The Kansas basketball team shot a paltry 29 percent Tuesday against Arizona State, and it was a complete team effort. Only Kohl Rosario was at 50 percent, and he went 1-for-2.
Two mainstays of the offense are mired in severe slumps over the last few games. Both Darryn Peterson and Flory Bidunga need to get back to shooting the ball better if Kansas is going to have any chance of a deep March run this season.
Kansas took 72 shots on Tuesday, yet connected on just 21. The starters were 19 out of 65. That just isn't going to cut it. Peterson and Bidunga combined to go 9-for-32.
Just how bad have Flory Bidunga and Darryn Peterson been shooting in recent games?
Over the last five games, Bidunga is 21-for-45, for 46.6 percent. Those numbers include an 8-for-10 game. Take that game out, and he's 13-for-35, or 37.1 percent.
What makes these numbers so bad is that most of Bidunga's shots are within a few feet, many of them right at the rim. Against Arizona State, he missed eight shots, and maybe one was outside five feet. For a player who was shooting 65.6 percent heading into the recent two-game road trip, those numbers are unacceptable.
Peterson has been even worse. Over the last four outings, Peterson is 23-for-70, for 30 percent. From behind the arc, he's 8-for-33, or a pathetic 24.2 percent. Peterson has been able to make up some points by going 16-for-18 from the line, but it isn't near enough.
Because of the high volume of shots Peterson takes, his slump is much worse. Bidunga's struggles have been bad because all of his shots, and therefore his misses, are mostly at the rim. For Peterson, however, 30 percent on 70 shots in four games is difficult to fathom for someone who is supposed to be such a good scorer.
Against the Sun Devils, Peterson took 25 percent of the shots. That is an extremely high percentage. To make matters even worse, he had only 14.2 percent of the made shots. That is a discrepancy that cannot stand.
The Jayhawks must be better when Peterson is cold. Melvin Council Jr., Tre White, and Bryson Tiller, along with Bidunga, have to pick up the slack. They did not against Arizona State.
KU showed how good they can be during their eight-game winning streak a few weeks ago. They have also proven how bad they can be in this recent 2-4 stretch. Head coach Bill Self has to find a way for this team to play together, whether Peterson is hitting shots or not.
Since winning the national championship in 2022, the Jayhawks are just 7-12 in March. If KU is going to buck that trend, then they need to come together now. Time has run out!
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