Locked On Jayhawks - Daily Podcast On Kansas Jayhawks Football & Basketball - Injury/Illness Plagued Kansas Jayhawks Basketball Heads to Lubbock to Face Texas Tech Red Raiders

Starting point is 00:00:00 On today's Locked on Jayhawks, can Kansas get it done on the road in Big 12 plays? They play at Texas Tech on Big Monday. You are Locked on Jayhawks, your daily podcast on the Kansas Jayhawks. Part of the Locked on Podcast Network, your team every day. I'm Derek Johnson. You can hear me as well Monday through Friday from 3 to 6 p.m. on KLWN in Lawrence. Normally with Rock Chalk Sports Talk, though,

Starting point is 00:00:32 I have officially retired from that, I guess, so to speak. And now you can just find me here with Locked on Jayhawks. Anywhere you get your podcasts, including on our YouTube page, where you can like and subscribe to the show. On today's episode, preview of Kansas at Texas Tech. We'll get into the top storylines, KU's road struggles, KU's health concerns, Texas Tech scouting report, matchups of the game, Hawks to Soar, and more. First, this episode of the show is brought to you by FanDuel Sportsbook.

Starting point is 00:00:59 Make every moment more. Visit fanduel.com slash locked on to get started. New customers join today. You'll get get 150 in bonus bets if your first bet five dollars or more wins that's fanduel.com slash locked on kansas plays the texas tech eight o'clock central time on a big monday another road game for ku i think the first big storyline coming in this game has to be ku's health or lack thereof. So as I'm recording this on Sunday, we do not have full transparency. What is going to be the situation with Kevin McCuller? What's going to be the

Starting point is 00:01:32 situation with DeJuan Harris, with Jamari McDowell? So all those become question marks, right? And with Kevin, it's tough to see if he couldn't go Saturday, would he be available to go on tonight, right? That's a short turnaround. Maybe he wouldn't be available to go on tonight, right? That's a short turnaround. Maybe he wouldn't be available again until next Saturday. Then again, he went from missing game to playing two games, back to back to missing a game. So it feels like there's something that's going to be kind of up and down.

Starting point is 00:01:56 So who knows? With DeJuan, he played after the rolled ankle, so that would tell you that's good. But he did not look 100% agile and quick and everything like that with the rolled ankle. And who knows with another day or two in between, does the ankle get more swelled up and harder to play on again? Then with Jamari McDowell, is he going to be back from being sick? And furthermore, is like, what if that sickness goes through the rest of KU? I believe there were other players who were sick recently. What if that travels around?

Starting point is 00:02:22 What if this is a situation where it gets to a point where KU only has like four scholarship players available in this game you know that's like the worst case scenario if like McDowell was still out DeJuan and Kevin had to be out and then somebody else got sick or something that would be absolutely bananas if that happened I don't expect that to happen I kind of feel like if I was you know just having to guess I would assume DeJuan's gonna play I don know. I feel like Kevin would want to play, being that it's in Lubbock. But I don't know. He also had a tough game in Lubbock last year. So I feel like Kevin probably going to be out. Maybe McDowell can come back, and maybe he plays. Maybe he doesn't. Certainly with a shorter bench, you'd think so. This is Grant McCasland's first matchup with Bill Self as a member of the Big 12. They did play, actually,

Starting point is 00:03:03 a couple years ago when Grant McCasland was at North Texas. That was in that ESPN Events Invitational. And Kansas won. That was their first-round matchup, 71-59, before they lost in the second game to Dayton. Here's actually some fun trivia from that one. KU had three players score off the bench that game, totaling eight, seven, and four points individually. They were Mitch Lightfoot with eight. Jalen Wilson was seven. He was still coming off the bench that game, totaling eight, seven, and four points individually.

