Locked On Jayhawks - Daily Podcast On Kansas Jayhawks Football & Basketball - Is it Really a NEW Season? Kansas Looks to Prove Themselves vs Injured Texas Tech Red Raiders Squad

Episode Date: February 28, 2025

Can the Kansas Jayhawks prove their "new season" narrative against Texas Tech? As the Jayhawks prepare to face the formidable Texas Tech Red Raiders, basketball fans are eager to see if KU can maintai...n their momentum. With key players like KJ Adams and Hunter Dickinson in the spotlight, this matchup promises to be a thrilling test of skill and strategy.Derek Johnson breaks down the strengths and weaknesses of both teams, highlighting Texas Tech's offensive prowess and Kansas' defensive challenges. He explores pivotal player matchups, including Dickinson vs JT Topping, the impact of Zeke Mayo and the injury status to Darrion Williams and Chance McMillian as well as discusses the strategic keys for Kansas to secure a victory. The episode offers a comprehensive analysis of the game, focusing on the importance of defending the three-point line and controlling the tempo.Tune in to discover if the Jayhawks can outmaneuver the Red Raiders and solidify their standing in college basketball.Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!PrizePicksDownload the app and use code lockedonnfl to win $50 instantly when you play $5. You don't even need to win to receive your $50 bonus, it's guaranteed! Prizepicks. Run Your Game.Click Here: https://prizepicks.onelink.me/LME0/LOCKEDONCOLLEGEFabricJoin the thousands of parents who trust Fabric to help protect their families. Apply today in just minutes at MEETFABRIC.com/LOCKEDONCOLLEGE. Policies issued by Western-Southern Life Assurance Company. Not available in certain states. Prices subject to underwriting and health questions.ROYDownload the Roy app now from the App Store and start backing your favorite athletes the way they deserve—with transparency, trust, and a real impact. This is the future of college sports. Join it now by downloading Roy and supporting your favorite players!FanDuelRight now, new FanDuel customers can get ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY DOLLARS in Bonus Bets if your first FIVE DOLLAR bet wins!Download the app or head to FANDUEL.COM to get started. Bet with FanDuel—Official Partner of the NBA. FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN)

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Starting point is 00:00:00 On today's Locked on Jayhawks, we're going to find out just how real of a new season this is for KU as they take on one of the better teams in the country in the Texas Tech Red Raiders. You are Locked on Jayhawks, your daily podcast on the Kansas Jayhawks, part of the Locked on Podcast Network, your team every day. What's going on? Derek Johnson here. This is Locked On Jayhawks.
Starting point is 00:00:30 Thanks for making it your first listen every day and thank you to the every dayers catching each and every episode of the show. We're free and available anywhere you get your podcasts, including on YouTube, where you can like and subscribe to the show. And on today's edition of Locked On Jayhawks, we give you your preview of the Kansas Texas Tech game coming up on Saturday at one o'clock. We'll get into our headlines of the game. Kansas trying to continue this new season talk and move to three and oh, I guess we'll get into the opponent scouting report of
Starting point is 00:00:59 what the Red Raiders bring to the table, what they do well, what they struggle with keys to the game for the Jayhawks, players to watch, and more on this episode of the show. Let's start right here with our headlines coming into the game. Like I said, kind of at the start, it's an opportunity, obviously, if you are buying into the new season talk
Starting point is 00:01:18 that Kansas is kind of having with themselves as a team, that means they're 2-0, but both wins are against teams who are at the bottom of the big 12. And yes, you do get credit for the fact that, okay, at least one of them was on the road where you've struggled and the other one, you blasted the opponent
Starting point is 00:01:34 and that team ended up going around in the next game. And this is Oklahoma State that I'm referring to here. And Oklahoma State just had a pretty big win in their most recent game. In addition to Colorado had just beaten Baylor in the game before. So if you're just looking at, you know, when you're playing them,
Starting point is 00:01:53 Oklahoma State just beats Iowa State by six and you know, Baylor. So it makes them feel a little bit better that you won those games nonetheless. But this is the true test of if it is really a new season for you, right? Can you go two and one in this tough three game stretch, for instance? Or can you win a game like this where you're playing a good opponent,
Starting point is 00:02:09 but you're playing them in Allen Fieldhouse? This should be a game that, you know, before the season started, we'd be like, oh, yeah, Texas got a good team, but you should win because you're playing in Allen Fieldhouse and you should also be a good team. So this would be the type of game where if this really is, if this new season is, you know, a refresh, go out and win this game. And a part of that too, could be the Texas Tech could be down some key players in this one, we'll see what ends up happening here. But the
