Quick Analysis: Three Key Takeaways From Baylor at Kansas

The Kansas Jayhawks defeated the Baylor Bears 83-59 on Saturday. Here are 3 main takeaways from the game.

There are many words that come to mind when trying to describe Saturday's win for the Kansas Jayhawks over the Baylor Bears. "Shellacking", "Beatdown", and "Demolition" all come to mind, just off the top of my head.

Contents

1. 1. The Kansas defense is better than we thought.
2. 2. Two guards is great, three is unstoppable
3. 3. In a Big 12 this stacked, off-days are inevitable

We'll have more analysis of this game coming up on the podcast and during the upcoming week, but for now, there were 3 main takeaways from this game:

Kansas redshirt sophomore forward Jalen Wilson (10) blocks a shot by Baylor's James Akinjo (11) during the second half of Saturday's game inside Allen Fieldhouse :: © Evert Nelson/The Capital-Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK

1. The Kansas defense is better than we thought.

Yes, it is clear that Baylor was having an off-night, as I noted multiple wide-open shots that just didn't fall. However, an offense that rates as highly as Baylor's does isn't going to score 0.78 points per possession without a great performance by the opponent on defense. In fact the performance was enough to improve the KU defensive rating by 16 spots, moving up from 46 prior to the game to 30 immediately after the game.

The defensive effort was fueled by a dominant effort, and seemed to be a carryover from the previous game against Iowa State. The Jayhawks were active in passing lanes, seemed to anticipate where the Baylor offense was going, and stood strong against a loaded Baylor frontcourt. The most impressive stat to me was that Baylor was only 11-24 at the rim, and 3-20 on mid-range jumper. 

The Jayhawks routinely denied entry for Baylor's guards who were trying to drive into the lane, forcing them into longer, less-efficient shots. And nearly every shot by the Baylor bigs was challenged, either by David McCormack or Mitch Lightfoot, leading to many more misses than you would normally expect.

Feb 5, 2022; Lawrence, Kansas, USA; Kansas Jayhawks guard Christian Braun (2) dunks the ball during the first half against the Baylor Bears at Allen Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Jay Biggerstaff-USA TODAY Sports / © Jay Biggerstaff-USA TODAY Sports

2. Two guards is great, three is unstoppable

Ochai Agbaji is still a player of the year candidate averaging 21 point and 5 rebounds a game, who is shooting 46% from three and 56% from two.

Christian Braun is deadly when he is locked in (as Oklahoma found out a couple weeks ago), and his defense is good enough to have him 3rd in the Big 12 Kenpom Player of the Year race.

Jalen Wilson has found his confidence and is making a blistering 70% of twos and a respectable 34% of threes in conference play. But his hustle play that saved the ball going out of bounds under the basket that turned into an assist to Ochai really highlights the energy that he brings to the offense.

One of these guys can be enough to give Kansas a chance to win the game. Two of these guys being effective gives the Jayhawks some wiggle room against all but the best opponents. But if all three are firing on all cylinders, we get a performance like today, and it's hard to imagine ANYONE winning in Allen Fieldhouse today (yes, even Kentucky)

Feb 5, 2022; Lawrence, Kansas, USA; Kansas Jayhawks forward David McCormack (33) fights for a rebound with Baylor Bears forward Flo Thamba (0) during the second half at Allen Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Jay Biggerstaff-USA TODAY Sports / © Jay Biggerstaff-USA TODAY Sports

3. In a Big 12 this stacked, off-days are inevitable

While I don't think he would have been nearly enough to change the outcome, the unavailability of LJ Cryer for Baylor had a noticeable impact on what Baylor was able to attempt offensively. But injuries and off-nights are a way of life in the Big 12.

Kansas is still missing Remy Martin. TCU was without star Mike Miles today. In fact, every team in the conference has had a game or two where a star player has been missing and the team performance has suffered. Every team has run into a defense that they just can't seem to handle for whatever reason, leading to a tough loss. When both things happen simultaneously, you get a blowout like today.

I doubt that Kansas will be immune from these types of issues the rest of the year. But going through these struggles now and learning to adapt will be good for every Big 12 team come tournament time.

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