Starting point is 00:03:25 They were Mitch Lightfoot with eight. Jalen Wilson was seven. He was still coming off the bench at that point. And Zach Clements had four of them. How about that for the bench scores in the game for KU? But then KU versus road issues is another storyline here. Add to it, the Texas Tech has that great home court environment. And KU is one and four on the road in Big 12 play,

Starting point is 00:03:46 this does not become any easier to score one of those road wins. So it's just going to feel like it's going to continue to pile on if they lose this game. If you win this game, it's going to feel like, okay, maybe you're starting to try to figure things out. You have a two-road game week two. Can you at least go 1-1 in these two games? But it's a lot better if you win the first because then you still have the option of getting to two and oh big 12 title race is kind of a storyline here for both these teams Kansas sits a game back of Houston and half a game back of Iowa

Starting point is 00:04:14 State Texas Tech is half a game back of Kansas and one game back in the loss column of Houston and obviously Texas Tech just like Iowa State, is fortunate to, they don't have to do a return trip to Lawrence. They don't have to go back to KU and play on the road. So that was a nice little, I guess, optic in the schedule for both them and Iowa State. And when you look at these next two games, Tech is either basically a pick-em or projected to lose on Ken Palm. But the final six for them, they're picked to win every game. That doesn't mean they will win every game, but theoretically, you win this one and you win all six of your final games, they're projected to win.

Starting point is 00:04:51 They could absolutely win the Big 12 Conference. And, like, you look at their schedule, you look at Iowa State's schedule, it's a little easier than Houston's and Kansas once things are going to be all said and done. That could be beneficial to them, and they really are a true Big 12 title contender for the Texas Tech scouting report they come in at 17 and 6 on the season 6 and 4 in Big 12 play they're ranked top 40 overall on Ken Palm the non-con was pretty horrendous for

Starting point is 00:05:16 the schedule they did play two top 100 opponents they lost to both of them they had zero top 100 wins the closest was an overtime win over Michigan, who's ranked 103 right now. The two top 50 teams they played were Butler and Villanova, both those losses. But so far in conference play, they've had a real strong start, although recently just had a bit of a skid. 5-1 to start. They had wins at Texas versus Oklahoma State, versus Kansas State versus BYU and at Oklahoma.

Starting point is 00:05:44 And then there was a blowout loss in between there to Houston. Since that point, they lost three straight games, though, TCU, Cincinnati, Baylor, before winning most recently by seven on Saturday against UCF, so that's how they sit at six and four in the league. What they do well, they're the number one offense in Big 12-only games so far in the conference. They're also top 15 over on the country, barely outside of the top 10 in the country in offensive adjusted efficiency on Ken Palm.

Starting point is 00:06:09 They're shooting over 40% from three and big 12 games. So that's a big reason why they've done so well. They're really good shooting team and they're still top five and two point percentage offense. And they are number one in free throw percentage offense, which helps them overall. They were the number two effective field goal percentage offense in league action. They also don't turn it over a ton,

Starting point is 00:06:29 and they have the second lowest turnover rate on offense in Big 12 play, meaning that they're maximizing the amount of shots they get. And it obviously helps when you take a lot of threes. You're not entering the ball in the post as much. You're not making as many tight passes, so you're not going to turn it over as much theoretically. And that allows them to win the volume game even more when you fire up that many threes.

Starting point is 00:06:51 And they're also a strong passing team, top 60 in the country in assist to made field goal ratio. Defensively, they do a great job not fouling and not sending teams to the free throw line, and they're good at non-steal turnovers, taking charges and things like that. What they't done well though is defense it's odd because with chris beard um you kind of got used to texas tech being this like elite of the elite defensive team with offenses that were a little bit more shaky it's opposite with this team which is also weird because grant

Starting point is 00:07:22 mccasland at north texas had like one of the best defenses in the country but they're only 13th in the big 12 of the 14 teams in defensive efficiency so far in big 12 games they're outside the top 80 nationally and their last in the big 12 games in a defensive rebounding rate so that's something KU could take advantage of maybe which also ranks 271st in the country they don't get blocks or steals uh there's a thing on cbb analytics called a keen percentage like named after a keen elijah one where it's the combination of block plus steel percentage typically if you have a higher rate that means uh i don't know there's a lot of positives that can come from that right you're creating chaos as a defense right they're in the 10th percentile they don't get a lot of either of those they've

Starting point is 00:08:04 only been average in two-point defense and turnover rate defense in conference play, so even their more strengths are just average overall, and they have not been a great offensive rebounding team either. So if you look at the rebounding battle after KU had a bit of a struggle against Baylor, maybe you can get back to it in this one. For the personnel for Texas Tech, the point guard is Joe Toussaint he's been such a great add for the team from the portal he averages 12.7 points 4.2 assists on 42 31 86 shooting splits so not ultra efficient good free throw shooter but solid defender gets him in the right spots then you have uh Pop Isaacs who is a six foot two guard he's kind of the star of the