Starting point is 00:02:33 game against Houston, they were without two of their better players. That would be Chance McMillan, who missed the the Houston game and is a really good scoring guard for them. And then Darian Williams, and he is very interesting because he was amazing against Kansas last year in Lubbock. And then he's also had a great season for them. And for McMillan, it was his second game in a row missed. For Williams, it was his second game of the year missed. And Graham McHasland, who is the head coach for Texas Tech,
Starting point is 00:03:07 he said that neither had returned to practice as of Thursday. And so that means that they're not back yet. It doesn't guarantee that they're not back by Saturday. So it is possible that they do end up going or that maybe one of the two ends up going. We'll wait and see on that. But obviously at this point in time,
Starting point is 00:03:28 maybe that's not the expectation. And that would have a huge difference in how you view this Texas Tech team. If both those guys are healthy, this is one of the better teams in the country. If both of them are not healthy, it's still a good team that can beat you, but it takes a big punch away from them.
Starting point is 00:03:44 So they enter into this game. When you look at Texas Tech at 21 and seven on the season, they're 12 and five in big 12 play. They're ranked in the top 10 on both Ken Palm and Bart Torvik with that record. And they've got one of the top offenses in the country. And yet even with one of the top offenses in the country, they're still top 30 on the defensive end.
Starting point is 00:04:02 They're actually pretty balanced, but better offensive team than defensive team. And again, if either one of those players is out, that certainly can impact things. They have lost two of their last three. And again, you're missing two of those players and you're playing Houston in one of those. They've lost three of six as well.
Starting point is 00:04:16 So they're not on their best trend right now. That was after though, they won seven straight games. But again, when you look at the losses, one was at Arizona, good team, one was versus Houston with those injuries. And the other was was a bad road loss, he loses the TCU hasn't been great this year. But you know, sometimes weird road losses are gonna happen, you lose by three on the road. So it is what it
Starting point is 00:04:37 is. They also though have beaten Arizona, they want to be why you they beat Baylor, they beat West Virginia, both Baylor and West Virginia, they beat by double digits, teams we saw Kansas lose to. And the only team in Big 12 play to beat Houston, it's Texas Tech, they did it on the road in Houston. So this tech team has shown they can beat some of the best teams in the country
Starting point is 00:04:57 and shown they can do it on the road, right? Winning a BYU and at Houston, those are really tough places to play and show what this team can possibly be. You look at the personnel for Texas Tech. Elijah Hawkins is a 5'11 point guard. You might recognize that name from a couple years ago. He's the former Howard guard who was like the star player on that team when Kansas beat him in the first round without Bill self coaching in the 2023 NCAA tournament. And he ended up transferring, I think the Minnesota last year transferred again this year to Tech,
Starting point is 00:05:27 and he's averaging about nine and a half points, six and a half assists per game. Not super high efficiency, but he shoots a lot of threes. He can hit them from deep 33% this year. So, you know, solid there. He'll obviously have to take on a bigger load offensively should McMillan be out from the guard position. They do have another good scoring guard though. 6'2 freshman in Kristen Anderson. He is averaging 10 points, three rebounds, one and a half steals per game,
Starting point is 00:05:50 and he's shot the ball really well. 44 from the floor, 40% from three, and 78 at the foul line. Very efficient scorer for them. They just have a lot of guards who can get buckets for him. That brings us to Chance McMillan, six foot three guard. If he does end up going,
Starting point is 00:06:03 he's one of the better scorers in the entire conference. I mean, he's averaging 15 points per game, over 15 points per game. I get four rebounds per game, and he's doing it shooting 53% from the floor, 45% from three, and 88% of the foul line. One of the most efficient scorers in the conference. So of course his status in the game
Starting point is 00:06:22 will have a huge impact on maybe who comes out on top. They also use Kevin Overton. He's a 6'5 wing, can play the three or the four, something with players named Kevin going to Texas Tech and being versatile wings for them. But he averages over eight points per game, nearly four rebounds, 32% from three, so he can shoot them. But he's not, you know, a knockdown shooter. He has had some games that he gets hot though, but it's not always the most consistent thing in the world. Then at the four, if he's healthy, is six foot six Darian Williams.
