens if the San Diego-Cincinnati game goes long? Will we have to wait for it to end or will our region be switched to the basketball game?
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Live blog is up, in case you’d like to join. We’ve had nice crowds the last few games.
