The guys are back with talk on the NCAA Tourney so far, including KU wins against WKU and UNC. They discuss the Roy vs. Self stigma, debate the Big 12′s showing so far, and get jacked up for the Sweet 16. Come on in, grab a beer, and have a listen to the Jayhawk Talk Podcast. Rock Chalk!
Find us on Podbean (non-iTunes or iPhone) HERE.
Find us on iTunes HERE.
If you like what you hear, please rate, comment, and subscribe on iTunes. Thanks!
(Editor’s Note: The following is brought to you by JHT Contributor, @CrimsonBlueKU. Give him a follow on twitter for more KU insight. Rock Chalk!)
The Jayhawks will be arriving in Dallas Wednesday night as it prepares for Friday’s game against the Wolverines of Michigan.
Back in January when these two teams were ranked Nos. 1 and 2 in the country (Michigan: 1, Kansas: 2), I thought this could be a potential Final Four matchup. Well, we’re seeing it in the Sweet 16 and I’m not complaining. We’re going to see Michigan’s potent offense against Kansas’ suffocating defense. It’s going to be fun.
I’m going to try and explain why this matchup is great for Kansas. Had this been Kansas/VCU Part Deux, I think it would have been a nightmare. VCU’s havoc defense would put a lot of pressure on KU’s guards and they’d force a lot of turnovers. Luckily, we don’t have to talk about that.
Michigan does a very good job of taking care of the basketball. It averages 9.3 turnovers a game — best in the nation. The Jayhawks don’t do a very good job turning teams over, forcing 12.7 per game (220th in the nation). Kansas on the other hand, as we all know, has a huge problem hanging on to the ball. Poor dribbling, bad passes, dumb mistakes. But Michigan forces less turnovers than Kansas. They don’t put heavy pressure on the guards, which is good for Elijah Johnson and Naadir Tharpe.
Both Michigan and Kansas shoot relatively well from deep, 38 percent and 36 percent, respectively, but the Wolverines take 34 percent of their shots from outside. Kansas will have to key on Tim Hardaway (43 percent of his shots come from outside) and Nik Stauskas (60 percent). I have a feeling Ben McLemore and Travis Releford can give them all sorts of fits.
Michigan’s All-American point guard Trey Burke is fantastic. He does a good job at creating his own shot off the dribble and he shoots better than 40 percent. He does a good job at taking care of the ball and distributing to his teammates.
Where Michigan struggles is inside. If you look at the roster, the Wolverines have size, but I think Withey, Young and Ellis will give Mitch McGary, Jordan Morgan and Jon Horford fits inside. McGary is just a freshman and he’s never seen a big like Withey. Morgan gives up four inches to Withey and Horford doesn’t get many touches. Kansas blocks 23 percent of shots at the rim, whereas Michigan only blocks eight percent. Also, Michigan allows opponents to shoot 62 percent from close while Kansas holds teams to 51 percent.
If Michigan is going to beat Kansas, it’s going to be from outside, but I don’t think that’s going to happen. Shooting in a dome, especially Jerry World is much different than shooting in a regular arena. Shooters use the ceiling as markers and domes have higher ceilings, which throws off depth perception.
Kansas is the 12th best rebounding team in the nation, while Michigan is 141st. If the Jayhawks can clean up the glass on the offensive end and score-second chance points, it’s going to be difficult for Michigan.
Kansas, as we all know, is defensively sound. They’re the best team in the nation in opponent’s field goal (35.7 percent) and effective field goal percentage (41.1 percent). If anything is going to give, I believe it will be Michigan’s offense, ranked No. 2 by KenPom (120.9 points per 100 possessions). We saw Michigan State’s defense, ranked No. 6 by KenPom (86.1 points allowed per 100 possessions) shut them down.
We’ve seen Kansas struggle on offense at times, but it’s 25th in the country scoring 74.9 points per game.
Kansas’ offensive and defensive KenPom numbers are similar to Michigan State: No. 5 on defense (85.4 points allowed per 100 possessions) and No. 31 on offense (111.2 points per 100 possessions). Michigan State’s offense is 21st (113 points/100).
Michigan’s defense gives up 92.5 points per 100 possessions. John Beilein does slow it down, but they can get out and run and they’re fantastic on the fast break.
