Tulsa Golden Hurricane at Kansas Jayhawks Preview: A Sneakily-Tough Test

Meet the opponent that will take on a ranked Kansas squad for the first time since 2013.

The Kansas Jayhawks are now ranked for the first time since 2013, and they have done it by thoroughly dominating everyone who has stood in their way. Following up a big win over Arizona with an also impressive home win against Wichita State, Kansas is rolling at just the right time, earning their way into the Top 25 polls.

But their first game as a ranked team is no gimme. This is a Tulsa Golden Hurricane team that has been performing at a high level save a couple hiccups early in the season. With that, let's take a deep dive into tonight's opponent. What are the main things that Kansas will need to watch out for tonight?

Opponent Overview

Team: Tulsa Golden Hurricane

Record: 7-0

Net Rating (via CBB Analytics): 27th (43rd offense, 36th defense)

Line: TBA

Team Form

The Golden Hurricane is coached by head coach Angie Nelp, who is in her second season in her first head coaching opportunity. Her record at Tulsa is 25-13.

Tulsa is coming off a season where they finished 16-10 overall and 5-8 in the American Athletic Conference. They lost in their second game of their conference tournament and were not selected for the NCAA Tournament.

On the season, the team is shooting 53.8% overall but just 33.3% from three-point range. They are only successful on 66.7% of their free throw attempts. In terms of offensive approach, they are a volume three-point shooting team, averaging 32.0 two-point attempts per game compared to 31.2 three-point attempts per game. They only shoot 15.5% of their shots at the rim, which is one of the worst percentages in the country, despite making 68.0% of those shots, which is among the best in the country. Instead those shots are taken beyond the arc above the break, which account for 40.3% of their shots.

Tulsa averages 76.0% points per game, 43.8 rebounds per game, 17.0 steals per game and they turn the ball over an average of 13.8 times per game.

Players to Watch

Tulsa has a clear main option that they run their offense through, and that is 6'1" sophomore forward Temira Poindexter. She averages 15.0 points per game, shoots the ball well at just over 53.3% inside the arc, and has a usage rate of nearly 30%. Her defensive rebounding percentage sits at 15.6%, which is well above average, but offensively she only rebounds 3.8% of opportunities, which is well below average. Simply put, she is a big challenge defensively in the paint and good on the first attempt offensively.

On the perimeter, Tulsa has a varied collection of contributors. Maddie Bittle leads the team in assists, but she is no slouch when it comes to scoring. She averages 8.8 points per game on 8.0 shots and shoots well inside the arc, but struggles a bit shooting threes and doesn't take care of the ball particularly well, averaging 1.8 turnovers per game and 4.0 per 100 possessions.

The main three-point threat is Delanie Crawford, who is shooting 45.5% from long-range. She scores 11.2 points per game on 7.3 shots. She is also the leading rebounder for the team, pulling down 6.1 per game, including 1.9 on the offensive end. Given the number of long shots that the team takes, it's not surprising to see a guard collect the most rebounds on the team. 

Matchups to Watch

When Kansas has played well this season, it is usually because they force teams to avoid the paint, but Tulsa is a team that already shoots a lot from outside the arc. While it will be important for Taiyanna Jackson to continue to shut down the paint, that won't be nearly as important as you would expect.

Instead, I'm looking out on the perimeter for the keys here. Thanks to some fantastic perimeter defense, the Jayhawks have only allowed opponents to shoot 25.7% from beyond the arc. The entire perimeter defense will need to clamp down on, especially Holly Kersgieter and Zakiyah Franklin.

The other big stat to look at is turnovers, as Kansas doesn't commit them very much and Tulsa doesn't force them very much. How big of an advantage that become will depend on if Kansas can continue pressure and force some, or the normally surehanded Golden Hurricane continues to avoid turnovers, which they've done even better than the Jayhawks.

Prediction

This isn't the most difficult game on the slate so far, but it is probably the best opponent they have played in Allen Fieldhouse. Tulsa is a sneaky good team that will help bolster the resume come tournament time, but that also makes them dangerous. But the lack of inside presence means that this will come down to whether Tulsa can get hot from beyond the arc.

Taiyanna Jackson  will look to have a big game tonight, as her size and power down low gives her a distinct advantage to go along with her attack mentality. She should be able to score consistently in this one, which might mean that even a barrage of threes wouldn't be enough. Give me the home team as they frustrate the Tulsa offense and win in yet another blowout.

Kansas 83, Tulsa 60.

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