Starting point is 00:06:50 And this is the other guy who it kind of hinges on a little bit. 14.9 points per game, 5.2 rebounds per game, four assists per game. So he does a little bit of everything. And then he also gets 1.3 steals per game and he shoots the ball well. 45 from the floor, 35 from 3, 84 from the
Starting point is 00:07:07 foul line. If you remember, Kansas got absolutely rocked last year when they played at Lubbock, got destroyed in that game. And Darian Williams was a big reason why. He had 3 points and 11 rebounds. I mean, that itself is a dominant performance for what Darian Williams did against KU. But then what makes it really special? He was 12 for 12 against Kansas. It was an unbelievable performance by him. And so yes, it is going to be a huge deal, whether he plays or not. The main five man will also get some minutes of the four.
Starting point is 00:07:39 And that is a JT Toppin, who is one of the best players in the conference. He's one of the best players at his position in the country, to be completely honest. He's averaging 17.2 points per game, 9.2 rebounds per game, 1.2 blocks per game. You can make an argument that Chance McMillan, you know, maybe has a bigger impact because you could say, oh, guard play wins in March. You could say that Darian Williams has the biggest impact on the team because he's kind of a matchup nightmare for other teams is being this foreman who can do a lot of stuff
Starting point is 00:08:09 and shoot the ball really well. And those things are all true, but I do think the best player on this team is JT Toppin and he will be healthy. Again, nearly averaging a double-double, over 17 points, over nine rebounds, over a block per game, 56% from the floor, 70% from the foul line. He can shoot the three a little bit. 10 of 34, 29%.
Starting point is 00:08:25 So, you know, on a given night, he could go two for two. He could go one for two. We'll see there. This is one where I'm a little jealous on because if you go back, we have past episodes talking about that I thought he should have been a trade for a portal target for KU.
Starting point is 00:08:39 And that, you know, they could have theoretically started him next to Hunter Dickinson and had KJ coming off the bench and giving you a 15, 20 minutes a night as kind of a backup for five man and having Toppin still play 25 minutes a night as kind of a four and five man. And I was thought this kid was really special when he transferred in from New Mexico and ends up going to tech. And now he's having this unbelievable season. The other five man they have is six'11", 215 pound Federico Federico, who is a good rebounder, rebounder, a good defender, defender, and just okay, this is a dumb joke. But anyway, he just takes like high efficient dunks. So he's not like, you know, making you work on the pose necessarily, but you know, he'll rim roll, he'll pick and roll and stuff. But overall, good rebounder, defender and gives him solid minutes when he's out there. It is going to be interesting because you go back to the Colorado game and Hunter Dickinson had a gigantic mismatch when he was on offense.
