In the Big 12, it’s long been the case that you pick against Kansas at your peril. No matter how vulnerable the Jayhawks might look, they still find a way to win the regular season title there. Last year was the latest of many instances, and it just felt like business as usual at the end of the day.
It’s with that in mind that we might still urge some caution in picking someone other than the Jayhawks to win the Big 12 this season. One couldn’t blame you much, though, if you were to do so this morning, because in all, the Jayhawks aren’t exactly trending in the right direction and are now two games back in the loss column after losing at arch-rival Kansas State 74-67 last night.
The Jayhawks have been so dominant in the Big 12, this marks the first time a Kansas team has been 6-4 in conference play since the days of the Big 8. They have lost three out of four and four of six to get to this point, with one of those losses being at Kentucky in the SEC-Big 12 Challenge and in a game where they certainly had a chance.
This game can best be summed up with on statistic: 23 turnovers for Kansas. The Jayhawks’ offense never got going because they constantly gave the ball away, and the Wildcats took advantage with a 10-24 night from deep, including a big one from Xavier Sneed after the Jayhawks got within 64-61 late.
The other key number from last night: 1-6, which is Kansas’ record in true road games this season. Going on the road is the big equalizer in conference play, and that has certainly been the case with Kansas this season. The Jayhawks have averaged 17 turnovers in those road losses, so it’s clear that taking care of the ball is of monumental importance, and also that they don’t have the margin for error that they did earlier in the season.
It wasn’t just offensively that the Jayhawks were not themselves. Defensively, they played a 2-3 zone for a lot of the game, which may be as much because of numbers up front as anything else. With Silvio de Sousa and Udoka Azubuike out of action, and other frontcourt players just not ready to play major minutes, Bill Self went to that after Kansas State ran out to an early lead. The Jayhawks were also without Marcus Garrett, their most experienced guard, but they won on Saturday without him, so they have enough talent to win.
Kansas still has to go on the road four more times in Big 12 play, with trips to TCU, Texas Tech, Oklahoma State and Oklahoma to come. Their only road win this season was at Baylor last month, so it’s not as if they are not capable. History suggests it is not wise to pick against the Jayhawks, but as they sit two games back in the loss column with four road games to go and some personnel limitations they didn’t have before, one cannot entirely blame you if you think this is when a different outcome is on the way.
Side Dishes
Another big story on the night was Illinois knocking off Michigan State 79-74, winning two in a for for just the second time all season and getting their third win in four games. Also in the Big Ten: where others have fallen, Michigan took care of business, as they went to Rutgers and handled the Scarlet Knights 77-65 behind 23 points from Ignas Brazdeikis.
St. John’s got a big win on Tuesday night, going to Marquette and handing the Golden Eagles their first home loss of the season 70-69. Shamorie Ponds capped off a big night (28 points) with a late layup after Marquette capped a rally from a 15-point deficit. It was the kind of game the Red Storm had all too often lost, so responding to losing the lead in that fashion is big.
A couple of games that were blowouts were not big surprises, as Duke took care of Boston College 80-55 behind 16 points and 17 rebounds from Zion Williamson, and Kentucky routed South Carolina 76-48. South Carolina is now 6-3 in SEC play, but if they are going to reach the NCAA Tournament, they need to win games like this, challenging though they are (and this one was in Lexington).
In other SEC action, Tennessee took care of Missouri 72-60 to go to 9-0 in SEC play, while Auburn continues to look better as they beat Florida 76-62 for their first home win over the Gators in 20 years – a rather amazing statistic. Also, Arkansas edged Vanderbilt 69-66, which moves the Commodores to 0-9 in SEC play.
In other ACC action, Florida State is now looking a lot more like the team they were in non-conference play as they went to Syracuse and handled the Orange 80-62, going 11-22 on three-pointers to overcome 21 turnovers (while forcing 19 by the Orange), and North Carolina took care of NC State 113-96 in Chapel Hill.
Loyola-Chicago is back on top of the Missouri Valley after the Ramblers took care of Drake 86-64 and Valparaiso did the same at Illinois State 69-53, with both winning teams making a big halftime lead stand up. The Ramblers are up a game on the Redbirds.
One disappointment continues in the Atlantic 10, while a pleasant surprise is developing. La Salle pulled away from Saint Joseph’s 83-69, which puts the rebuilding Explorers at 5-4 in conference play, a big improvement from their non-conference struggles. Saint Joseph’s, who finished fourth in the conference a year ago without two key players, is now 3-7 in Atlantic 10 play.
In the battle for second in the Mountain West, Utah State grabbed an edge by going to Fresno State and edging the Bulldogs 82-81, using a 9-0 run during the latter part of the second half to take the lead for good.
Tonight’s Menu
The slate is fairly busy, though few games look like dynamite matchups.
- There’s one early tip as UConn travels to Temple with a 6 p.m. tip.
- An important game in the Atlantic 10 gets things going as Rhode Island visits Davidson (7 p.m.), while VCU goes to George Washington at the same time and a bit later, St. Bonaventure visits Duquesne (7:30 p.m.)
- In Big Ten action, Nebraska’s latest attempt to snap their losing streak won’t be easy as Maryland comes to town (7 p.m.) Later, Minnesota hosts Wisconsin (9 p.m.)
- A key game on tap in the Big East is Georgetown visiting Providence (7:30 p.m.), while Creighton visits Villanova (8 p.m.)
- In Big 12 action, Texas has another quality win opportunity as they host Baylor (8 p.m.), while Oklahoma State hits the road to visit TCU (9 p.m.)
- The best SEC games are later as Mississippi State hosts LSU and Alabama hosts Georgia, with both tipping at 9 p.m.
- CSU Fullerton will try to make things a little more interesting in the Big West as they visit conference leader UC Irvine (10 p.m.)
- The last games of the night are interesting matchups with Boise State hosting UNLV and USC hosting Utah at 11 p.m.
