Already shorthanded, KU Jayhawks face new challenge at NCAA Tournament: Elevation
Kansas Jayhawks freshman Jamari McDowell had never visited Salt Lake City before, and it’s been quite an adjustment for the Houston native.
Utah’s largest city sits about 4,300 feet above sea level. Meanwhile, Houston is just 79 feet above sea level. (Lawrence is 886 feet above sea level.)
McDowell has undoubtedly noticed the change in elevation.
“Yes, oh yes,” he said with a grimace.
Asked how it felt to practice at altitude, as KU did Wednesday, McDowell wasn’t ready to say.
“I don’t know,” he said. “Just give me until tomorrow. If I see you again, I will let you know. …My ears have been popping all day — I can’t breathe (properly).”
As No. 4 seed Kansas prepares to play No. 13 seed Samford on Thursday at the Delta Center, the elevation isn’t the only worry for this Jayhawks team.
Samford plays very fast, ranking No. 14 in adjusted tempo. The Bulldogs love to run up and down the court, taking and making many transition 3-pointers. Samford ranks No. 8 in 3-point percentage (39.3) and No. 89 in 3-point rate.
The Bulldogs have shot a staggering 852 threes so far this season — or about 300 more than KU (547).
On the defensive end, McDowell pointed out how aggressive Samford, which leads to easy transition opportunities.
With star forward Kevin McCullar out, it’ll be a challenge for the shorthanded Jayhawks to stay fresh. Add in the elevation factor, and this could become an even bigger issue.
About 24 hours before his first NCAA Tournament game, McDowell didn’t sound too worried.
“I just want to show up,” he said. “I’m going to show up and do whatever we need to do to beat these guys and get out of here.”
Teammate Dajuan Harris was similarly optimistic.
“I feel great,” Harris said. “I feel like we can make a run or something. I feel like if we just come in and play our game, play some defense, we can make a run.”
Several Jayhawks players said the KU coaching staff’s game plan will be to use the Bulldogs’ pace against them. Harris described the strategy as bringing the Bulldogs’ energy right back to them.
“They are like top 10 in every category, so they’ve got to be playing pretty good ball,” Harris said. “We’ve just got to be coachable, listen to our coaches and play some really intense defense — follow the game plan.”
A dominant win against Samford would show observers that, even without Kevin McCullar, the Jayhawks won’t go quietly.
“We’re still Kansas no matter what happens,” forward KJ Adams said. “They always say, ‘Faces change, but expectations don’t.’ We just (want) to let everyone know that we are still the Kansas team that we’ve been for the last couple of years.”
This story was originally published March 20, 2024 at 7:33 PM.
