Kansas 73 - Texas A&M 53

My Observations

It's hard not to salivate as a KU fan when Mario Little shows his stuff like he did this game.  Is he going to shoot perfectly from the field every game?  Of course not.  But there is no question that his array of skills on the offensive end are something this Kansas team had been sorely lacking the first half of the season.  Once he is at 100%, opposing defenses will have to give him even more attention, relieving some pressure on Collins and Aldrich.

Pretty incredible that not one Texas A&M player finished in double figures.  My projections that no player would do better than their averages was fairly accurate, except for Loubeau.

Player Performance Analysis

No analysis of this game should begin with any player other than Mario Little for Kansas.  He shot an unbelievable 108 eFG% (6-of-6 FG, including 1-of-1 from 3FG), made both his FT's, and added 4 REB (2 OREB) with zero turnovers in 14 MIN.  That's about as efficient a game as possible, and his rating was through the roof as a result.  And none of the shots were really lucky or bounced around and went in.  It will really be interesting to see if Little will settle in as KU's second most efficient player for the duration of the season or if it's just temporary.

Morningstar and Aldrich were the other big contributors for KU this game.  If you listened to Fran Fraschilla, you know that Morningstar "moves the ball" very well.  It's a good thing, because this time he didn't shoot particularly well (1-of-3) but grabbed 6 REB (2 OREB), dished 4 AST and swiped 2 STL without turning it over once.  Aldrich failed to add to his massive total of double-doubles, but still sizzled with 62 eFG% shooting, 8 REB (2 OREB), 2 BLK and 1 TO.  He did benefit from several lucky bounces though.

When the game was a bit closer, Sherron Collins had a nice stretch of baskets.  Unfortunately, he didn't hit well the rest of the game and finished with only 42 eFG% shooting (2-of-4 from 3FG), 7 AST, 3 STL and 5 TO's.  Those turnovers really end up hurting his ratings, but they didn't feel that bad to an observer because KU was up by so much for most of the game.

Marcus Morris hit back-to-back three-pointers and had 2 STL but did little else that was positive.  He managed only 1 DREB, 1 AST and 2 TO's in his 20 MIN.  Taylor started the game with some excellent offense and, like Marcus Morris, finished with 80 eFG% shooting.  But Taylor didn't have any STL, just 1 AST, 3 DREB and 2 TO.  Plus, he fouled a three-point shooter in the act twice.  Morris definitely had the more efficient game of the two, but their overall impact was similar.

The player who struggled most was Markieff Morris.  He missed all four of his shots, made only 2-of-4 FT's, but did grab 3 REB (2 OREB) and dish 1 AST with 0 TO's in 11 MIN.  He still had two fouls in that short stretch.  That's just too many missed shots though.

The Aggies had only one player with impressive numbers, Loubeau.  This was a bit surprising given his below-average ratings coming in to the game.  As an indicator for A&M's poor offense, Loubeau didn't even shoot well (40 eFG%).  It was his 4 OREB and 3-of-4 from the foul line in only 14 MIN that helped him.

Offensive and Defensive Performance

Using the outcome of the game and the adjusted offensive and defensive efficiencies for each team, performance indicates (in PTS per 100 Possessions) how each team would have fared against an average team.  That is, KU's offensive performance is how many points per 100 possessions KU would have scored against an average defense.  This provides a standard performance we can compare across teams.

Four Factor Analysis

(Actual statistics moved to Game Projections table below)