REPORT: Kansas' McCullar out vs Baylor

The Jayhawks will be missing their leading scorer against the Bears. How does that affect the gameplan and outlook for the game?

The worries of many Kansas Jayhawks fans have come true, as leading scorer and senior guard Kevin McCullar has been ruled out of today's game against the Baylor Bears. McCullar first raised the possibility during College Gameday, and the final decision was reported by Jeff Goodman from The Field of 68:

Kansas’ Kevin McCullar will NOT play tonight against Baylor, source told @TheFieldOf68.

— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanHoops) February 10, 2024

Obviously that is a big loss against a Baylor team that shoots well from the perimeter, but just how big of an impact will it have on the game. Our Three Keys article didn't focus on McCullar specifically, but it was assumed that he would be part of the defense that would try to slow down the Bears and the offense that would need to outscore them. 

Three Keys: Jayhawks poised to outgun Bears

So what does this new change? Surprisingly not as much as I thought. Here are a couple areas where I expect to see some decent impacts:

Inside Focus

With one fewer option on the perimeter for consistent three point shooting, I expect the Jayhawks to pass into the paint more often. That doesn't actually mean that they will take more shots inside, but I expect more entry passes with more decisions being made by KJ Adams or Hunter Dickinson. Don't worry, you should still see plenty of backdoor cuts and lobs from Dajuan Harris, but don't be surprised if Adams takes on an even bigger role in ballhandling.

Bench Rotation

This seems a bit counterintuitive, but I think that the loss of McCullar will actually increase the bench usage. While it makes the bench shorter by pushing someone else into the starting lineup, it also means that you have a spot in the lineup that no longer has a guy you feel has to play 35+ minutes a game. That can be a double-edged sword if the bench players who use that time don't play well. But as we saw against Oklahoma State, the longer stretches of game time we saw from the bench led to more opportunities to positively impact the game.

I can already hear the "But it was Oklahoma State" outbursts right now. But it wasn't hard to see that the team played with a lot more energy. One less consistent option is a detriment, but it can also help focus an offense that had way too many turnovers to guys that weren't expecting a pass to head their way against Houston.

No matter who gets the start against Baylor (I've been told it likely will NOT be Elmarko Jackson), Bill Self will need to see an early positive contribution. If not, expect to see multiple people get early opportunities.