Kansas basketball: One stat gives Jayhawks advantage over Clemson
By Stan Unruh
The Kansas basketball team is back in the Sweet 16 for the third consecutive season. One stat gives the Jayhawks an advantage over Clemson.
Big 12 Player of the Year Devonte Graham leads the Kansas basketball team against Clemson Friday in NCAA Midwest Regional semifinals. The game set for Omaha’s Century Link Center will feature two teams with a few similarities. Clemson has senior leaders. The Jayhawks do too. Bill Self’s guys are led by a senior All American Graham and senior sharp shooter Svi Mykhailiuk. The Jayhawks also have a decided advantage in one key statistic.
Clemson exceeded expectations this season. Last fall, the Tigers were picked to finish in the bottom half of the 15 team Atlantic Coast Conference. Sports Illustrated generously picked them to finish 8th and just ahead of Syracuse. Few expected this team to make the NCAA tournament. This is their first trip to the Big Dance since 2011.
On Sunday, Clemson shocked some fans when they destroyed Auburn by 31 points. They led by 41 midway through the second half. That final score is misleading. Clemson led by 24 at the half because Auburn missed their final 18 shots of the period. They missed a lot of open shots in the second half also and finished with just 26 percent shooting, 22 percent from beyond the arc.
The Tigers are good on defense but not great
This season, Auburn averaged just 57 points a game or 8th in the 9-team conference. The Clemson defense is good, giving up an average of just 65.9 points a game, third best in the ACC behind Virginia and Syracuse and just ahead of Georgia Tech. The Clemson defense is not great. They defeated a mediocre Auburn team.
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As a matter of fact, Clemson is similar to Texas Tech and Kansas State defensively this season. The Jayhawks average 81 points a game as they head to the Sweet 16. They won four of five games against the stingy Tech and Wildcat defense. Malik Newman and Lagerald Vick led the offense to 83 points against a Seton Hall team that gave up an average of just 73 points a game this season. The numbers favor the Crimson and Blue over the Orange on Friday.