In their win over No. 7 West Viginia, Kansas basketball fired away from behind the arc. The Jayhawks need to keep it up for the rest of the season.
Kansas basketball teams led by Bill Self have never really been known for their three-point shooting. According to KenPom, only one Self team at Kansas has ranked in the top 150 in three-pointer attempts percentage (the calculation is derived from dividing three-pointer attempts by total field goals). You can probably guess which Bill Self team was the outlier.
If you said the 2018 Jayhawks, you’d be correct. That team was loaded with sharpshooters including Devonte’ Graham, Svi Mykhailiuk, Malik Newman, and Lagerald Vick. That team let it fly from deep behind the arc because they could knock it down, and this 2021 squad is similar.
The 2021 squad is ranked No. 35 in the nation in three-point percentage at 38.5 percent; however, their three-point attempt percentage is No. 187 even after the game against West Virginia. The Jayhawks attempted a whopping 37 three-pointers against the Mountaineers, possibly signaling a shift in how this team will play.
For how well Kansas can shoot it, they need to be taking around 25 three-pointers per game with Christian Braun, Jalen Wilson, and Ochai Agbaji having a super green light. The best part of this team is that they can play strong defense too, giving them some insurance if they go cold.
Not to mention, Kansas’ frontcourt has not played particularly well thus far. Admittedly, David McCormack has been playing better recently, but he’s not someone this team can rely on at right now. Hopefully, that will change before the end of the season because he’s too talented not to be putting up at least 12 and 10 per game.
Based on personnel and this team’s strengths, Kansas needs to continue shooting three-pointers at a rate that maximizes their offensive output similar to how they did against West Virginia. Knowing Self, he will have this team doing exactly that when the Jayhawks face Texas on January 2.