If Kansas can take care of the ball, force Michigan to miss from deep and play this game in the paint, it has a very good chance of advancing to play Florida or Dunk City on Sunday.
Rock Chalk!
Prediction
Kansas: 74
Michigan: 67
The very first podcast episode recorded in the postseason. Andrew and Kevin are joined by CBS Sports’ Matt Norlander (host of the Eye on College Basketball Podcast) to talk Big 12 Tournament, Bracketology, Cinderellas, Subliminal Messages, and KU’s title hopes. Come on in, grab a beer, and enjoy the Jayhawk Talk Podcast!
Find us on Podbean here (non-iPhone users)
Find us on iTunes here (most everyone else)
As always, please do us a huge favor and subscribe/rate/comment on iTunes. It helps us spread the word on the podcast. Rock Chalk!
By: @tc_erickson
After being thoroughly worked-over by Baylor, I contemplated how exactly to handle the loss. Like all KU fans, I was pissed that we squandered an opportunity to win the Big 12 outright, and more than likely cost ourselves a #1 seed in the NCAA tournament. We’re forced to share the Big 12 title, although we probably helped the Kansas economy considering the number of t-shirts K-State will manufacture and sell.
But amidst all my negativism, I also couldn’t help but think back to the season that was, and how wildly entertaining and successful it has been up and to this point for a team that was without question one of the least talented teams Coach Self has had at KU. In a year where we struggled at times, we still found a way to win difficult games down the stretch in Stillwater and Ames to extend our Big 12 title streak to nine years.
The gloomy weather today also got me thinking. You know the old adage that’s thrown around when describing the Kansas climate… “Oh you don’t like the weather? Well, just hang around for a few hours and it’s bound to change.” I mean, it’s pretty damn accurate. It wasn’t but a couple weeks ago we hit 60 degrees on Sunday, and followed that with a foot of snow on Thursday. Today, 36 degrees and rain after pushing mid 60 yesterday. I guess what I’m saying is the variation in weather you experience living in this state is quite remarkable.
Kansas basketball, on the other hand, is quite different from the weather. In fact, almost completely opposite. Variation in Kansas basketball doesn’t really exist… at least not in the last nine years. As a fault to KU fans, we don’t know any different. Streaks like this don’t exist at other schools from power conferences. Teams aren’t supposed to continuously perform at an incredibly high level without experiencing the ebbs and flows of college basketball. ‘One and done’ players happen, missed recruits here and there happen, and suddenly a “Blue Blood” program happens to lose a few more games than anticipated.
Except this hasn’t happened at KU. We’re spoiled rotten, and when we experience a three game losing streak that threatens our quest for a ninth straight Big 12 title, or blow an opportunity to win that title outright, we throw a fit. I’ll put myself to the top of this list.
It’s statements like mine above that probably add fuel to the claim that KU fans are arrogant, and I’m fine with that. I have no problem recognizing this season as a “shared” title as by the law of the Big 12, K-State did fulfill their requirements to also stake claim as Big 12 champs. But shared or not, nine in a row is a unbelievable streak, and doesn’t happen in any other conference. Anyone who argues otherwise will claim it’s a “senseless” opinion in their efforts to diminish the accomplishments of the program. That’s fine and all, but KU’s streak is abnormal, and that’s a fact. There’s examples all over the country, from Lexington to Chapel Hill, that justify this. They have down years, and it’s normal… Just not normal in Lawrence, KS.
The point is, failing to knock out Baylor last night may have fallen short of the expectations we put on KU, but those expectations from year to year are also absolutely absurd, and so incredibly awesome at the same time. So to not be forgotten in the shuffle of a disappointing Saturday, I think it’s important to remember just how good we have it as KU fans, and be thankful for that. There’s still a tremendous amount to accomplish the next month, and the ultimate success of our season will be determined by how we perform in March.
I’m just saying let’s not forget how much has been accomplished from November through February.
Until next time, Rock Chalk.
We have made it to Episode 18. Kevin and Andrew reflect on Senior Night, talk about the remaining Saturday games in the Big 12 regular season, talk some Big 12 Tournament, Bracketology, and March MADNESS. We are so excited for this time of year and hope you share our sentiments. Come on in, grab a beer, and enjoy the Jayhawk Talk Podcast. Rock Chalk!
