In just a few hours, the No. 4 Kansas Jayhawks will be face-to-face with the No. 5 St John’s, with the winner being awarded a trip to the Sweet 16. As of writing, the Jayhawks are slight underdogs as ESPN Analytics currently gives Bill Self’s squad a 42.9% chance of making it past the Big East Tournament champions.
While everyone knows the problems that Kansas’ 156th-best scoring offense has, the one reliable aspect of Kansas’ season has been its defense, which allows a stifling 38.7% opposition field goal rate.
Kansas has to rely on this defensive aspect against St. Johns
Everyone will tell you that Kansas transfer Zuby Ejiofor is the biggest player to watch out for, and deservedly so. Ejiofor was the Big East’s first unanimous player of the year since Doug McDermott over 10 years ago, and he leads the Red Storm with a stellar 16.3 points per game. Limiting Ejiofor will be a tough task; however, attacking St. John’s three-point weakness may neutralize the presence Rick Pitino can enlist down low.
The Red Storm posts just a 33.3% rate from beyond the arc, which ranks in the bottom half of the country. What makes this more appetizing is the fact that St. John’s attempts just 21 three-pointers a game. So if Kansas can clog the inside and force Pitino’s squad to put up shots from the outside, then the Jayhawks’ odds of moving on should increase significantly.
To make things even better, Kansas currently sits with the nation’s 20th-best three-point defense as KU allows just 30.5% of opposition three-pointers to find the bottom of the net.
St. John’s path to the round of 32
St. John’s did not experience as heart-racing a game as Bill Self’s squad did, as Northern Iowa was muffled in a dominant 79-53 win for Pitino’s team. Ejiofor led all scorers with 14 points, being closely followed by Bryce Hopkins and Oziyah Sellers, who notched 13 and 11 points, respectively.
What do the experts think?
CBS Sports recently compiled an article where staff members predicted the winner of Sunday’s clash, and the things could not have been more even. Of the six who cast their vote, it was evenly split between the two sides.
Tipoff is set for 4:15 p.m. CT with streaming available on CBS.
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