The Kansas Jayhawks have been absolutely stifling this season, and as we know, this has been no easy schedule. Kansas has faced two top-10 teams in Duke and UConn and a UNC squad that currently sits 12th in the nation.
Kansas allows just 63.3 points per game, which ranks 11th-best in the nation, combined with a suffocating 36.6% field goal rate allowed. Some icing on the cake, Kansas allows a paltry 25.2% three-point field goal rate.
“I thought our defense wasn't bad. I mean, how many did they make late?” Quoted head coach Bill Self when discussing Kansas’ three-point defense that allowed 11 threes and a 37% three-point rate in a blowout 90-61 win over the Davidson Wildcats.
“They probably made, you know, four, five in the last, you know, five or six minutes or something like that. So to me, those don't count quite as much when the score is the way it was.” As a matter of fact, Davidson did hit three threes from the 6:07 mark onwards, where the difference was as low as 28. “But I thought we did a pretty good job. You know, we're switching so much, and bigs aren't used to guarding three-point shooters, but for the most part, they did fine.
According to the famous metric “KenPom,” Kansas currently holds the sixth-best defense, along with the 16th-hardest strength of schedule, which is a further indication of how strong the Kansas defense is. The 37% is the highest three-point rate Kansas has allowed all season long.
How reliable is this through conference play?
Big 12 commissioner, Brett Yormak, has often been quoted saying that the second hardest league behind the NBA was the Big 12.
Okay, now by no means is Yormak going to slam his own conference, but let's be honest, is he really wrong?
10 of the players in this SI mock draft currently play in the Big 12. Five of KenPom’s top-16 teams in overall Net Rating are from the Big 12, so having a strong defense throughout this arduous stretch is going to be crucial. The season’s peaks and valleys will likely see Kansas vary slightly, but a metric as process-driven as defensive rating is much more reliable than an ever-changing offense, which can vary every night.
Kansas opens up Big 12 play against the UCF Golden Knights on January 3rd with tipoff set for 1 p.m. CT, and streaming available on Peacock.
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