As always, please rate and comment on iTunes. It helps us out a ton. Rock freakin’ chalk!
Find us on Podbean here.
Find us on iTunes here.
We look forward to talking to you again on Monday night, where we hope to have a very special guest joining us. Stay tuned.
Thanks!
Photo Credit: Peter G. Aiken-USA TODAY Sports
Exactly one month ago today I confessed my jealousy of Oklahoma State. Markel Brown and Marcus Smart were flexing, taunting, and back flipping all over Allen Fieldhouse. For that seven day stretch, beginning with Oklahoma State and ending with Oklahoma, with a TCU debacle sandwiched in between, we were broken mentally.
If our performance on the court the last few weeks hasn’t been convincing enough, there was only one image needed from Saturday’s game to signify we had fully regained our swagger.
Elijah Johnson elevated in a fashion that left any doubt as to the health of his knee, and threw down a “SportsCenter Top 10″ type alley oop… Foul… And one…
And then it happened.
Yes, Elijah went TOO STRONG. And he knew it. After the game when asked about the flex, Elijah said it happened spontaneously when he realized the dunk was in fact, “Too Strong”.
Confidence can have an amazing impact on anyone, in any situation, but most especially in sports. A confident Elijah Johnson gets to the rim at will, regularly knocks down 21 footers, and flexes after posterizing a Mountaineer. The Elijah Johnson lacking confidence a month ago couldn’t execute the Bill Self “weave” without dribbling the ball off his foot. I think I speak for everyone when I say I’ll gladly take the former. The most telling sign of the change in Elijah’s attitude is the way in which he impacted the game. It wasn’t by dropping 39, but instead by dishing out 10 assists and facilitating the offense through the best talent in the NCAA, Ben McLemore.
Ben McLemore, yeah the same guy who scored seven points at Iowa State on Monday night. He was simply unbelievable on Saturday, and you could see it coming. There was a difference about his game, an increased sense of agressiveness early. It almost felt like after his story was told in the USA Today article earlier in the week, there was a weight lifted off his shoulders. A feeling as if Ben was just out there playing ball, without a care in the world. Monday night will be without a doubt Ben McLemore’s last game in Allen Fieldhouse, and it needs to be. In his words, it’s time for a big house for his mom, where they can eat all day.
The interesting part to McLemore’s game is whether he can build on that performance away from the comforts of Allen Fieldhouse. I think that he will. I think Elijah’s confidence is going to radiate throughout the rest of this team, as it should, and it will benefit Ben as much as anyone.
Finally, during our three game skid when it felt like the sky in Lawrence was falling, the trump card KU nation had in our back pocket was Bill Self. I said it, and I heard it from different people everywhere. “It’s alright, we’ll be fine… we have the best coach in college basketball.” I believed it, or at least I thought I did, but there was always that sliver of doubt. Like what if this year is different, and we don’t live up to expectations? We’ve been on an roll for nearly a decade, winning at a clip without a down year… that just isn’t supposed to happen. What if this year is our hiccup?
My confession: Sorry Bill, it won’t happen again.
Not only has Coach Self coaxed KU fans off the ledge, but he has our team peaking at the perfect time. We’re five wins away from all but guaranteeing a number one seed in the NCAA tournament, and a date the first weekend of the tournament in Kansas City.
Confidence is the key, and this team appears to be flexing it’s muscle right at ideal moment.
Rock Chalk.
TE
Source: Peter G. Aiken-USA TODAY Sports
In this the 17th Episode of the Jayhawk Talk Podcast, Kevin and Andrew are joined by former KU beat writer and current Fox Sports writer, Tully Corcoran. The guys discuss KU vs. WVU, Senior Night, Big 12 Conference Race, and Adam Barmann’s basketball skills. Come on in, grab a beer, and enjoy.
Find us on Podbean here (non-iTunes and non-iPhones)
Find us on iTunes here (everybody else)
As always, please help us out by rating and commenting on our iTunes podcast. It helps us a bunch! #RCJH
Rock Chalk!
Editor’s note: The following is brought to you by Jayhawk-Talk contributor, @pay_heed. Great follow and twitter, so give him a shout. Rock Chalk.
Travis Releford needs to be more offensive.
