Kansas basketball: 3 keys for the Jayhawks to win the Maui Invitational
Kansas basketball kicks off the Maui Invitational tonight against Chaminade. These are three keys for the Jayhawks to go all the way in the tournament.
For the first time since 2019, the Kansas basketball team will be competing in the most prestigious regular season tournament — the Maui Invitational. While it won’t be held in the same arena as past years, the importance of each game remains the same in what is arguably the most stacked field the tournament’s ever carried.
The Jayhawks opened the year as the No. 1 ranked team in the nation and proved the voters right with an exhilarating victory over No. 17 Kentucky in the Champions Classic. That title might not last for long though, considering they’ll likely cross paths with No. 4 Marquette and potentially No. 2 Purdue.
Because it is still November, no team has reached its peak, nor are they anywhere close to it. However, the Maui Invitational allows us to see some of the most talented rosters in the nation squaring off in a three-day event filled with exciting plays and close finishes. Each contest should be a hard-nosed dogfight.
If Kansas plays to the best of its abilities, the team has a fighting chance to hold up the Maui banner once the tournament is complete.
These are three keys for Kansas basketball to win the Maui Invitational
Kansas Basketball Key No. 1. Avoid self-inflicted mistakes
When the Jayhawks met with Kentucky last week, they really dug a hole for themselves toward the latter stages of the first half. Things like Rob Dillingham’s stretch where he hit four 3-pointers in a row are unavoidable, but Kansas looked sloppy and didn’t seem to be putting their best effort on the floor.
They turned the ball over 14 times compared to UK’s eight. While that number doesn’t jump off the page, it also tells us that there are possessions that the KU offense can be better in. The guards often force it to Dickinson in the post, even when the other team is expecting it, which leads to tipped passes and steals.
A possession that sticks out is when KU led by three in the final minute and the Wildcats forced a shot clock violation with 18 seconds to go. Kentucky might not have hit the game-tying shot, but if they had, we’d be complaining that they couldn’t even touch the rim or put up a half-decent shot out of a timeout. There will be times when KU isn’t so lucky.
Kansas will be prone to make mistakes against teams like Marquette or Purdue, but if they can avoid the self-inflicted mistakes they had last time out, there probably aren’t any more formidable units in the Maui field.