Anybody watching Duke vs Texas?



  • Me thinks Florida could take down Puke.



  • Still shocked they gave this one away. Dukes interior D was awful. Texas jacking up useless threes. I just don’t understand.



  • Horrible late game execution. Missed dunks. Duke officiating. Texas can blame themselves for horrible shot selection in the last 5 minutes of regulation, though. Just terrible.



  • Are we really going to assume sweeping Texas after they’re taking Duke to OT and leading most of the game?

    UT is the 2nd most talented team in the Big 12 and Mo Bamba is the real deal on defense. Those won’t be easy games for Kansas.



  • Texas Hawk 10 said:

    Are we really going to assume sweeping Texas after they’re taking Duke to OT and leading most of the game?

    UT is the 2nd most talented team in the Big 12 and Mo Bamba is the real deal on defense. Those won’t be easy games for Kansas.

    Feel free to think a Shaka team will ever win anything. I see the same old problems here. Grayson missed a ton of time with foul trouble. Then when Duke wanted to, they turned the screws.



  • When Duke started attacking, Texas showed they have a tendency to foul. Duke picked up the defensive intensity and Texas had a hard time scoring, plus they have no shooters. If we pack the paint, rebound and attack them, we will win.



  • Grayson didn’t matter. If Texas didnt give the game away I would be in complete agreement with @Texas-Hawk-10



  • Grayson is their best guard and the drop-off from their 3rd to 4th guard is huge.



  • Headed over to slack.



  • Texas doesn’t suck, but they showed several easily exploitable weaknesses that we can capitalize on.



  • Exactly. They could beat KU in a single game of course, too many factors to say otherwise. And they are not a terrible team but they have a lot of issues.



  • @BShark I didn’t say 2nd best, I said 2nd most talented. Quite frankly, I wouldn’t be shocked if KU won the league by 4 or 5 games this year. After KU, there is a huge drop off to the 2nd tier of teams and I would put UT in that 2nd tier along with WVU, TCU, and Baylor. 2nd place in the Big 12 could very easily could easily be a 2 or 3 way tie at 11-7 and I wouldn’t be shocked if UT is in that group.



  • I don’t know if I’d be that cocky about our Big 12 chances. What we saw from UT today is a team that could win the Big 12. Given the fact that KU is two fouls away from Mitch Lightfoot guarding in the post, nothing is a given, and nothing should be even assumed. Now, if we add a functional DeSousa? We’ll cross that bridge when we get there. But it’s unrealistic in my mind to see this team as a winning the league by such a margin.

    I will be shocked if we win by 4 or 5 games.

    Remember the folks we are too good to play down I-35? Sure wish somehow they were in our league.



  • @HighEliteMajor This team has a killer instinct that we haven’t seen in years from a Kansas team. These last 2 games have been against teams projected to win their leagues and KU has put a foot on their throat from tip off and never gave them a chance to believe they could win

    West Virginia is supposed to be the 2nd best team, yet they get blown away by an undermanned Texas A&M, TCU struggles against New Mexico. Baylor looks like the 2nd best team right now so what you’re saying @HighEliteMajor is that you think Scott Drew or Shaka Smart are good enough coaches to win more games than Kansas this year.

    There’s not a definite bad team in the Big 12 which is why computers always love the Big 12, but there’s nobody in KU’s class this year and I’ve watched of the teams play already expect for OSU and KSU this year.

    KU might drop a couple of games here and there, but there’s not a lot of talented bigs in the Big 12 this year so I’m not overly concerned if KU has to go with Lightfoot a few games because of foul trouble. Our backcourt is more than good enough to make up for that. KU wins at least 14 league games this year and I don’t see them losing before conference play starts either.



  • KirkIsMyHinrich said:

    Coach K at the end of regulation is like “I wrote you that check for a win, not a tie.”

    And I could’ve sworn I saw Smart say “I’m sorry.” Seriously.



  • @Texas-Hawk-10 I always appreciate how your “wouldn’t be shocked” morphs into definitive, no doubt, certainty. I simply wouldn’t be shocked if we did not win the Big 12. We have one post player at the moment. One.



  • Ehh schlocka hasn’t won any conference that I’m aware of. I don’t think that’ll change this season. Will KU go undefeated…probably not. Will I bet against them? Hell no!



  • @HighEliteMajor. The I wouldn’t be surprised statement I made was about how many games KU would win the Big 12 by, not whether or not they would win it.

