Game Primer: How to Watch, Key Players and Important Information for Washington at Kansas

The Jayhawks host the Huskies with a berth in the NIT championship on the line.

Kansas Athletics

The Kansas Jayhawks continue to blast their way through the WNIT, as their double-digit pull-away victory in the first round over the Western Kentucky Lady Toppers was followed up by a dominating win in the second round over the Missouri Tigers and a huge second half push in the Super 16 against the Nebraska Cornhuskers before a one-two punch knocked out the Arkansas Razorbacks.

The Jayhawks erased all doubt about how invested they are in winning this tournament, and the reception of the Kansas faithful in Allen Fieldhouse has matched that intensity. With the recent game against Arkansas drawing the largest crowd for the team since 2019, there is some excitement to see how much larger the crowds can get for today's Fab 4 opponent, the Washington Huskies.

The Huskies are led by head coach Tina Langley, who is in her 2nd season in Seattle. She has a 26-30 record at the school, and is 0-1 against the Jayhawks overall. Neither coach has faced the other team at their current school.

The Jayhawks lead the overall series 2-1, including a win in the only prior meeting at Allen Fieldhouse. The last meeting between the two teams came back in 1998.

Kansas is 13-5 all-time in the WNIT, including a 1-0 record in the semifinals.

Before today's important matchup, here are the essentials:

The Numbers

Editor's Note: Unless otherwise noted, all stats are provided by CBB Analytics. CBB Analytics is a new stats website in college hoops, covering both men and women's basketball in D-I, D-II and D-III. You can follow them on Twitter @CBBAnalytics

Kansas: 23-11 (9-9 Big 12): CBB Analytics Net Rating - 45th overall, 54th offense, 65th defense

Washington: 19-14 (7-11 Pac-12): Net Rating - 122nd overall, 168th offense, 83rd defense

Line: TBD

O/U: TBD

How to Watch

Wednesday, March 29th, 6:30 p.m. CST

Lawrence, KS: Allen Fieldhouse

TV: Big 12 Now on ESPN+

- Josh Klingler (Play-by-Play), Wayne Simien (Analyst)

Radio: IMG Jayhawk Radio Network

- Steven Davis (Play-by-Play), David Lawrence (Analyst)

Webcast: Kansas Online Radio

Game Coverage

Follow along during the game for live updates on Twitter.

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Opponent Team Form

The Huskies are on of the slowest teams in the nation, averaging a full 5 possession less per game than the Jayhawks. And that reflects in their game averages, as they only score 61.6 points per game and only give up 58.8 points per game. And they lean heavily into that methodical style, preferring to take their time and find a good shot on each possession. They are a good offensive rebounding team, averaging 13.5 per game and rebounding an absurd 28.7% of their misses.

But it's not all good. Even with a low number of possessions, they still turn the ball over 16.2 times per game. They don't get to the line very often, they don't shoot many threes (and don't hit many of the ones they do take) and shoot poorly in general, making roughly 40% of their shots. On defense, they don't force many turnovers, don't affect many shots on the inside, and are not great at getting to the line.

Because of the disparity in paces, it helps to look at statistics on a per 100 possessions basis in addition to the per game look. In this view, they look significantly better, matching or beating the Jayhawks on assists, rebounds, steals blocks and the volume of shots. This means that pacing of the game would appear to be much more important here than usual, as Kansas can take advantage with fast break opportunities and by speeding up a Washington team that struggles with defensive pressure.  

Players to Watch

Dalayah Daniels - 6'4" Sophomore Forward

11.3 pts, 6.5 rebs, 1.6 asts, 1.1 stls, 1.4 blks, 50.0% FG%

Daniels is a clear leader on this team, leading the team in points, rebounds and blocks. She is averaging 13.3 points and 9.5 rebounds per game in the WNIT, and has recorded 2 blocks in each game as well. Her ability to stand her ground inside and get to the basket could go a long way to determining how well Kansas is able to dictate the pace.

Jayda Noble - 5'11" Sophomore Guard

4.8 pts, 5.5 rebs, 2.6 asts, 1.7 stls, 0.6 blks, 73.7% FT%

Noble's strong suit isn't scoring, as evidenced by her 32.1% overall and 23.3% three-point shooting. But she is a critical part of the defense, and helps open up the offense for others while she is on the court.

Haley Van Dyke - 6'1" Senior Forward

9.5 pts, 5.3 rebs, 2.0 asts, 1.2 stls, 0.6 blks, 37.3% FG%

The second-leading scorer, Van Dyke is a great second option down in the post, and helps gum up the works on the defense. She is a huge help on the boards and could easily have a huge impact as the Jayhawks try to get into the post.

Others of note: The Huskies run through a large rotation of players, with 9 players appearing in 29 or more games. Junior forward Lauren Schwartz leads the team in minutes and is one of the better inside shooters on the team at 45.8%.  Freshman guard Hannah Stines is the leading three point shooter among those that have at least 75 attempts on the season, hitting 31.6% of those attempts.

Matchups to Watch

Washington lives on the inside, so while Taiyanna Jackson will be as important as ever, the Jayhawks are going to need to find additional bodies that can help in the post and other ways to attack the defense. Nadira Eltayeb has come up clutch in multiple spots so far in this tournament, and how she is able to perform will go a long way to deciding if the Jayhawks move on. Chandler Prater has shown the ability to play pretty much everywhere on the court, and I expect her to play down low for most of the game.

On the perimeter, the Jayhawks have gotten big games from multiple players in different games. Wyvette Mayberry, Zakiyah Franklin and Holly Kersgieter will all need to contribute on both sides of the ball, but it is hard to identify which one is most likely to go off on the offense. 

Prediction

Pacing is going to be key here, as Washington will try to grind the game to a halt. But Kansas excels at creating turnovers, and then turning those into points. The looks will be different for Kansas here, as the Huskies will look inside much more often than any team they have faced recently, but that will also give the Kansas guards more opportunities to poke a ball loose.

Offensively, this may be a game where Jackson struggles, at least compared to her more recent output. That's not to say she won't have another double-double, but with three players who play in the post regularly for Washington, Kansas will need to make a conscious effort to clear out some space for her to work. Some hot three-point shooting should get that going, and the crowd should get into this one early.

Kansas 74, Washington 59.

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