Kansas Jayhawks basketball’s bench mum in Oklahoma State win. Why that’s actually OK
Roster situations change along with season narratives, so how Kansas basketball accomplished its 76-62 victory over Oklahoma State on Monday isn’t as jarring now as it would’ve been had we known this result before the season began.
KU got the easy win with barely any contributions from its reserves. Guard Joseph Yesufu earned coach Bill Self’s praise for his work in the first half and had 22 total minutes. Zach Clemence made it out for nine.
Combined, though, KU’s non-starters had five points — and only two guys were in longer than three minutes.
“We didn’t get much production out of our bench,” Self said afterward.
It’s not something — just a few months ago — we’d have expected Self to say at any point during the 2021-22 season.
Self, KU’s 19th-year coach, completely reshaped his potential rotation in the spring and summer. As a result, he appeared to have his deepest team ever, which led me to wonder if he could benefit by using “openers” like baseball as a creative way to get some guys in extra minutes.
Monday was just another indication that those hopes and dreams turned out to be fantasy. KU ranks 248th in Ken Pomeroy’s bench minutes measure, and if I had to guess, that number is likely to drop further as Self continues to consolidate his rotation ahead.
Though KU has lots of options, the team hasn’t turned out to be particularly deep, with Self now centering most minutes around the returners he trusts most.
While that can be a bit of a disappointment based on the visions of this team, the reality of the situation is what’s happening with KU is just fine in a big-picture sense.
And it might be beneficial considering the recent history.
The NCAA Tournament is where teams secure their legacy, and like it or not, college basketball games play out in a fundamentally different way during that critical three-week span.
Media timeouts are longer and allow for additional rest. Officials are more apt to swallow their whistles, not wanting the season’s biggest games to be overly impacted by non-players.
And most likely because of that, teams with a lack of depth actually aren’t at a disadvantage in the postseason.
In fact, they might be better off.
Here’s the data: Over the last 10 seasons dating back to 2011, only three Final Four teams out of 40 — 2013 Wichita State, 2015 Kentucky and 2017 North Carolina — have ranked in the top 100 in Ken Pomeroy’s bench minutes percentage measure.
Meanwhile, 29 of 40 Final Four squads (73%) have been 200th or worse in bench minutes, while 17 of 40 (43%) ranked above 300th, including KU’s two previous Final Four teams in 2012 and 2018.
Here’s a further breakdown.
| Bench Minutes% national rank | # of Final Four teams since 2011 |
| Between 0-100 | 3 |
| Between 101-200 | 8 |
| Between 201-300 | 12 |
| 300+ | 17 |
| Site:KenPom.com |
Self not getting what he expected out of his bench, then, might be disappointing, but it’s far from a fatal flaw.
KU certainly has places where it could benefit from more production. The Jayhawks have played well with two-combo-guard lineups offensively and defensively, so getting an effective Yesufu or Remy Martin (when healed from his knee injury) will be vital. In addition, NCAA Tournament matchups are often tricky to navigate, so having big-man options that potentially can switch all five spots (like KJ Adams) or defend pick-and-pops (like Clemence) are nice tools for Self to have when he’s faced with season-threatening situations.
Beyond that, though, KU should be able to take some comfort in its roster reliability. The Jayhawks’ five starters have begun to separate from the pack with their production, and they’ve also gained cohesion while beginning to flow comfortably into roles.
Some guys probably won’t play much moving forward. Bobby Pettiford is battling an abdominal injury and hasn’t been himself lately. Jalen Coleman-Lands is a great weapon to have in case KU needs threes late, but his poor overall defense makes him difficult to trust. Mitch Lightfoot is a great leader and understands Self better than anyone on the squad, but physically, he doesn’t provide what some of the other 5-man options can.
Self’s mantra to this team, though, is likely to ring true just like years past: “When you win, the pie is big enough for everyone.”
Success lifts all boats here. And though this rotation isn’t going as planned, the direction KU’s ship is sailing is not off-course either.
The Jayhawks can win without much bench production — just like they did Monday night against Oklahoma State.
And though that wasn’t by plan, it still could turn out for the best.
This story was originally published February 15, 2022 at 5:00 AM.
