Kansas basketball is showing its defense can carry them into March

As the calendar soon turns to March, Kansas basketball fans will be hoping that the Jayhawks advance deep into the NCAA Tournament. But if they have any hopes of doing so, you can bet that it will be on the backs of their defense.

Kansas is coming off their fifth straight victory, following Saturday’s defeat of Texas Tech, and their improved defense was on display again.

The Jayhawks held Tech’s leading scorer and one of the Big 12’s leading scorers, Mac McClung, to just 11 points on 4 of13 shooting. It was his second lowest scoring total in Big 12 play this season. In their previous matchup, Kansas held the Red Raiders to just 57 points in a 58-57 home win.

Last week, in a win over Kansas State, the Jayhawks held the Wildcats to their lowest scoring total (41) in a game since 2003. It was also the second-fewest points ever allowed by a Self-coached Kansas team in conference play.

The key to the Jayhawks’ recent success has been their 3-point defense. In their last five games, Kansas is holding their opponents to an average of 26.7% from deep. That’s a good recipe for lasting longer in March against 3-point-shooting happy squads.

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In the Jayhawks’ 11 conference wins this year, they have not allowed an opponent to score more than 66 points in a game – something they’ll need to continue if they hope to win against Texas and Baylor this week.

If they can keep up this tenacious defense heading into the NCAA Tournament, particularly from 3-point range, that could be enough to carry them into the second weekend and perhaps further.

The question is, will their offense be able to help them out?