Kansas 84 - Nebraska 72

Player Performance Analysis

You can't say Bill Self doesn't know how to motivate his players using starting jobs. Relegated to coming off the bench for the first time, Marcus Morris responded with one of his better performances of the season.  He shot a mere 100 eFG% on his way to 19 PTS, 7 REB (4 OREB!), 1 AST, 1 STL and 0 TO in just 21 MIN.  Think that's efficient enough?  It would have been even more staggering if he hadn't missed half of his 6 free throws.  His brother Markieff actually checked in at a higher eFG%, if you can believe that.  He made both of his shots, one a 3-pointer, to finish at 125 eFG% but with significantly less impact.

The two best backcourt performers were the always dependable Sherron Collins and the three-point specialist Tyrel Reed.  Collins had the better impact rating by virtue of more than twice the playing time (34 vs 14 MIN).  Collins shot an amazing 73 eFG% and finished with 22 PTS, 5 AST, 2 REB and 2 TO, although he failed to record a STL.  Reed made 3-of-5 from behind the arc and finished with 92 eFG%, 11 PTS, 1 REB and 2 AST without a turnover.

Cole Aldrich's numbers came back down from his last outing.  Although, disturbingly, he was once again MIA on offense.  In fact, he rated negative there.  Playing in only half the game, Aldrich attempted only 4 FG's and made 1 but did finish with 9 REB (2 OREB), 3 BLK, 1 AST and 1 STL against 2 TO.  On a night where it seemed no one from either side was playing defense, Aldrich had by far the best defensive numbers of anyone on the court.  This could have been perhaps the most lopsided effort he's ever had with respect to offensive vs defensive rating.

Brady Morningstar had himself a nice game on offense, living up to his "Key Player" status there.  He made both of his 2FG shots and added 4 AST, 1 STL, 1 BLK and 1 TO in 28 MIN.  The man he subs for, Tyshawn Taylor, didn't have a great outing. Taylor shot a lot better, sure.  He made 63 eFG% for a change, enough to make it look like he had a great game.  But his 31 MIN also meant he got a lot of "credit" for KU's poor defense.  In addition, Taylor had 3 TO against only 2 AST with 0 STL.

And what of the man who many have called the second best freshman in the country?  Well, he must be hitting the second biggest freshman wall, as he had another subpar outing.  This time, he checked in the lowest of any player with 10+ minutes.  Xavier Henry shot only 38 eFG% (2-of-6 from 3FG) and finished with a paltry 6 PTS in 26 MIN.

For Nebraska, it turns out that Brandon Richardson was the man.  In just 21 MIN, he shot an eye-popping 108 eFG% (3-of-4 from 3FG) and made all of his 5 FT's to finish with 18 PTS, 2 REB, 1 STL and 1 TO.  Too bad for NU that he was the only guy who rated negative (good) on defense.  The only other player with impressive numbers was Brian Diaz who put on a clinic in the paint.  Diaz made 70 eFG% to contribute 15 PTS but only 1 REB.  He did add 2 AST, 1 STL, 1 BLK and 2 TO. 

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 down)