Not like Anthony Jesselnik offensive, but more aggressive on offense. If you have watched much Kansas basketball this season (and since you’re reading this blog I think that’s probably a safe bet) you have probably heard commentators like Fran Fraschilla and others praise Travis Releford for his great perimeter defense. And while his defensive contributions cannot be discounted, he is much more than just a stopper on that end.
Carrington Harrison of 610 sports radio likes to point out that KU is 43-1 all time when Trav scores in double figures, which might just be a coincidence, but during the 3 game skid this season Travis scored 8, 1 and 8 respectively. So why do I think that Travis needs to be more offensive (or maybe just aggressive)?
Because the numbers back me up.
DISCLAIMER: If you don’t like advanced statistics just skip down to the last two paragraphs.
At a glance, it might be easy to mistake Ben McLemore as the most offensively efficient Jayhawk, but the numbers don’t back that up. According to KenPom.com Travis has an Offensive Rating (ORtg) of 129.8 (good for sixth in the Nation) to McLemore’s 120.1 (80th).
So why am I making a big deal about Travis being more offensive? The problem is that Travis, while playing the most minutes per game of any Jayhawk, uses the fewest number of possessions of any starter. Not only that, he actually has only the SEVENTH highest usage of any KU player.
Let that sink in for a second.
The sixth most offensively efficient player in the nation uses fewer possessions (by percentage) than six of his teammates.
Ben McLemore
ORtg – 120.1
% Possessions – 22.2
Elijah Johnson
ORtg – 96.4
% Possessions – 22.0
Jeff Withey
ORtg – 112.5
% Possessions – 21.7
Perry Ellis
ORtg – 105.4
% Possessions – 20.9
Naadir Tharpe
ORtg – 96.2
% Possessions – 20.0
Kevin Young
ORtg – 110.8
% Possessions – 19.3
Travis Releford
ORtg – 129.8
% Possessions – 15.7
Adapted from KenPom.com
Travis’ offensive numbers cannot be overstated. He leads the nation in True Shooting percentage, which is the new fancy way of saying points per weighted shot, at 71.3%. After starting the season 0-11 from deep, he now leads the team in 3pt FG % at 46.2%. In addition to his ridiculous ORtg, he has a very impressive 60.63 Floor Percentage, good for third in the Big XII, behind only Corey Jefferson and Romero Osby. He also is second in the NCAA in effective FG% at 69.1% and has the second highest free throw rate of any KU player (with a qualifying number of field goal and free throw attempts) at 41.2 (Jeff Withey leads at 63.4).
In other words, Travis has a multifaceted offensive game from a numbers perspective. While his offensive numbers are certainly helped by a high number of transition baskets, he not only can be, but needs to be, more assertive in the half-court. He is too valuable and too efficient to defer to the likes of Perry Ellis and Naadir Tharpe.
The necessity of another efficient scorer to emerge has never been clearer since the mysterious disappearance of Ben McLemore in both Stillwater and Ames the past two weeks. Not many teams have the luxury of a fifth year senior with the abundance of experience to call on in a time of need. For Kansas to have a successful March, Travis needs to become more aggressive and finish more possessions for the Jayhawks.
Much has been made about the Big 12 statement that was issued on Tuesday regarding the Kansas-Iowa State game. I made a pretty big deal out of it in this story.
I wanted to provide the statement and then provide what I think the Big 12 should have said. Then I promise I’ll move on. I’m sure we’re all ready to move on.
Before you read it, put yourself in shoes of the Big 12. What are your goals in issuing this? Do you want to address the game because of media pressure? Do you want to make Iowa State feel better? Do you want to talk about officiating? Personally, I’m not sure this statement accomplished any of these goals.
Here is the actual statement in all its glory:
“The Big 12 Conference acknowledges that officiating errors were made at the end of regulation during last night’s Kansas at Iowa State men’s basketball game. The plays have been reviewed and appropriate measures will be taken by the Coordinator of Men’s Basketball Officials to adjust the number of future assignments for the two officials involved in conjunction with Conference policies.”
As you can see, the Big 12 acknowledges errors made at the end of regulation, but does not make mention of any other errors potentially made by the officials which may have also impacted the game. All this statement does is acknowledge what everyone knows — the last call wasn’t a very good one. What it doesn’t do is also acknowledge that there were 39+ other minutes of basketball that happened in that game too.
