Meet the Opponent: Kansas Brings No. 2 Ranking To Assembly Hall

Indiana's last chance to pick up a résumé-boosting nonconference win is Saturday against No. 2 Kansas, which is led by the trio of Hunter Dickinson, Kevin McCullar Jr. and Dajuan Harris Jr. Here's a breakdown of the Jayhawks.

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Indiana has its final marquee nonconference matchup of the season Saturday afternoon against the No. 2 Kansas Jayhawks.

This marks the second and last game of a home-and-home series between the two historic programs. Kansas won last year's matchup in Lawrence, 84-62, where Indiana point guard Xavier Johnson suffered a season-ending broken foot.

Coached by Bill Self, the Jayhawks are among the nation's best yet again this year. Kansas brings a 9-1 record and No. 2 ranking to what should be a raucous Assembly Hall crowd.

Here's a breakdown of the Kansas Jayhawks.

Key returners

(2023-24 stats)

• G Dajuan Harris Jr.: 6.1 ppg, 7.0 apg
• G Kevin McCullar Jr.: 19.0 ppg, 7.1 rpg, 5.0 apg
• F KJ Adams Jr.: 12.9 ppg, 3.8 rpg

Key departures

(2022-23 stats)

• F Jalen Wilson: 20.1 ppg, 8.3 rpg
• G Gradey Dick: 14.1 ppg, 5.1 rpg
• G Joseph Yesufu: 4.1 ppg

Key newcomers

(2023-24 stats)

• C Hunter Dickinson: 19.4 ppg, 12.6 rpg
• G Elmarko Jackson (No. 21 freshman): 6.2 ppg
• G/F Johnny Furphy (No. 69 freshman): 5.7 ppg, 40.0 3-pt FG%
• F Parker Braun: 3.5 ppg, 2.2 rpg
• G Nicolas Timberlake: 3.5 ppg, 29.2 3-pt FG%

Schedule (9-1, 0-0 in Big 12)

• W, 99-56 vs. NC Central
• W, 99-61 vs. Manhattan
• W, 89-84 vs. Kentucky (neutral site, Chicago)
• W, 83-56 vs. Chaminade (neutral site, Hawaii)
• L, 73-5 vs. No. 7 Marquette (neutral site, Hawaii)
• W, 69-60 vs. No. 12 Tennessee (neutral site, Hawaii)
• W, 71-63 vs. Eastern Illinois
• W, 69-65 vs. No. 5 UConn
• W, 88-69 vs. Kansas City
• W, 73-64 vs. Missouri

Strengths

Kansas can make a case for having the three best players on the court against most opponents: center Hunter Dickinson, point guard Dajuan Harris Jr. and do-it-all wing Kevin McCullar Jr. Together, the trio gives Kansas balanced scoring inside and out, plus a veteran point guard with national championship pedigree. 

Dickinson, whom Indiana is familiar with from his three years at Michigan, was one of the most impactful transfers of the offseason. The 7-foot center is putting up career-high numbers, making a slight jump in scoring and raising his rebounding average by 3.6 per game. He's also fouling and turning the ball over less frequently, while shooting a gaudy 11-for-19 from 3-point range and 63.7% from the field. He has fit well next to returning forward KJ Adams, who's eighth in the nation with a 67.9 field goal percentage. Dickinson is well on his way to another consensus All-American season. 

McCullar is in his second season with the Jayhawks after beginning his career at Texas Tech, and he's posting career-high numbers, too. The 6-foot-7 wing has nearly doubled his scoring, averaging 19.0 points per game. His 37.8% 3-point shooting is more than 6% higher than his previous best, and he's doing so on more attempts. McCullar is an All-Big 12 caliber defender, and his versatile play on the wing is invaluable for the Jayhawks.

Harris remains one of the most underrated players in the nation despite running the point for Kansas' 2022 national championship squad. He's more of a distributor than a scorer and has a career-high 7.0 assists per game this year. Harris is also the reigning Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year, creating a tough matchup for Indiana point guards Gabe Cupps or Xavier Johnson, if he's healthy. While Harris is off to a rough shooting start from the field (38.6%) and free throw line (61.5%), he's shooting a career-high 45% from 3-point range so far. 

Weaknesses

This is less concerning when you have four players like Dickinson, McCullar, Harris and Adams, but Kansas is not a very deep team this year. Self brought in five-star guard Elmarko Jackson for additional perimeter scoring, but it's taken some time for him to adjust to college. Jackson is shooting 37.8% from the field and 25% on 3-point attempts.

Former Towson guard Nicolas Timberlake drew interest from several powerhouse programs in the transfer portal, but he's off to a disappointing start. After averaging 17.7 points and shooting 41.5% from three last year at Towson, Timberlake is shooting just 29.5% from three this season. Self's trust in Timberlake appears to have waned, as he barely saw the court against Tennessee, UConn and Missouri. 

It will be interesting to see if freshman Johnny Furphy grows into a bigger role as the season carries on, as he seems to have great potential. The 6-foot-9 Australian wing is 12-for-30, or 40%, on 3-point attempts this year, but his defense has left something to be desired. 

Outside the top four players, it's hard to know what to expect from the rest of Kansas' rotation on a game-to-game basis, between Jackson, Timberlake, Furphy, Parker Braun and Jamari McDowell. 

Season outlook

Kansas was the preseason No. 1 team in the nation and received 12 of 14 votes to win the Big 12 this year. Wins over No. 14 Kentucky, No. 12 Tennessee and No. 5 UConn confirm that Kansas is a true national title contender yet again. The core of Harris, Dickinson, McCullar and Adams is good enough to beat any opponent, but Kansas' title hopes could rely on the development of its freshmen, Jackson and Furphy.

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