Kansas 87 - Florida Atlantic 49

Comments and Observations

Obviously this was a mismatch of talent.  The absence of FAU's leading scorer made any notion of a close game preposterous.  The biggest things that stood out from this game were that Self has decided to start Darnell Jackson in place of Sasha Kaun.  Although some might question what this will do to chemistry or to Kaun's confidence, there is no doubt that on-the-court results clearly demonstrate Jackson's superiority to Kaun this season.  The other significant takeaway is that Robinson is really struggling and probably will continue to do so for some time.  His tendinitis is hampering him, but he's also mired in a shooting and decision-making slump.  That really limits his value, since his biggest assets have been his tenacious defense, ability to distribute the ball and make good decisions.  Until he gets out of this funk and/or Collins returns, we may be at a significant disadvantage in the point guard position.

Conner Teahan finally missed a 3FG, thank goodness.  I was afraid I'd have to deal with adjusting my columns for a triple digit efficiency or something! 

Four Factor Analysis

• eFG% - Not even close.  KU 66-36%
  
• TURNOVERS - KU 27-15%, no surprise.
• OFFENSIVE REBOUNDING - KU 39-31%
• FREETHROW RATE (FTM/FGA) - Edge to FAU 24-17%

CONCLUSION - Another game where the shooting advantage to KU was so tremendous, it just didn't matter what happened in any other aspect of the game.

Player Performance Analysis

This is brief due to time constraints, since I'll need to get the USC preview out in time.

You had to be pleased with Jackson, Teahan, and Case's performances.  All three were efficient, although Jackson's performance was most meaningful.  What a beautiful 3FG he swished in the second half.  It was a pleasant surprise that he didn't chuck another one up, exercising some discipline instead.  Leave the three-balls to the unconscious Teahan.  Given the percentages of the best 3FG shooters in the history of the game, it's obvious that Teahan's fortunate start to his 3FG shooting is bound to come back down to Earth.  But it's been entertaining to watch the walk-on's shooting stroke.  The other aspects of the game have to advance a lot more before he sees meaningful stretches of minutes though.  And Case had another one of those games where you're left pondering the possibilities of what could happen if only he had more games like this.  Just enough to be disappointed by his other efforts.  Let's hope for the best, but don't hold your breath.

Aldrich, Chalmers, and Stewart were the only other Jayhawks with very efficient games.  Did anyone else realize that Aldrich had 3 STL?  I didn't while watching.  If not for the fact that Kaun didn't start, I'd be saying that four of KU's starters had the lowest efficiencies this game.  Rush's play was acceptable, and Arthur's was fair.  But Rush had slightly lower eFG% than required to rate out better.  And Arthur just didn't do enough of anything except scoring during his 17 MIN (2 DREB, 2 AST, 1 BLK).  Kaun's missed FT and lack of any offensive rebounds hurt, while Robinson shot poorly, had only 2 AST to offset his 2 TO but did counter with 3 STL and 5 REB.

Comparison to Pre-Game Projections

(For now, this is just to familiarize you with the format.  Not enough data went into these projections for accuracy.)