College Gameday preview: Keys to winning, names to watch

Fans are in for a treat when they tune in to College Gameday Saturday afternoon when the No. 9 Baylor Bears and No. 5 Kansas Jayhawks face off in Allen Fieldhouse.

Keys to winning on College Gameday

Considering the Jayhawks lost in their first meeting back in January, Bill Self knows what Baylor is capable of. 20+ point games from both Jalen Wilson and Gradey Dick were not enough. Kansas now has home court advantage, but Baylor is still one of the top schools in the country.

Contain the three

One of the keys to tomorrow’s matchup is to not let Baylor get out of hand with the three-ball. The Bears hit more than 9 threes a game on average, ranking 21st in the country. They have multiple high-volume shooters who could put points up in a hurry.

During the last contest between the two, LJ Cryer shot 5-11 from deep and dropped 22 points. He is coming off of a game versus West Virginia where he shot 8-11 from three. He averages 6.0 attempts a game from beyond the arc and hits them at a fantastic 42.8% clip.

Adam Flagler and Jonathan Tchamwa Thatchoua also shoot threes from more than 40%. Everyone in their starting lineup besides Flo Thamba can hit the three, so that is an aspect of the game that KU could struggle in defensively.

Get to the line

Another thing to note before the game is that Baylor is very aggressive on defense. Their 17.3 fouls per game rank just 221st in the country. Thankfully for the Jayhawks, Jalen Wilson and some other players are exceptional at getting to the line.

Of Baylor’s consistent rotational pieces, Flo Thamba is the only player above 6’8″. He leads the team with 2.9 fouls per game, so getting him into foul trouble early and limiting his paint presence could lead to some easy baskets.

Use Ernest Udeh Jr.

Neither Kansas nor Baylor have a true center starting for them, so Kansas should not be overwhelmed in the rebounding department. However, freshman Ernest Udeh Jr. has been an impressive spark plug for the Jayhawks recently, and the near 7-footer gives the Jayhawks some size.

Udeh fouled out in just 13 minutes versus Oklahoma State, but Kansas can still have him produce while using him sparingly. KJ Adams is the Jayhawks big man in crunch time, so Udeh could come off the bench and block a few shots, even if it means being overly aggressive and racking up some fouls.

This game has serious conference implications, and its winner will be leading the other team by 1 game with just four to go. When College Gameday comes to Lawrence things get rowdy, so it should be an exciting contest with plenty at stake.