Starting point is 00:08:42 show as the off guard he'll play the backup point when Toussaint's not in there, but he leads the team at 16.9 points per game, and he adds 3.7 assists, 3.1 rebounds. He's only shooting 36% from the floor, but it's because he's at 32.8% from three on insanely high volume, 7.5 three-point attempts per game. Bit of a chucker at times. He'll shoot long-range ones, so You really have to get out on him. But when he's on, like he was last year when you played him in Lubbock, it's tough to beat because he shoots it at such high volume. Very similar to Tyler Perry, who we saw go off against KU, which is a little bit scary there.

Starting point is 00:09:18 Six for five, Kerwin Walton will play the three and the four. He averages about 8.2 points per game. Not much else, but he's a good shooter. 54% from three. Chance McMillan, he'll slot in at the two and the three. He averages 10.3 points per game, 3.6 rebounds. He shoots 43% from three on high volume. Then you have Darian Williams, who is a 6'6 wing, who plays the four. He gets 9.4 points, seven rebounds, two and a half assists per game. Just does a little bit of everything.

Starting point is 00:09:45 He's also been the team's best defender, according to Evan Miyakawa's website, with defensive BPR. So Darian Williams is certainly somebody who's a winning player. Also very efficient. Not high volume, but 44, 39, 86 shooting splits. Just a winning player. He'll even, in a pinch, move down and play some small ball five. They can also use 6'7 Robert Jennings as a small ball five

Starting point is 00:10:07 between Williams and Jennings. They've played that way for about 38% of their minutes at the five over the last five games, according to Ken Palm. So they will get a lot of time in there with a small ball five, but it is completely opposite when they don't. For a majority of the time, you're going to see a seven-footer in there with Warren Washington, who is a stud inside defender who transferred in from arizona state he's getting 10.3 points 7.7 rebounds 1.6 blocks and shooting 62 percent from the floor on not a

Starting point is 00:10:38 ton of high volume but just a really good player and can impact the defense on that end let's get to our matchups of the game and Hawks to soar on this episode of Locked on Jayhawks. First, we were brought to you by FanDuel Sportsbook. Get buckets with your first bet on FanDuel, America's number one sportsbook, because right now new customers get $150 in bonus bets with any winning $5 bet. That's 150 bucks.

Starting point is 00:11:03 If your bet wins, bet on all your favorite NBA players and teams with quick bets, live same-game parlays, exclusive props, and more. You can bet on KU to win the Big 12 if you're still a believer, or to make a Final Four to win a national title game. You can get

Starting point is 00:11:17 specific same-game parlays with the KU games, with NBA games. Just visit fanduel.com slash LockedOn and shoot your shot. Fan duel, official sports book partner of the NBA. Continuing on with locked on Jayhawks with our matchups of the game. Then we get to our Hawks, the sore players we think can have big matchups here or have favorable

Starting point is 00:11:38 matchups for KU matchup. Number one, transition tries. So tech doesn't run at a big tempo. Interestingly enough, Grant McCasland at North Texas was like the slowest team in the country, like even slower than Virginia. This year they've played a little bit faster.

Starting point is 00:11:52 I think part of that is adjusting to the personnel, having more of an offensive team and a team that can really shoot it and space it. But they're still on the bottom end of their tempo ratings in the Big 12 right now. You look at in the country, Texas Tech ranks 273rd in terms of tempo rating, according to Ken Palm. And you look at Big 12 only games, they are 11th, including 11th in average possession

Starting point is 00:12:17 length on the offensive end of the court. So they're not a very fast team. And they only average six points in fast break per game in conference play. So six fast break points per game in Big 12 games, according to CBB Analytics. That only ranks in the 10th percentile of the country, so they're not doing it a ton. Kansas does, 12.8 fast break points per game, both overall and in conference play, and both of those rank 88th percentile in college basketball. So you have a very stark difference, one team near the top, one team near the bottom in terms of what they get

Starting point is 00:12:48 from the fast break. And for Kansas, you know, there is going to be a bit of a math game here. They're not shooting like one of the highest percentage of threes in the country, but they definitely shoot them in a very solid volume and shoot them at a very high efficiency. You know, it's going to be tough to match twos with their threes. And so one way that you can make up for that a little bit is getting out and transition more, getting some easy buckets and countering in one way that you should have an edge on paper. Although I guess if Kevin McCuller doesn't go, that is one less good transition player for KU who can both handle pass and shoot the ball in transition.

