On Tuesday night, the No. 17 Kansas Jayhawks faced stiff competition. We know Towson likely will not be a serious contender by the time March comes, but the Tigers have proven to be able to limit offenses' productivity as Towson currently only allows 69.3 points per game, which ranks 63rd in the nation.
Although Kansas cruised to a 73-49 win over Towson, a quick gander at the team stats showed that the Jayhawks were thoroughly outrebounded as the Jayhawks conceded 45 total rebounds, including a whopping 22 second chances for the Tigers.
“But I think a lot of it is to me, is it competitiveness? I think part of it is,” quoted Kansas head coach Bill Self late Tuesday night.
“But I think the majority of it is, we're a half step behind, we don't anticipate, we don't play big. I mean, balls hit guys in the hands, and they don't secure it. The best rebounders are the ones that want the ball to work the most and the worst, and I didn't think that we went after it, like we need to go after it to have a all around good defensive team.”
The Jayhawks pull in 8.3 offensive rebounds per game, which ranks 246th in the nation.
Kansas’ defensive rebounds take a big hike up with Kansas reeling in the ninth-ranked 28.1 rebounds per game.
Overall, this pushes Kansas to the 38th-best rebounding side in the country with a solid 40 rebounds per game.
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While snagging rebounds leaves Kansas well above average, the Jayhawks allow way too many. This has been something, Self has lamented on all season long, and for good reason. Kansas allows 9.2 rebounds per game, which ranks 184th in the country.
Self’s squad allows 22.3 defensive rebounds, which sits 167th in the nation. The Jayhawks' total rebounds rank 180th with 35.3 total rebounds allowed per game.
What is worth noting is that the Jayhawks have been decently outrebounded in each of the three losses. Yes, the 58-point second half that Kansas allowed probably had a bigger impact than their -12 rebound differential in their 87-74 loss to the No. 12 UNC Tar Heels.
Kansas’ -11 rebound differential proved vital in a 78-66 loss to the No. 3 Duke Blue Devils. A game that Kansas had the opportunity to win if they either flipped the rebound margin or had a healthy Darryn Peterson, nonetheless, both.
Lastly, the gut-wrenching 61-56 loss to the No. 5 UConn Huskies. Kansas lost the battle 68-62.
There is no guarantee that if Kansas had won all those rebounding battled their record would be undefeated, but there is a correlation between the scorelines and rebounding numbers that Self desperately wants to improve.
The next chance to see the Jayhawks is next Monday, with the tipoff set for 7 p.m. CT and streaming available on ESPN+.