KU’s best defense in 51 years may have steered Jayhawks to 2020 NCAA Tournament title
Kansas men’s basketball coach Bill Self will never second-guess the NCAA’s decision to call off the 2020 postseason tournament.
“Maybe if we knew then what we know now about putting people in a bubble (like the NBA will be doing at the end of July), doing some things, maybe there’s a chance,” Self said of the possibility of preserving the 2020 NCAA Tourney amid the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic instead of canceling March Madness on March 12.
“I really thought the NCAA had no choice but to do what they did. I thought that was the right decision. Certainly it was at the expense of 68 teams that were going to make the tournament,” Self added.
He was speaking Tuesday night on an early summer edition of his Hawk Talk radio show.
“We probably had about as good a shot as anybody,” Self said, noting he feels sorry for his players, especially departing players Udoka Azubuike, Devon Dotson and Isaiah Moss. “There are things bigger than basketball. This (country’s health situation) is certainly much bigger.
“That’s life. Our guys who are returning will get amped up again to go do it,” Self added, looking at the bright side with another Top Ten-type team expected to return in 2020-21.
Self cited Dayton and San Diego State as possible contenders for the now-vacated 2019-20 title while noting several teams as always had a chance to claim the crown. Gonzaga, Florida State, Baylor, Creighton, Kentucky and Michigan State were also mentioned by the experts as possible 1 or 2 seeds.
Proud of his own team’s 28-3 record and No. 1 ranking in the final Associated Press poll, Self remains convinced his squad had a chance to clip the nets this past April in Atlanta.
“We had some things going for us this year I think would be good for a tournament team,” Self said Tuesday, noting, ““usually in the tournament it’s not about beating people, it’s making sure you don’t beat yourself. I think this team was pretty good at that.”
Folks who say defense wins championships had to like KU’s chances of winning six games in the 2020 NCAAs.
Self’s 2019-20 Jayhawks emerged as KU’s top defensive team in the past 51 years. KU allowed 60.7 points per game — best mark since Ted Owens’ Jayhawks held foes to 60.2 ppg in 1968-69. That team went 20-7, tied for second in the Big Eight and lost in the first round of the postseason NIT.
KU’s 60.7 points per game average ranked ninth of 350 Division I teams. Virginia allowed 52.4 points a game, San Diego State 59.5 and Baylor 60.1. However it should be noted KU, which scored 74.6 points a game compared to San Diego State’s 74.8, Baylor’s 71.1 and Virginia’s 57.0, played the No. 1 schedule in the country as rated by Kenpom.com.
“Those stats are great to pull out, (but) they are so misleading,” Self said of KU’s defensive average being the school’s best since the 1960s, a different era in basketball. “How many points your opponent scores has as much to do with how fast you play offensively as anything else. Roy’s (Williams) teams (at KU) would never give up 60 points a game. They were hanging 90 on everybody. There were so many more possessions,” Self explained.
The 1998-99 KU team allowed 64.5 points a game for the best mark in the 15-year Williams era.
“It was fun to see, Self said of a 2019-20 KU defense that allowed 59.2 points a game in 18 Big 12 games. KU, 17-1 in the Big 12, averaged 70.3 points on offense per conference contest.
“Coach Sutton (Eddie, Oklahoma State) taught me this a long time ago,” Self added of one of his coaching mentors realizing the great value of defense. “We were not any good at all on a given night, (but at OSU) you would look up and we’d be up seven on the road with three minutes left or look up at home and we’d be up nine with two minutes left and hadn’t played worth a lick.
“Didn’t you think that was a lot like this year’s team? You’d look up and we’d be up 11 against a good team. That happened almost every game,” Self said.
That’s because of rugged defense.
“Our players got so much confidence from that. They thought no matter how we played, we’re going to make the other team play worse. I felt if we were struggling, we could make the other team struggle more. That’s what was so comforting going into the NCAA Tournament,” Self said.
Guard Marcus Garrett, who won the 2019-20 Naismith defensive player of the year award and center Azubuike, winner of the NABC’s defensive player of the year award, led KU’s defense game after game.
“No matter what player another team had on the perimeter or who another team had on the interior, we were going to be better defensively than they were going to be offensively,” Self said.
“A guy (on perimeter) could get on a roll offensively, you could put Marcus on him. I’m not saying lock him up, but really slow him down. Doke could do the same thing (inside).”
The Jayhawks allowed 54.2 points a game while scoring 65.1 in nine Big 12 road victories. Most points allowed on the road was 62 at Texas Tech. As the visiting team, KU held held TCU to 46 points, West Virginia 49 and Oklahoma State 50.
“Baylor the No. 1 team in the country hung 61 on us at (their) home,” Self said. “Oklahoma State got 50 (but) they were at 35 with three minutes left. Tech got 62 which was most of anybody against us on the road. You don’t have to be that good offensively to get 62. It’s something our guys took pride in. It was maybe not the most pleasing thing to watch as a fan but certainly good from a coach’s perspective.”
Self does believe the 2020-21 Jayhawks can again excel on defense.
“Marcus can guard. Ochai (Agbaji) was elite, way above average. Christian Braun actually was terrific. He got so much better. David (McCormack) got better,” Self said of returning Jayhawks.
“One thing we’ll miss this year … can David and Silvio (De Sousa) and Mitch (Lightfoot) and Gethro (Muscadin) give us a presence inside defensively that will have similar effects to what Doke did? Because offensively I think we could be better. I think David could score more points. Silvio will have a bust-out season. I’m confident about that. Mitch is so hungry to get going (after red-shirt season). Gethro will be a surprise. We will be good inside but do we have that physical presence not offensively, but defensively?” Self said.
This story was originally published June 25, 2020 at 10:51 AM.