Starting point is 00:13:22 Number two is Kansas on the glass you got worked by Baylor 42 to 25 and rebounding it was bottom five games for KU in both offensive rebound and defensive rebound rate in the same game for Kansas and obviously if Kevin is hurt again this is one that could have an impact in because I don't know if Hunter Dickinson is your best overall rebounder best defensive rebounder. Kevin McCuller is either second or third at both offensive and defensive rebounding and overall rebounding, right? And so that certainly hurts you on the glass. Well, when Texas Tech, who has not been like a great rebounding team

Starting point is 00:13:57 so far this season, but when they grab 28% or more of their offensive misses, they are 12-1. When they don't, they're five and five. You basically, it makes sense, right? I mean, they shoot threes at a very high volume. You can't give this offense extra shots. And what tends to happen when you give up offensive rebounds to a team? Leads to a lot of open threes after the offensive rebound.

Starting point is 00:14:20 Something that Texas Tech will take advantage of and kind of murder you on from the outside. So you give up an offensive rebound, a lot of times it is going to lead to a kickout and an open three and a made three for Texas Tech. On the other basket, though, Tech has not been good either, but they're 12-0 when holding opponents under a 30% offensive rebound rate. They're 5-6 when they don't. So for KU, especially if you're without Kevin McCuller, and I know that almost makes it harder in rebounding, but for the guys like KJ Adams, Johnny Furphy, Parker Brown, if Jamari McDowell is going to play, I think McDowell is actually the best rebounder among McDowell,

Starting point is 00:14:53 Timberlake, and Jackson. We'll see if he plays or not. You have to put an emphasis on rebounding in this game because A, it's something that on paper you could have an advantage in, but B, if you don't, it could be a long night in Lubbock. Number three is switching defense and guarding the three-point line. This is such a clash of KU inside. Kansas averages 11 more points per game in the paint than Texas Tech versus Tech, who gets a ton of their production from the outside, whereas Kansas doesn't shoot a lot of threes. And so far this season, Texas Tech has 10 games

Starting point is 00:15:23 where they've shot 40% or better from three. They also have four more at 37% or better, meaning they have 14 games this year. So more than half of their games, they've shot 37% or better from three. They also had nine games making double digit threes, 10 or more. They do it from all over and they're 38.1% from three in Big 12 only games above the break. But it is unworldly how they've shot from the corner in league games. Texas Tech right now from the corner per CBB analytics in Big 12 games is shooting 49% from three. That is best in the nation during conference play. You have to be able to get out on the corner.

Starting point is 00:16:01 You have to be able to switch. And Kansas did an excellent job for the majority of the game against Baylor, who's another team who shoots a lot of threes and shoots them at a high percentage. And if you do that in this one, you'll feel good. But what did we see over the last minute or so of the game? And there were some breakdowns for KU. And part of that was Nick Timberlake. I'll be very interested to see what his level of play will be in this game, because on one hand, he gave you more production over the overhaul of the game with eight points than Elmarco Jackson did. But in a game where switching and defense is going to be more important, do we see more on Marco Jackson's game? Do we see a chance for Jamari McDowell if

Starting point is 00:16:32 he's back from the injury? But KU has to do a good job switching, working hard around screens, going over screens, getting up to the ball handler, cutting him off. You can't give up open ones because Tech will just bury you if you do. Player matchup here is Hunter Dickinson against Warren Washington, the center for Texas Tech. So last season these two actually met. It was when Hunter Dickinson was with Michigan and when Warren Washington was with Arizona State.