Starting point is 00:09:31 Colorado's bigs couldn't defend him. At the other end though, there were times where, you know, KU's bigs couldn't defend the speedy Colorado bigs who would get behind the defense, who would dunk on KU, right? And that's similar to Texas Tech. Like Federico Federico is a mobile big man, 6'11", but only 215 pounds. That's going to give KU troubles with his dunking ability, but KU should also be able to score on him in the other end. JT Toppin at 6'9". So I do find that interesting in how you could have offensive advantages again at both sides of the ball. One other guy that I
Starting point is 00:10:02 want to mention of note that I haven't to this point, 6'5 guard, Kerwin Walton. He'll play more if McMillan is out. He played a lot in the Houston game, but 38% from three. So very good three point shooter. And we'll certainly have a bigger role again if McMillan is out. All right, before we get into more on Texas Tech
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Starting point is 00:11:06 that's meet m e e t fabric.com slash locked on college policies issued by western southern life assurance company not available in certain states prices subject to underwriting and health questions. All right, continuing on with the show here on Locked on Jayhawks. What does Texas Tech do well? What do they struggle with and keys to the game for KU? So what Texas Tech does well, offensively, they're one of the best offenses in the country. They avoid turnovers, so they're not giving the ball away. They get offensive rebounds, which they're an elite shooting team.
Starting point is 00:11:39 They shoot free throws really well. They shoot threes really well. Top 30 nationally in three point percentage on offense, and they do it on high volume, as you would imagine. But it just makes them so much more deadly that they combine that shooting with the ability to get offensive rebounds at a high rate, that they are getting extra possessions on top of shooting those. They're also they're not as elite as their three point shooting, but their two point offense is still at least good. And I think a big reason for that is,
Starting point is 00:12:05 I mean, one, JT Toppin helps them having him on the inside. But because of their spacing, the gravity that their three-point shooting creates, it opens up driving lanes. It opens up one-on-ones for the big men like Toppin. It opens up dunk opportunities for Federico Federico. It opens up backdoor cut opportunities for all these players.
Starting point is 00:12:23 Like it helps them, I think in that very real way. Now, when you look at the defensive side of the ball for them, they're number one in Big 12 only games in defensive rebound rates. They've been the best defensive rebounding team during conference play. They're also top five in two and three point defense,
Starting point is 00:12:37 so at least solid at both. Now where they've struggled a little bit more offensively, they don't get to the free throw line that much. So, if this is something where with those players out like McMillan and Williams, if that does make them, they're, I don't know, you're playing on the road and maybe they have a down three point shooting game, it becomes a little bit tougher for them
Starting point is 00:12:55 to make up those points. The good news for them is they don't have down three point shooting games very often, but it can change when, you know, you're depleted without certain personnel who's really good. So that's something to watch. And then defensively, even though overall they're still good defense, still solid, they don't force a lot of chaotic plays. They don't get a lot of steals. They don't get a lot of blocks, which I think are good things for how KU plays and what that's playing into.
Starting point is 00:13:20 They also do send teams the free throw line a bit too often on the defensive end, which that it will be an interesting matchup because KU doesn't go to the free throw line very often on the offensive end. They've had a couple of games here or there where they've been able to figure it out, but over the long haul, that hasn't been the case. We'll see if that is in this game. All right, keys to the game for KU.
