Tonight Kansas fell to Baylor, 69-77, and is now 10-4 on the year. The Hawks fought well, but Baylor was too good and answered every comeback attempt the Hawks had. Below are the Raw and Adj. PPG +/- scores for the game along with traditional stats for reference:
Marcus Garrett. Raw: +2.33 Adj: +5.00. 9 pts, 3 rebounds, 8 assists.
Christian Braun. Raw: +6.17 Adj: +8.83. 17 pts, 4 rebounds, 1 assist.
Ochai Agbaji. Raw: +3.00 Adj: +5.37. 16 pts, 2 rebounds, 1 assist.
Jalen Wilson. Raw: -6.50 Adj: -4.75. 4 pts, 5 rebounds, 3 assists.
David McCormack. Raw: -8.17 Adj: -6.64. 6 pts, 2 rebounds, 1 assist.
Tristan Enaruna. Raw: +1.33 Adj: +2.68. 4 pts, 1 rebound, 2 assists.
Mitch Lightfoot. Raw: -7.00 Adj: -5.73. 8 pts, 4 rebounds, 1 assist.
Dejuan Harris. Raw: -1.67 Adj: -0.21. 2 pts, 1 rebound, 1 assist.
Chris Teahan. Raw +2.50 Adj: +2.57. 3 pts, 0 rebounds, 0 assists.
The Good: Starting Guards
Christian Braun had the best game of any Jayhawk, due to his highly efficient offensive performance (17 pts on 5-7 FG, 2-2 FT). His defensive effort was also solid once adjusted for opponent. Ochai Agbaji shook off a rough first half to finish as a positive contributor. Despite the box score only showing one defensive rebound, he forced four turnovers in the game to go along with his two steals. Marcus Garrett also played solid on both ends of the court. His defense was elite until the end (got beat/gave up and-one layup; unnecessary bonus foul gave up 2 FT’s), but still finished around his season average. Combining the three starting guards’ efforts, Kansas was +11.50 points better than Baylor, raw. Simply put, had the others pulled their weight KU could have won this game.
The OK: Reserve Guards:
Tristan Enaruna continued his solid play, out-valuing his man through good offensive efficiency and solid defensive positioning. As a back-up wing, he did what he needed to stay on the court and help his team compete (18 minutes). His improvement over the recent games has been a sign of encouragement. Dejuan Harris showed good hustle and energy, although he finished slightly negative even when adjusting to the opponent’s high level of skill. Once he adds a shot, he will be a complete player. But his defense is creeping toward replacement-level after tonight’s game. Chris Teahan added a buzzer 3-pointer, continuing his torrid play in limited minutes.
The Ugly: The Bigs:
Given how good Baylor’s guards are, it was assumed that KU had to get positive contributions from Wilson, McCormack, and Lightfoot for the team to win. Even this wasn’t the case tonight, all that was needed from these 3 was respectable numbers, but none of the three could muster anything decent. Baylor put these bigs in pick-n-rolls and iso situations, and punished them repeatedly. McCormack was the worst of the bunch, coming away with one blocked-shot but nothing more of value on the defensive end. He was out there getting scored on, and not much else. Wilson did grab four rebounds and force two turnovers, but he was too slow to check Baylor’s guards on switches. Lightfoot was very bad in the second half, and his defense alone was roughly the difference in the game (~ -7.24 raw).
Final Analysis:
Matching the film with the scorecard, it’s clear that KU’s guards were able to match the effort of those from Baylor. Teams, and Baylor is no exception, shy away from going at Garrett due to his defensive prowess. Braun is solid on defense but not spectacular, yet is a plus rebounder who wins possessions back for his team. Agbaji’s on-ball defense has continued to improve, and he showed tonight what he can do on both ends, shaking off a poor first-half to help get the team back in the game.
But getting a complete effort from the entire roster continues to be elusive. McCormack followed up a great game last week against Oklahoma State with a dud tonight. Wilson has failed to reach double figures in scoring in three consecutive games, after reaching that mark in 9 of his first 11 games this season. When bench players like Tristan Enaruna and Dejuan Harris have solid games, their efforts are cancelled out by a poor game from Mitch Lightfoot. The team appears to be huddling around the 12-15 rank mark in efficiency (currently #15 on KenPom), in the 3/4 seed range.
Bryce Thompson is injured and out, Tyon Grant-Foster did not play as well.
Charting the Hawks 