Kansas basketball: Penn preview, where to watch
By Stan Unruh
The Big 12 Champion Kansas basketball team is set to open NCAA Tournament Play. Here are a few items to know when the Jayhawks battle the Quakers.
The Kansas basketball team will open their 29th straight NCAA Tournament against Ivy League champion Penn. The Quakers won their league with a 12-2 record tied with Harvard. However, the Quakers bring a three-game winning streak to Intrust Bank Arena in Wichita. They defeated Brown, Yale and Harvard last weekend to win the conference tournament.
This is Penn’s first trip to the NCAA Tournament with coach Steve Donahue. He guided Cornell to three straight trips to the Big Dance starting in 2008. He hasn’t been back since. On his last trip, Cornell reached the Sweet 16. This Penn team is talented but not Sweet 16 talented.
A pair of sophomores lead the Quakers in scoring. Ryan Betley averages 14 points a game. Six-foot-eight forward A.J. Brodeur adds 13 points and 7 rebounds per contest. He is the team’s top rebounder. Donahue starts just one senior. Six-foot-1 guard Darnell Foreman averages 10 points and leads the team in assists. Junior guard Antonio Woods is one of the team’s best athletes. Donahue is expected to assign the 6-foot-1 Woods to stop Devonte Graham.
As a matter of fact, this trip to Wichita is Penn’s first long distance trip since a tournament in Florida last fall. Despite little long-distance travel, the “red and blue” as they are known typically play back to back on most Friday and Saturday nights. They will be in condition and hope to make history. The team colors are similar to the Crimson and Blue Jayhawks but playing an Ivy League schedule is obviously not as challenging as the Big 12 meat grinder.
Here is where to watch the Jayhawks play the Quakers
Date: March 15
Time: 12:50 p.m. CST
Location: Wichita
Venue: Intrust Bank Arena
Television: TBS Dish Network channel 139, DirecTV channel 247, AT&T U-Verse channel 112
Stream: Watch TBS
Listen: Jayhawk Radio Network
Keys to victory
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Penn takes pride in guarding the perimeter and rebounding. The Jayhawks are one of the nation’s best at hitting from long distance. They will need to work to gain an advantage on the glass. We don’t know how much or if Udoka Azibuike will play. Either way, the Jayhawks need to attack the basket and use their superior quickness to get open for shots from beyond the arc. Individually, we need to see the same Malik Newman who won the Big 12 Tournament this weekend. That will take some pressure off Graham. I expect both to have a big game.