Starting point is 00:17:01 And neither had like a big game offensively. Dickinson had 14 points on 6 of 12 he only had five rebounds and he had three turnovers Washington had four points he only took three shots he had eight rebounds and two blocks honestly if Texas Tech you told them that's what you could get in this game that you would hold 100 to 14 points especially without Kevin McCuller you only have five rebounds I think you would gladly take that if you were Tech, even though you're not getting a ton of offensive production in that comparison with Warren Washington. But here's the thing for KU, especially if Kevin McCuller's out. I don't know if Kansas has the offensive firepower to win a game like this on

Starting point is 00:17:39 the road without Hunter Dickinson going for 18, 20, 22 points, right? And that becomes difficult because Washington is a good defender. Now, again, go back to the idea that Texas Tech has played almost 40% of their minutes over the last five games with a small ball five. That'll be difficulty for Hunter Dickinson guarding on the defensive end. But on the offensive end, you should be able to bury them inside. Now, maybe Tech lessens that number a little bit there, but that'll be an opportunity for Hunter to certainly carve out a big advantage for KU. One weird thing is in Big 12 play, Tech has allowed 68.8% at the rim,

Starting point is 00:18:13 which is bottom 8% in college basketball. But I think that's less about Warren at center. I think that's more about when they play small ball five, and that's more about the guards for Tech don't do a great job of preventing penetration and giving up lanes to the rim. And I think that's part of what it is, that it becomes apparent that KU's other players have an advantage in certain ways, which we'll get to here in Hawks to Soar, but it's just without Kevin McCuller. If you have a couple of players for Tech who are not good defenders on the wing, well, if KU's playing a lot of El Marco Jackson and Nick Timberlake on the wing,

Starting point is 00:18:47 how much is KU going to really be able to take advantage? So Hunter has to be able to go off for KU in this game. All right, let's finish up with Hawks to Sword. Jayhawks, we think, can have big games for KU on this episode of Locked on Jayhawks. First, we are brought to you by eBay Motors. Passion, drive, and patience. What brings home the winning trophy is also what keeps your ride or die alive. eBay Motors has everything you need to maintain your vehicle and level it up to peak performance.

Starting point is 00:19:10 From superchargers, roof racks, exhaust kits, LED headlights, and more. Whether you're into speed, power, or style, eBay Motors has got you covered. With over 122 million parts for your number one ride or die, you'll always find exactly what you're looking for. And with eBay Guaranteed Fit, your part is guaranteed to fit your ride every time for your number one ride or die you'll always find exactly what you're looking for and with ebay guaranteed fit your part is guaranteed to fit your ride every time or your money back because with ebay guaranteed fit and ebay motors you're burning rubber not cash with all the parts you need at the prices you want it's easy to turn your car into the mvp and bring home that win keep your ride or die live at ebaymotors.com eligible items only exclusions apply ebay guaranteed fit only available to u.s customers finishing up hawks the sore ku players we think are set up to have big games um

Starting point is 00:19:51 kevin if he's healthy and then johnny furphy so text two wings kirwin walton and chance mcmillan they both have negative dbpr rankings grades metrics metrics on Evan Miyakawa's side. They've not been good defenders on the wing. So KU should be able to exploit the wing matchups a little bit. One thing I am worried, though, Furphy's not really somebody who's going to drive you off the dribble, take advantage of that as much, but maybe they get lost on off-the-ball stuff.

Starting point is 00:20:21 Kevin, if you were playing in this game, would be set up to possibly have a really big game. The unfortunate part is Tech's best defenders, Warren Washington, is a center on Hunter Dickinson. They're four-man. He's obviously their best defender on Evan Miyakawa's website, and that makes it tough on K.J. Adams when you look at their play at the four with Williams. And then at the point guard spot, Joe Toussaint's been a solid defender. So, I mean, this game really could come down to Johnny Furphy, which is tough when you have freshmen who struggled shooting the last two games and now playing on the road, and one of Nick Timberlake,

Starting point is 00:21:00 Elarco Jackson, Jamari McDowell. And that's a scary place to be in, in a spot where KU has really struggled on the road. But I do think Furphy is set up to have a big game. I've liked how aggressive he's continued to be shooting the ball, even though they haven't fallen these last two games. The process is good there. They'll start falling again,

Starting point is 00:21:15 but there's no guarantee it'll be this game, right? They could start falling next year or in a week from now, right? So, but I do think on paper, it is a matchup that could be good for him to get him out of his slump a little bit. All right, that'll do it for this episode of Locked on Jayhawks. You can find us anywhere you get your podcasts, including on our YouTube page. We'll be back for a KU Texas Tech recap later with LOJ.

Locked On Jayhawks - Daily Podcast On Kansas Jayhawks Football & Basketball - Injury/Illness Plagued Kansas Jayhawks Basketball Heads to Lubbock to Face Texas Tech Red Raiders

There aren't comments yet for this episode. Click on any sentence in the transcript to leave a comment.