When Kansas took down No. 11 Louisville last Friday, despite a promising 90-82 exhibition scoreline and a breakout performance from five-star guard Darryn Peterson, which saw Peterson notch 26 points on his unofficial debut, there was one massive flaw that stuck out like a sore thumb. Kansas was outrebounded. Heavily.
On the day, Kansas allowed 21 offensive rebounds and 26 defensive rebounds. The Cardinals posted 13 second-chance points. And while Peterson’s breakout night was enough to push past the Louisville in the short term, those stats were a major slap in the face.
So, when Kansas was able to welcome Division-II side Fort Hays State to Allen Fieldhouse, skeptics of the team had eyes on the box score all night. Fortunately, the Jayhawks posed a much stronger threat on the glass with just six offensive rebounds allowed. Fort Hays State mounted 25 rebounds on the day.
After Kansas’ 71-35 dominating win over the Tigers, Kansas head coach Bill Self spoke on the specific rebounding difference he saw in comparison to Friday’s.
“But long shots mean long rebounds, and that's where Louisville killed us the other day. They [Fort Hays State] missed 18 threes today, and they didn't kill us on the offensive glass, so we probably did a better job of running down the long balls, which was probably good. Better.”
Last season, the Jayhawks did allow a worrying amount of rebounds per game, with 34.7, which ranked 189th in the nation. In Kansas’ two preseason scrimmages, the Jayhawks totaled 91 rebounds.
The first chance to see the Kansas Jayhawks is next Monday at 7 p.m. CT at Allen Fieldhouse as Kansas looks to right the ship after a 21-13 season, which saw a massive facelift take over the Big 12 powerhouse.
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