Kansas Jayhawks: What to watch for vs TCU
By samg
The Kansas Jayhawks travel to Forth Worth to take on the TCU Horned Frogs as they seek to win their 8th straight in the series.
Since the thirteen point loss to Iowa State the Kansas Jayhawks have bounced back by winning two straight games vs Kentucky and Kansas State respectively. They look to make it three wins in a row overall and eight straight vs TCU in a road conference matchup tomorrow morning.
The TCU Horned Frogs have struggled this season, sitting at the bottom of the Big 12 cellar with a 1-8 conference record, 10-12 overall. They’ve lost 6 of their last 7 games with the lone win coming against Tennessee as a part of the Big 12/ SEC challenge.
What to watch for:
Starting Fast
The Jayhawks have to start fast and take care of the basketball early. In their last two games, the Jayhawks turned the ball over a combined 31 times. They got away with committing those turnovers at home but that won’t last long on the road. The Jayhawks are 1-3 on the road in Big 12 play.
If the Jayhawks get off to a fast start and establish an offensive rhythm early, it will be tough for TCU to hang around. Frank Mason III and Devonte’ Graham will be tasked with running the offense and getting their teammates involved throughout the game.
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Balanced Scoring
The Jayhawks do not need a 30 point game for one single player to win this game. A balanced scoring attack will be enough the carry them to a comfortable win. The bench should provide a nice boost for them, especially when the starters need a breather at times during the game.
TCU doesn’t have a go to scorer or a player that can single handedly take over a game. Their leading scorer is sophomore guard Malique Trent averaging 11.5 points per game. Their second leading scorer, sophomore forward Vladimir Brodziansky comes off the bench and averages 11 points per game, along with 5 rebounds per game.
Brannen Greene
In their last game, the Jayhawks defeated Kansas State 77-59. The bigger story however, was Brannen Greene’s decision at the end of the game. With the game out of reach and time running out, some of Kansas States players started to line up for the post-game handshakes, Greene had other ideas, as he decided to dunk the basketball as time expired.
Bill Self wasn’t happy with Greene’s actions, after the game he voiced his frustration and apologized to the Kansas State program for what occurred. According to the Topeka Capital-Journal, Self used an expletive to describe Greene’s actions and stated “it will never happen again”.
Self did say Greene will be in uniform vs TCU. It should be interesting to see just how much playing time Greene gets and how he responds after the scolding he received from his coach.
When it’s all said and done
I expect the Jayhawks to win this game and do so in comfortable fashion. The Jayhawks have too much depth for TCU to handle. The biggest problem for TCU is that they don’t have a single player who can take over this game when they need it most. I expect a balanced scoring attack for the Jayhawks to carry them to a 74-62 win.