    Tell me who’s good enough to beat Kansas over 18 games in the Big 12 this year because I haven’t seen anyone good enough of the teams I’ve watched so far which as I said earlier, is most teams in the league already.



  • You can win small without doubt. I think UConn and Nova have proved that teams with smart play can be effective even when facing taller teams. That is why these non con games are good for Dok to learn how to not foul and improve his conditioning. Everyone acts so scared of playing taller teams, but how are those teams going to guard our perimeter? Someone’s four man is going to have to guard Lagerald or Svi, which is a really tough cover. We’ll be fine, especially if Desousa can play. He and Cunliffe will be a big boost for this squad at the perfect time heading into conference play.



  • I figure that even if we reclaim Billy Pee by semester, and even if he is joined by newcomer deJesus from the midseason ranks of high school competition, we are bound to bumble along into 2 or 3 league losses. Can Bill Self coached squads play fluidly with guys who have not suited up for November/December battles? If one or both of those power forwards should become available late, what will their inclusion mean to a squad which is united in team play? Right now the Jayhawks are passing and sharing the ball in triumphant and speedy harmony. Granted, Doke’s accomplishments will be tested by league coaches and a few conference players like this Bamba kid down in Austin. But our array and backlog of guards might just dominate league opponents, regardless. And a couple of Jayhawk guards are no slouches when it comes to the measuring tape. All the while, earnest Mitch gradually improves his game. I tend to think we win #14 with just the team we now have available. However, I do think the addition of a player with height and bulk might be a saving grace by the time we march into NCAA Tourney play. Whether Preston or the high school wonder or some other big body, if we hope to advance far in the grand tourney someone new will have to have played several second semester minutes per game just to get himself up to reasonable unison with what Bill Self now possesses. Whoever it be, let’s hope the addition does not subtract from what we now see. Tampering with a hoops lineup is akin to replacing Runner #2 on a championship relay team.



  • @Texas-Hawk-10 It’s funny that you think these teams just remain static, and won’t improve. What has KU shown so far? We struggled to score against an inferior UK team, our only real game. Sure, we’re the favorite. Of course. Texas, WVU, Baylor, TCU. All capable of knocking this KU team off its throne.

    If we get a functional DeSousa, my optimism rises. If not, we’re too thin in the post to win in March and reach the FF, barring perfect matchups.

    @HawkChamp Why do you think Cunliffe is a difference maker? Given what you just said, how do you explain the Oregon game? Were Nova and UConn thin in the post, meaning one good post player on the roster?



  • Aren’t we much easier to scheme against for conference foes. With only Doke and Mitch? Seems that way to me. Did UT play out of their minds for 35 min yesterday? Or are they just improving? I felt they definitely played 35 min like a team we would struggle against. Doesn’t mean we’re gonna lose to them. Or the conference. But certainly I don’t think winning any of that is a given at this point. And still I mantain that even if we do get Desouza he likely won’t be ready to flourish as a incoming green Big in Self’s system. We have seen this repeatedly thru the years. BP would be I think the best option simply based on having some time with the team already. But if we can’t get him on the floor soon. That ship may sail as well. Then we’re simply down to either shooting ppl out of the gym or most likely playing a bad ball style which wouldn’t shock me to see alot more of as the season progresses and kids get more and more tired. We can probably play both ways depending on the night. But I think we’ve all seen how that story ends when it matters most. Although, who knows. It is after all only November



  • @HighEliteMajor And yet, your post implies that KU will remain static and not improve while everyone else does. KU is for sure adding 1 new player into the rotation to help with depth in the front court in Cunliffe, likely 2 since DeSousa seems likely to join up around conference, and possibly 3 if the Preston situation gets sorted out in KU’s favor.

    KU had issues with Kentucky, but who in the Big 12 even comes close to matching UK’s combination of talent and length?

    This is the weakest the Big 12 has been in a long time and KU is the only team that appears good enough to even make it past the 1st weekend of the NCAA tournament this year.



  • I think the fact that people focus on “barely beating a not very good UK” reflects a thorough misunderstanding of Cal’s current team. It is a hugely talented team that has been missing in chemistry and has not played anywhere near its level. But to call that team “bad” is myopic. They are not great, but any team with that talent has the potential to be. I think all those freshmen will show their truer colors by year’s end.



  • Kentucky is 5-1. It’s not like they are going full Arizona. They are the kind of team that will junk you up, I wouldn’t expect them to be on too many blowouts either way tbh.