Kansas basketball: Three keys to winning the Big 12 Tournament

Kansas basketball will need big minutes from the bench

It sounds like Bill Self is going to rely on his bench in the conference tournament to give starters a break, which means we may see some interesting lineups. Prepare to see a lot of Tristan Enaruna, David McCormack, Christian Braun, and the recently reinstated Silvio De Sousa.

It’ll be interesting to see just how much time the bench gets, considering Self will normally only go about seven deep. Just look at the Jayhawks’ bench minutes on KenPom, where Kansas ranks No. 313 in the nation this season.

As of now, the Jayhawks also have three players averaging over 30 minutes per game including Devon Dotson, Ochai Agbaji, and Marcus Garrett. At 28 minutes, Udoka Azubuike is right up there too.

Getting the young guys a chance to play in big games doesn’t sound like a bad idea at all, and it could pay dividends down the road if we need them to step up in the big dance. Braun and McCormack have already been getting some solid minutes in the rotation, but this could be a great opportunity for De Sousa and Enaruna.

De Sousa still hasn’t played since his suspension after the Kansas State game, and Enaruna is only getting about 11 minutes per game.

Effectively balancing the minutes to maximize rest for the starters yet still win games will be the big challenge for Self. Based on Self’s quote though, it sounds like resting players could take priority over winning the tournament.