Freshman Gradey Dick had his 5th team-MVP game of the season in a career high 26 point effort. After accounting for his defense and opponent, it was his 4th-best game of the season. Other Jayhawks who added value were Kevin McCullar, Jalen Wilson, Dejuan Harris, Zuby Ejiofor, and Bobby Pettiford. The team was able to go deeper into its bench thanks to the (relative) health of Ejiofor and Pettiford. However, it’s clear that Pettiford in particular isn’t quite 100%. Late injuries to Harris and McCullar might also be a factor moving forward.
Ernest Udeh followed up his excellent OU game with another high-energy performance, although his fouls contributed to a negative-value score. Still, he has played well of late. M.J. Rice only contributed an offensive foul in his 2 minutes of play, and Joe Yesufu had a typical game for him. KU’s worst performer against the Cowboys was K.J. Adams, who had the worst defensive outing of anyone this year. He was responsible for a lot of easy baskets from OSU’s Kalib Boone, and also got scored on at times when switching onto guards late. He has struggled during conference play due to his position (undersized 5), but he is also overrated on the perimeter.
The TEAM is on a roll, averaging an 11.74 value score over its past 6 games (where it has gone 5-1). If it can keep up this level of play, it will not only earn a 1-seed but have the capabilities that past 1-seeds have had. Getting contributions from its bench has been huge, as the bench has been +1.10 per game over that span (this may seem pedestrian, but the bench was averaging -5.57 before that time). In its last 5 outings, the bench has been even better (+3.49). This has shown up in the results of the games.
Charting the Hawks 