Kansas basketball: Five things to know about UW Milwaukee
Kansas basketball will play UW Milwaukee tomorrow night in Allen Fieldhouse. Here are five things to know about the Panthers.
The Jayhawks are coming off of a nice top-twenty win over Colorado last Saturday night. Kansas basketball will try to keep things rolling with a quick turnaround to face Milwaukee just three days later.
Here are five things to know about the Panthers as they take on the Jayhawks:
1. Milwaukee was picked to finish in the bottom half of the Horizon League
In the Horizon League preseason poll, the Panthers were picked to finish seventh out of the ten teams, receiving 146 votes. Wright State was picked to win for the second straight season. Due to the long odds of winning their conference, Milwaukee probably won’t be a tournament team, which means this game doesn’t mean much.
2. Head coach Pat Baldwin needs a winning season
Pat Baldwin took over the Panthers in 2018 and led Milwaukee to a 16-17 record and a fifth-place league finish in his first season as a head coach. However, the Panthers regressed last season finishing 9-22 and at the bottom of the Horizon. It’s safe to say that if Baldwin can’t get Milwaukee going this year, he could be on shaky ground this offseason.
3. Milwaukee has a fouling problem on defense
According to kenpom.com, the Panthers’ opponents’ free throws attempted per field goals attempted is nearly 50%, which means Kansas basketball is going to spend a lot of time at the free throw line. KenPom also says that the average point distribution for those playing the Panthers is about 27% from the free throw line. This will be good practice for Kansas, who’s only shooting about 67% from the line this season.
4. The Panthers have an experienced lineup.
Over the past five games, Milwaukee has been starting three juniors and two seniors, which is a rare thing to see in this day in age. According to KenPom, the Panthers have an above-average lineup in terms of experience at an average of 1.95 years in college.
5. Kansas basketball doesn’t have to focus on a player
Milwaukee didn’t have a single player selected to the Horizon League preseason all-league team. Point guard Te’Jon Lucas has been the leader so far this season for the Panthers, he’s averaging about fifteen points per game, so it’ll be interesting to see how he fare with Devon Dotson guarding him.
Top five wins of the decade for the Jayhawks. light. KU FOOTBALL
There you have it, five quick things to know about Milwaukee. Kansas basketball will take on the Panthers Tuesday night at 7:00 PM (CT) in Allen Fieldhouse. If you aren’t going, you can stream the game live on ESPN+.