Starting point is 00:13:38 Number one is defend the three ball. So Texas Tech this year is three and four when they play teams that have top 20 defenses that are currently ranked in the top 20 on Ken Palms adjusted defensive efficiency as you mentioned. So three and four there. And if you just look at top 11 defenses of which Kansas is both there ranked in the top 10 right now, they're just one in three. And you compare that to their overall record right of being 21 and seven. That means that they're 18 and three three. And you compare that to their overall record, right, of being 21 and seven,
Starting point is 00:14:06 that means that they're 18 and three on the flip side to the first number I gave you. That means they're a 20 and four on the second number. And when you look at times that KU has struggled defensively, even though the defense does rank pretty well, it's teams who can take advantage of their big men and pick and rolls. It's teams who can space their big men
Starting point is 00:14:23 out to the three point line. It's teams who can space their big men out to the three point line. It's teams who can cause them troubles with guard play behind the arc, with those ball screens, right? And that is what's scary because Texas Tech fits those things to a bill. For instance, Kansas this season, they are eight and six against teams
Starting point is 00:14:40 that are currently shooting 34% or better from three. So currently shooting doesn't mean they did in the game or doesn't mean, you know, overall in the season teams that are shooting 34% or better from three, which is above average, it's solid. Kansas is only eight and six. They're 11 and three against the others. So like that's a big difference. And the number changes against teams that are, if I take this a little step further, teams that are shooting 35% or better from three point range. Kansas is just two and four compared to 17 and five on the flip side. So they have almost the same amount of losses
Starting point is 00:15:11 in 22 games versus six games for teams that are shooting 35% or better from three and Texas Tech obviously fits that billing and they are just an awesome three point shooting team from all over the floor, both in terms of where they're shooting them and who is shooting them. Again though, like I feel like, you know, if you had a nickel every time I talked about Macmillan and Williams possibly being out, you'd, I don't know, have close to a dollar by the end of this episode. But like that does have a big impact on both of those things
Starting point is 00:15:39 and their ability to play a foreman who can be a knockdown three point shooter for them that can really stretch you out. So it will have a huge impact on this. And like I said earlier, they do shoot well on twos, but it's not their main diet. Their main diet is the three point shooting and they're in just the 14th percentile in the percentage of their scoring that comes from paint points per
Starting point is 00:16:02 game and conference play. That was a lot of words. Basically, that just means they do not rely on getting points in the paint for a big chunk of what they're scoring. It comes from a lot of those three point shots. And they do it from all over. Like I said, 41% on corner threes as a team on the season, 37% on above the break threes for the season.
Starting point is 00:16:24 Bunch of players who can do it, bunch of players who shoot it efficiently. And how Kansas defends them, how Kansas matches up their players, right? Like who does KJ Adams guard, right? I mean, if Darian Williams is the guy, I think KJ has been a great defender for KU this year, but the thing he struggled a little more with
Starting point is 00:16:43 is guys who can really stretch it out from the three point line, right? He's good guarding him off the dribble, but the off-ball three point defense, maybe that's a little more lacking. And so if Williams is there like that could be problematic. So who does KJ guard? Who does Duann Harris guard? These are all going to be very interesting questions for me. And can Kansas make the many threes the Texas is gonna take as contested as possible?
Starting point is 00:17:05 Number two, going to have to hit your mid-range shots if you're KU. Now, this is a little bit scary of a premise for me that you have this idea that like, oh, Kansas shoot a bunch of mid-range shots, Texas Tech shoot a bunch of three-point shots. Like that is not a good recipe for success in today's age of basketball.
Starting point is 00:17:21 And I've explained this before, but the simplest way to do it is just this. If you shoot 45% on mid-range shots, which is actually a very good percentage on mid-range shots, the equivalent to that on three-point shots is 30%. Right? If you go, you know, what, two of six on three-point shots, that's six points on six shots. If you go three of six on mid range shots, you also have six points, right? It's a little easier to get there from the three point line sometimes.
Starting point is 00:17:54 Now it doesn't mean, you know, there is the art of the basketball game. And if teams are giving you wide open mid range, then sure you take them because then that percentage goes up, right? But sometimes Texas Tech does try to funnel things into the mid-range. You look at their defensive shot charts that they're kind of allowing right now,
Starting point is 00:18:09 it's worked really well. Like they have one of the highest percentage of mid-range shots coming against them of any team in the country. Teams have not shot them very well. And so again, analytically in big picture, I don't love this strategy, but it is important to point out that Kansas
Starting point is 00:18:25 is in the 70th percentile for mid-range shots per game, which in conference play is up to the 75th percentile. So they are taking a lot of mid-range shots. And they actually recently, I mean, on the season, they've shot them pretty well. 41% on the season, which is like actually a solid number on the season, but recently is when they've really found their stride
Starting point is 00:18:45 from mid-range, 63% on mid-range shots over their last five games. Let me repeat that. Kansas shots, 63% over their last five games on mid-range shots. That is an unbelievable number that won't continue, but can it continue through this game? Who knows?
