Three Keys: Jayhawks should switch it up against Mountaineers

The main things that Kansas needs to do in order to avoid an upset to West Virginia.

The Kansas Jayhawks are back on the road for the second time this week. With the way that home teams have been winning in the Big 12, Kansas will need to be prepared for a difficult game today. Add in that every trip to Morgantown is a new adventure, and today's game against the West Virginia Mountaineers becomes a speed bump that can't be ignored.

West Virginia is coming off a tough game against Oklahoma, but they scored a huge upset over Texas just a week ago. So how can Kansas avoid becoming the second victim in as many weeks? Here are three keys to making sure Kansas comes home with just a single loss.

Push It

Normally, I wouldn't be advocating for the Jayhawks to run, but the addition of Johnny Furphy to the starting lineup has helped Kansas to come out with more energy. Also, West Virginia plays a slow, plodding style of offense, and they don't turn over their opponents on the defense. West Virginia doesn't do well on the fast break either, with the second-worst fast break points in the conference. I'm sure Bill Self wouldn't be happy with an increase in turnovers, but if there is any team where risking a few extra turnovers, this would be it.

Avoid Fouls

The one thing that West Virginia does well is draw fouls. They have the highest percentage of free throws to field goals attempted in the conference, and they are middle of the pack in free throw percentage. The Jayhawks can't really afford to get players in significant foul trouble, given the issues they have with depth already.

Zone?

Yes, I know that Self hates to use zone. He's broken it out sparingly, usually when nothing else works. But hear me out. West Virginia takes a huge percentage of their shots from the perimeter, so the defense will need to be prepared to stretch all the way out. Hunter Dickinson and KJ Adams are the perfect big men to be able to do that, but that presents the other problem.

Spreading out the defense opens up holes for West Virginia to drive into the paint, drawing fouls and causing problems. While I think the Jayhawks are good enough to play this straight up, I won't be shocked if Kansas switches to zone at multiple times today.