Kansas basketball: Sunflower Showdown 3 preview, where to watch
By Stan Unruh
Kansas basketball is back in the Big 12 tournament semifinals. Here are few things to know when the Jayhawks meet Kansas State in round three of the Sunflower Showdown.
The shorthanded Kansas basketball team used outstanding defense to beat Oklahoma State. The Jayhawks scored 20 points off Cowboy turnovers in the quarterfinal. Bill Self’s guys also scored 18 fast break points in the 82-68 victory. The Big 12 regular season champs will miss Udoka Azubuike in the paint Friday but have many other advantages over the purple guys.
TCU held the Cats to just 29 second half points in their overtime contest Thursday. The ‘Cats only scored 30 in the first half. The ‘Cats made just 3 shots from beyond the arc against TCU. They shot just 20 percent from three-point range. They looked slow and tired in the final minutes but managed to survive overtime because TCU missed a lot of free throws.
The Jayhawks can play better defense than the Frogs. The Cat’s Dean Wade usually plays well against the Jayhawks. There is speculation he will sit with a foot injury, according to Matt Tait at KUSports.com. If he is healthy Wade will get his points. The Jayhawks must prevent the ‘Cats from getting confident from beyond the arc. They also have to crash the glass.
Despite not having Dok Thursday, the Jayhawks almost matched the Oklahoma State on the glass. They will need to rebound the way they did in the last meeting against the ‘Cats. In the first meeting, a one-point Jayhawk win, the ‘Cats edged the Jayhawks in the rebounding battle. In their second meeting, Bill Self’s guys hustled to ten more boards in a 14-point win.
Here is where to watch the Jayhawks play the Wildcats
Date: March 9
Time: approximately 6 p.m. CST
Location: Kansas City
Venue: Sprint Center
Television: ESPN
Streaming: Watch ESPN
Listen: Jayhawk Radio Network
Keys to victory
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The play of Malik Newman and Lagerald Vick took a lot of pressure off Big 12 Player of the Year Devonte Graham Thursday. Both need to continue to attack the basket. Mitch Lightfoot and Silvio De Sousa need to be on the court and not fight foul trouble. I expect both Graham and Svi Mykhailiuk to have big games Friday. Svi typically plays big against the purple team. He is due for a huge performance in his final game against the ‘Cats.