Starting point is 00:19:01 I think in this one specifically needs to go at least like in the high forties. Because again, if we're going back to the math idea, if you shoot 48% on mid-range twos, that's the equivalent of shooting 32% on threes. And I think that's kind of where I'm looking at this. But if it does become a game where tech is hitting their threes, it's not really going to matter
Starting point is 00:19:17 because you're not going to be able to match it with the efficiency there. I will say one guy to keep an eye on here is Zeke Mayo, who for the full season is above average in efficiency on the second most attempts per game for KU in the mid-range. Though in big 12 games, Zeke Mayo was only shooting 30% on mid-range shots, which is way lower
Starting point is 00:19:35 than his season has gotten going. So this would be a perfect game playing at home where he's played better. He needs to hit some of those mid-range shots because I bet you he's gonna end up with two or three of them in the game. Number three is speed up the tempo for keys to the game here.
Starting point is 00:19:48 Tech is one of the slower teams in the country. They're just 14th in Big 12 only games of 16 teams in average tempo. So as good of an offense as they have, they don't do it by playing fast. They play a bit slower and they've played a bunch of games at higher tempo. They have a lot of wins, but it's a little deceiving.
Starting point is 00:20:04 So if you go through and sort the games that they played at the higher tempo, you have a lot of wins, but it's a little deceiving. So if you go through and sort the games they played at the higher tempo, you again see some of those wins, but then you start looking at who they're playing and it's, you know, some of those are in the non-con. If you only look at the times they've played Ken Palm top 100 opponents, right, that leaves just six games where Texas Tech has played a top 100 opponent, according to Ken Palm, in a game with 68 or more possessions, which is not a high number, mind you. Let me give you an example. Kansas has 17 games this season where they've played at 68 or more possessions on the season.
Starting point is 00:20:38 So you know, that's more than half the time for Kansas that they're playing games, 68 or more possessions. Texas only done it six times. And in those six games, Texas Tech is two and four. And on top of it, the two wins, it was, they beat Syracuse, a bad Syracuse team mind you, by only five points, which is less than you would expect them to.
Starting point is 00:20:57 And they beat Arizona State, who has not been a great team in overtime, which you wouldn't expect them to have to go to overtime with Arizona State. The losses came to Arizona, Iowa State at UCF, who, you know, probably not going to make the tournament at this point. And then St. Joseph's, who's, you know, not a top 50 team on Ken Balm. So make them uncomfortable. Get them out of sorts. Get them out in transition. Speed things up in this game if you are KU and get some of those transition points.
Starting point is 00:21:21 Let's finish up your players to watch. This is Locked on Jayhawks. you and get some of those transition points. Let's finish up your players to watch. This is Locked on J-Hawks. Today's episode of the show is brought to you by PrizePix. March basketball is here, baby, and there's no better way to get in on the action than with PrizePix, the best place for daily fantasy sports. With PrizePix, you pick more or less on at least two player projections, and if you're right, you can win up to 1,000 times your cash. It's fast, easy, and keeps every game exciting. Build lineups. This week, you can look at Jason Tatum more than 29 points, or get Luka Doncic for more rebounds, or pick somebody to have more rebounds plus points plus assists.
