2016 Kansas Jayhawks

The 2016 Kansas Jayhawks finished with a record of 33-5 (15-3), winning the Big 12 Regular Season and Conference Tournament. The team earned a 1-seed in the NCAA Tournament, reaching the Elite 8 before losing. The team’s Sports Reference link is here.

OFFENSE

Senior Perry Ellis was the team’s leading scorer, combining high efficiency with a high shot frequency. He was followed by Frank Mason, the leading assist-man but also a good scorer in his own right. Wayne Selden also added nearly 2 points of offensive value above replacement. Devonte’ Graham was the team’s fourth most valuable offensive player. Close behind him was Brannen Greene, who shot an incredible percentage (49% from 3, 62% from 2, 84% from FT) in limited minutes. The +6.73 value score the team produced was the best a Bill Self offense had to that time.

DEFENSE

Perry Ellis was also the team’s most valuable defender in 2016. In allowing 9.0 points per 60 possessions, he defended his man better than others did. His rebounding numbers and shot blocking numbers were low for a 4-man. Landen Lucas did have great rebounding numbers, and also didn’t give up easy baskets to opposing centers. The team hit their stride when Lucas emerged as the fifth starter. Both Wayne Selden and Frank Mason had successful defensive seasons as juniors, however Devonte’ Graham gave away too many points and was slightly below replacement. Jamari Traylor was the only other Jayhawk who provided positive defensive value.

Adjusted PPG +/-

In total, the 2016 team was a very good team that rightfully earned the overall #1 seed. The team was balanced throughout its starting rotation, and had a talented bench however one that didn’t provide much value. The team was good on both ends of the court, and hit its stride during the back-half of conference play and produced a 17-game winning streak.

Data Fulfillment

For the 2016 season, 24/38 games were able to be watched in their entirety. The other 14 games were charted using video highlights, radio broadcasts, play-by-play box score information, and other sources to most accurately record what happened. This led to a Coverage score of 96.93%, which is very good. Over 72.0% of the season’s plays were available on video, with 95.4% of all possessions having at least a 90% confidence rating.

What this indicates is that the value-stat estimates from this season are not prone to much data-absence error. These value scores aren’t likely to be too far off what they would be had we the entire season, since only a small percentage of overall possessions are in question.