KU reached a defensive milestone vs. TCU. Here’s what it could mean for the future
Ochai Agbaji came away with the steal. He received the statsheet credit for one of the biggest plays in Kansas’ 60-46 road victory Saturday over TCU.
Yet Agbaji was simply the end of a string of events when KU’s lead was being threatened with six minutes left.
The replay shows just how difficult the Jayhawks can make it on opponents.
And in this case, poor ballhandler Edric Dennis.
The TCU guard looked inside, but KU’s Udoka Azubuike denying a pass there. He took a dribble, then started to throw the ball to a guard; nope, can’t do that with Marcus Garrett communicating an off-ball switch, then cutting off a passing angle.
Dennis began to panic. He finally saw teammate Desmond Bane cut to the top — making his way to the “U” of the TCU logo, where he’d be no threat to score even if he caught it — and elected to try a long pass there.
Agbaji saw it coming. He broke on the throw and poked the ball away, sprinting to the other end before getting fouled.
It was a crucial part of the game-winning stretch for KU. When TCU trimmed the lead to four late in the second half, the Jayhawks defense followed with steal, steal, shot-clock violation and steal.
Suddenly, KU had pushed its lead back to 11.
“Did we even run offense? We didn’t,” KU coach Bill Self said with some amazement. “All we did was get steals and make a layup.”
The example above shows why the Jayhawks are so dangerous this season, and also why they continue to have one of the highest upsides of any team nationally:
They make it so even simple plays have become difficult for opposing offenses.
Bane spoke to this after the game. He said KU had sped up TCU, then clogged up passing lanes with aggressive guard play. The defensive setup, he said, almost forced the Horned Frogs to try breaking down the defense with one-on-one drives.
Most of the time, that doesn’t work. It certainly didn’t for TCU on Saturday, where it mustered just 0.70 points per possession — its second-worst home mark in the last 19 seasons.
“I think our team kind of takes pride in that, making the other team play bad,” Agbaji said.
The Jayhawks defense reached a milestone following Saturday’s effort as well, jumping to No. 1 defensively in Ken Pomeroy’s adjusted numbers. Something to note: Through all his success over the years, Self has only had the nation’s best defense in this measure twice.
“I think that’s going to be kind of who we are,” Self said of KU being defensive-minded. “One thing about it, when you labor offensively, it definitely gives you more of a defensive identity, which sometimes is a positive. Because if you score easy, then a lot of times, you don’t give the same detail to defense.”
Self not only has his guys playing at an elite level defensively, though, he’s also gotten them to buy into that mindset.
That’s not always easy, especially when bringing together top talent. Agbaji said coaches started talking early in the season about how the team could potentially be “defense first,” with another leader only adding to that belief over time.
“I think Marcus has kind of spread it throughout the team, and different ways to make (opponents) uncomfortable really,” Agbaji said. “Because when they’re comfortable, that’s when they’re at their best.”
Though it’s definitely an acquired taste to appreciate making other teams play poorly, this team appears to have embraced that mentality in just a few months.
It’s made it so KU often has a huge margin for error offensively. The Jayhawks turned it over often Saturday, didn’t shoot (or make) many threes and also had two starters go scoreless.
Through it all, KU still came away with a comfortable 14-point win, simply because the defense was at an A+ level.
“We locked in, and we knew what we had to do,” KU forward David McCormack said. “Coach talked to us, and we just kind of anchored down.”
It takes everyone. Agbaji’s steal at the six-minute mark doesn’t come about if Isaiah Moss doesn’t stick to his man on a ball screen, or if Azubuike doesn’t recover to the big man inside. It’s not available if Garrett isn’t alert to discourage a pass, or even if Agbaji is slow to read the play.
The moment, in this instance, took focus, communication and cohesion. It took good individual defenders, and also guys willing to work together as team defenders as well.
This sort of mix doesn’t come along often — and is why these Jayhawks should be one of the most feared teams in the nation.
KU, if it remains healthy, appears to have a special group heading into next month’s NCAA Tournament.
So how far can the best defense in the nation carry the Jayhawks?
Consider this: The last time that happened for Self was back in 2008.
And that year ended with a ring and parade.
