Texas basketball plays against what should be its toughest opponent this season this Saturday with the Kansas Jayhawks.This is going to be the game every college basketball fan is going to keep an eye on. Let’s take a look at both of these teams.
Texas offense
This offense runs through Matt Coleman III and Courtney Ramey. It’s been that way the entire season, but if they’re going to beat the Jayhawks, they’ll need a lot more firepower. Look for Andrew Jones and Greg Brown to be those guys. If Shaka Smart isn’t starting these two, he needs to. Starting three guards can lead to weakness, but the Longhorns are going to need all the scoring they can get against the Jayhawks, when their starters are out on the court. A lot of players need to step up if Texas has any shot to beat Kansas. Time will tell if that actually happens.
Texas defense
Another advantage to starting Brown is that he is the Longhorns best rebounder and on of their best defenders. This will result in Texas making crucial stops of the defensive side of the ball and it will lead more offensive possessions. That is where Brown and Jones additional scoring comes into play. This defense is playing decent right now and they need to play better overall. Kansas is a very good team offensively and this defense playing well will lead them to victory.
Kansas offense
This offense has three players that all score in double figures. They are Ochai Agbaji, Jalen Wilson and Christian Braun. It is very important that Texas stops these three because the Jayhawks weakness is their passing. Kansas mainly focuses on the scoring and doesn’t get a lot of assists per game. The Longhorns can use this to their advantage, they can afford to play with less off ball pressure and play more man-to-man defense throughout the game. If Texas can slow down the Jayhawks main contributors, then it will be in good shape to pull off the upset.
Kansas defense
This defense is pretty good at stealing the ball but is below average when it comes to blocking it. That is where the Texas offense can take advantage in the paint. Brown is the Longhorns best post player, so having him out there controlling the paint will be really big for the Longhorns success. They can also be more aggressive in the paint with the Jayhawks lack of blocking ability. However, they need to worry about Kansas’ ability to steal the ball well. If they don’t, it’ll lead to many turnovers and give the Jayhawks better scoring opportunities.
This game is going to be high scoring. Both of these teams don’t defend that well and have high powered offenses. Kansas is going to win this game, but it’ll be very close and could even result in Texas winning this game instead. However, I think the extended break will end up hurting the Longhorns in the long run and the Jayhawks will win with a final score of 79-72.
Photo courtesy of TxStateBobcats.com
