Recap: Kansas at Nebraska

January 30, 2007

Kansas 76 - Nebraska 56

My Observations

KU played about as well as I've ever seen a Jayhawk team play in the first 18 minutes of the game.  Suffocating defense, dominant rebounding, getting open looks and converting them.  With about 2 minutes left in the first half, KU led 43-8.  There are at least two divergent schools of thought from that point onward:

• KU was so dominant, the team was bound to "let up" -- it can't be expected that Kansas would extend its lead by the same amount throughout the rest of the game.  Winning by 20 points on the road in conference play is awesome, no matter what.  Besides, NU was shooting unconsciously from behind the 3-pt line in the second half (it was actually 8-of-13, not quite Marchello Vealy-esque, but definitely better than average).

OR

• From that point on, Nebraska outscored KU 48-33.  By the end of the game, NU had a higher eFG% than KU, essentially even on TO's and this all happened while KU played its regulars, not after it cleared its bench.  Even if KU had the right to "let up" a bit, this portion of the game showed that if Kansas had played a bit off its game (which it's had a tendency to do often this season), it's conceivable the Huskers could have outplayed the Jayhawks on this night.  Still, the end result was a 20-point victory due mostly to an unbelievable start to the game.  It's clear that Kansas was the superior team, but consistency continues to plague the Jayhawks.

Four Factor Analysis

• eFG% - After the incredible start, can you believe that NU outshot KU 51.1-50.8%?
• TURNOVERS - Only 1 more TO for the Huskers gives KU the 21-19% slim advantage.
• OFFENSIVE REBOUNDING - KU dominated 42-3% ... that's no typo ... forty-two to three.  This was probably an important factor. (duh)
• FREETHROW RATE - Slight advantage for KU of 23-20%

CONCLUSION - I don't have access to stats just for the first half when KU had its dominant stretch, but I'm guessing during that run it was eFG% and offensive rebounding that were the most important factors.  But looking at the overall game results, the one standout in this game is KU's absolute domination on the boards.  NU managed only one offensive rebound the entire game, and it was probably an accident, since all the Huskers seemed to start running back once they attempted a shot.  The offensive rebounds pushed KU's efficiency significantly ahead of NU and kept Nebraska from having a chance to win.

Player Performance Analysis

It's not often that we see Russell Robinson at the top of these ratings, but he most certainly deserved the honor this game.  He shot 4-6 (1-3 on 3FG's), 6 REB (4 offensive), 4 AST, 3 STL, 2 BLK and zip on the turnovers.  He did all this in just 28 minutes of play.  Nice to see Russell reminding everyone that he can drive to the basket and convert, most beautifully on a spin move between two defenders.  His confidence must be rising steadily over the last couple of weeks, which can only benefit the Jayhawks down the stretch of the conference race.

Brandon Rush thoroughly dominated the first half with deadly shooting and rebounding.  He finished with 20 points on 65 eFG% shooting, 8 REB and 2 TO's.  In 33 minutes of play, he didn't have any assists though.

Julian Wright quickly had a chance to redeem himself for the botched dunk attempt in the last game ... and he missed again, although he was fouled on the play.  Wright played much more "within himself" and got back to doing a little bit of everything, as he's known to do when playing well.  Julian shot 55 eFG% (including 1-1 on 3FG's), 7 REB, 2 AST, 2 STL, 1 BLK and 3 TO's.  Not bad at all for a guy who's been lambasted all over ESPN and other media outlets for his missed dunk.

A much-needed strong game from Darrell Arthur against a weak frontline helped KU's cause.  Arthur shot 5-7, with 7 REB (4 offensive), 1 BLK, 1 STL and 1 TO.  Compared to his recent performances, it was masterful.

Collins and Chalmers had fair, largely mistake-free games.  Neither shot particularly well or did much that showed up in the boxscore though, except for Chalmers' 6 REB and 3 AST.  They mostly get credit for KU's strong performance.

It's particularly disappointing to see Kaun at the bottom of the ratings, but it's important to note that Maric's poor rating must have something to do with Kaun's defense.  Regardless, Sasha played only 12 foul-plagued minutes, missed all five of his (often-forced) shots and grabbed a whopping 1 REB.  Kaun has to come to play with more fire or KU will yield a significant advantage inside to bigger opponents.

For Nebraska, their only glimmer of hope this game was Ryan Anderson.  The freshman came in shooting 46% from 3FG and didn't disappoint.  He finished with 6-of-9 from deep on his way to scoring 19 points, although he didn't do much else.

The big story here was that Maric really struggled.  He came into the game with the highest efficiency rating of any player on either team, so it was devastating to NU that he shot only 3-8 with 6 REB and 3 TO's.  Richardson was also expected to be a contributor, but he struggled most of all.  In 34 minutes, Richardson missed all five of his shots, had no rebounds, 4 AST, 1 TO and 2 STL.  He didn't make too many mistakes but didn't contribute much on the board either.

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