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Starting point is 00:22:35 If Darian Williams does play, it has to be Darian Williams versus KJ Adams. KJ has been a good defender. Can you slow down Darian Williams? Certainly more than what happened last year in Lubbock when he had 31 and 11 on 12 of 12 shooting, right? That becomes a big thing there. That becomes the big matchup. Then at the other end, like what does KJ give you on the offensive end,
Starting point is 00:22:55 especially coming off a good offensive performance against Colorado in which he had 15 points, go back to the mid range conversation, KJ will probably take one or two mid range shots in this game. Can they continue to go down like they did in the Colorado game? Can you go one of two? Can you go two for two on those mid-range shots
Starting point is 00:23:09 or the push shots when he does take them? Now, if Williams doesn't play, I think the matchup, and honestly, you could probably make an argument for this one anyway, if you're talking about the best player on each team, you could probably argue, Honor Dickinson's the best player on Kansas. In fact, I don't know what other argument there would be. Anyway, and then you would probably have to argue that JT Toppin is the best player on Texas Tech.
Starting point is 00:23:28 Again, you can have different answers for like, who's the most important, who's most valuable or who's these matchup nightmare. But I think if you're just taking the raw best player, it's Dickinson versus Toppin. And they have happened to be going up against each other now. Certain times where Toppin will be in at the four and maybe Federico will be in at the five and like, yeah, then it's a different matchup. But that's a phenomenal matchup. And Toppin is gonna be able to out athlete
Starting point is 00:23:49 out speed Dickinson at one end. Dickinson should be able to out power Toppin at the other end just tech to tech throw doubles can Hunter get some extra assist? Like how is this all gonna work out? It's gonna be a really fun matchup between, you know two guys who if their team was winning the league or you know, in the top two of the league right now, I mean, both are in
Starting point is 00:24:06 the top six right now. But they could be the front runner for Big 12 player of the year. Typically, we see a go to somebody on the winning team doesn't always but you know, and maybe top and has a chance to do that. But yeah, that's gonna be a really fun matchup. Now high on the go off meter. Going back to the mid range conversation that tech gives up a lot of mid range shots, their council will give them up, Kansas takes a lot of mid-range shots, so you're probably gonna see a lot of them in this game.
Starting point is 00:24:28 Hunter Dickinson is actually the one who leads Kansas in mid-range attempts per game, which there's a part of me that's like, dude, just get down low, just like power it up, and that's part of why Kansas isn't getting as many free throws, because like you're taking too many of these mid-ranges instead of just like trying to out-strength a dude inside that you're bigger than.
Starting point is 00:24:47 For centers only, so his position, 100-diggons in ranks in the 98th percentile for mid-range attempts per game. So he's taking mid-range shots as much as any center in the country, but he has shot them well to his credit, 47% on the season, which is good. Like I said, for mid-range shots, it's good. Both his volume, the number he's taking, and his efficiency have actually increased in Big 12 play too. In Big 12 only games, he's up to 49% on mid-range shots.
Starting point is 00:25:13 So can you make him again in this game and add to it that he is coming off that insanely dominant game against Colorado? So the vibe should be high. I do have questions about how he defends JT Toppin. You gotta avoid foul trouble, that sort of thing. But I do think he has a mismatch on the offensive end
Starting point is 00:25:28 of the court. And again, if Tech is Dublin or something, then that changes things up. But I do think he could be the one. And then Zeke May was the other guy I'm looking at here. I know he had a bad game, but he has played much better at home. We'll go back to the mid-range conversation again,
Starting point is 00:25:41 and somebody who can hit some threes for you in a game where you're gonna need to match a little bit of three-point shooting. Like, Kay, who's gonna have to shoot the three ball well? Because Tech probably will. game where you're going to need to match a little bit of three points you like he was gonna have to shoot the three ball well, because tech probably well, so you're gonna have to match at least a little bit of it doesn't mean you need to make as many as them, but you can't just get you know, they can't make 12 threes and you only make four right you can win the game
Starting point is 00:25:55 that way. I don't know though for this episode of locked on Jayhawks you can find our show anywhere you get your podcast including on our YouTube page. We'll be back at you Saturday for a KU Texas Tech postcast. See you then

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