Whether it meant to or not, the Big 12 put a big, fat asterisk on an otherwise amazing basketball game. It downplays Iowa State’s amazing shooting performance. It downplays Elijah Johnson’s ice-in-the-veins heroics. It gives every Big 12 coach a silver bullet the next time one of these officials works his game. It demeans a basketball game where up to the time of that one tiny possession was considered one of the best games of the year and must-see television.
Here is what I think the Big 12 should have said:
“The Big 12 Conference is committed to reviewing and improving officiating in our league games. As a result, we are constantly reviewing game tape and providing feedback to officials that work our games. From time to time, we will privately reprimand or suspend an individual official or team of officials as a result of our internal review. Consistent with our normal procedures, we have reviewed the entire tape of Monday’s Kansas-Iowa State game and will handle all potential officiating errors discovered by this review internally.”
It gets the same point across. It doesn’t incite a riot. And it doesn’t put an asterisk on the game.
Alright, I’m done. No more blog posts on this. I promise!
Rock Chalk.
A butterfly flaps its wings … and the Jayhawks win a ninth straight Big 12 title.
Sounds pretty ridiculous, right?
I’m sure most of you have heard of the “butterfly effect,” a fun little phenomenon derived from chaos theory. It is generally used to describe how one single event – e.g., a butterfly flapping its wings – could have a far-reaching ripple effect. The idea is that the flapping of one butterfly’s wings, a tiny change in one specific place, can set off a chain of events leading to, in the most famous example, the formation of a “cyclone.” (See where I’m going with this?)
In Ames, IA, inside Hilton Coliseum, with the score of the KU-ISU game at 55-53, Jeff Withey committed an offensive charging foul. It was a terrible call to anyone in the world not wearing red and yellow. It was also a pivotal call in the game, giving Withey his third foul, which would limit his minutes and aggressiveness the rest of the game.
This single foul call nearly cost Kansas the game.
Iowa State Senior, Korie Lucious, stood outside the three-point line in the second half of the same game. A Kansas defender was defending him closely, not willing to let the Cyclones get another wide open 3-pointer up. Lucious sees a streaking teammate and tosses an alley-oop. The pass accidentally goes into the basket for a made three pointer.
This single play nearly cost Kansas the game.
At the same exact game, an Iowa State fan directly in front of me (we’ll call him Jack) took a bite of his pretzel and dripped cheese on his lap. He stood up quickly and attempted to clean himself off. Right about that time, Elijah Johnson was bringing the ball up the court toward the basket in front of me. I stood up so I could see the play. The person behind me stood up so he could see. It set off a chain reaction of people standing all throughout Section 142. Suddenly, Elijah pulled up for a three point shot, his sight line to the basket aiming straight toward Jack, Section 142, and the pretzel cheese. Swish.
Jack and his pretzel cheese cost Iowa State the game.
By now, you probably catch my drift. One play does not a basketball game make. Neither does one whistle, one fluke three-point basket, or one pretzel.
The charge/block call at the end of the game did not decide the game. Elijah is not a butterfly. And Jack is not to blame.
It was one possession of about a billion possessions in an amazing college basketball game. A game where Iowa State scored more three-point baskets than the Cyclones have ever scored in a game.
The Jayhawks were called for more fouls than the Cyclones. The Jayhawks turned the ball over 15 of those billion possessions (Cyclones had 7) and the Jayhawks shot 7 fewer free throws.
I am not here to say the call at the end of the game was a good one. It probably wasn’t. What I’m here to say is that it is unfair to Elijah Johnson, to the Jayhawks, and, frankly, to the Cyclones, to use officiating as a crutch to attempt to explain (or demean) what was easily one of the best college basketball games of the year.
Moreover, it is even more ridiculous that the Big 12 office succumbed to unfounded national media pressure to “review the tape” of that one single possession and then issue a statement on it. If you are going to review a tape, review the entire tape. If you’re going to reprimand a referee, do so with the full story.
Publicly reprimanding the referee did not make any Iowa State fan feel better today. If anything, it probably made them even more upset.
In the end, that play at the end of regulation was not the play that decided the game.
If you subscribe to that line of thinking, then Jack is just as much to blame.
