Kansas Notebook: Jayhawks must be better on boards against Kentucky

Coach Bill Self spent part of Sunday afternoon in front of the television, cribbing together notes on KU’s next opponent: No. 1 Kentucky, whom the fifth-ranked Jayhawks face Tuesday at the Champions Classic in Indianapolis.

The Wildcats defeated Buffalo 71-52, and Self had at least one major takeaway. Kentucky might be the biggest team in the country.

“They run good stuff,” Self said, “but I think their best offense may be when the ball is in the air. And we’ve got to do a much better job of rebounding the ball.”

Kentucky’s roster, which features a record nine McDonald’s All-Americans, has four players taller than 6 feet 10, including 7-foot centers Willie Cauley-Stein and Dakari Johnson and 6-11 freshman Karl-Anthony Towns.

Kansas will counter with a starting frontcourt of forwards Perry Ellis and Jamari Traylor — two players who stand 6 feet 8. Self can also bring freshman forward Cliff Alexander and sophomore center Landen Lucas off the bench. But no matter the rotation, the Jayhawks’ big men will have to make up for the size disadvantage.

“That’s one of the keys to the game, just keeping them off the glass,” Kansas sophomore guard Wayne Selden said. “They really attack the offensive glass really strong and the defensive glass. So we’ve just got to keep them off the glass.”

The fifth starter?

For the moment, Self has settled on four regular starters. The fifth starter is still an ongoing question. On Sunday, Self said that sophomore guards Frank Mason and Wayne Selden and junior forwards Perry Ellis and Jamari Traylor would start against Kentucky. He hasn’t settled on the third perimeter starter, which has been a different player in Kansas’ two exhibition games and season-opening victory over UC Santa Barbara.

Sophomore wing Brannen Greene started against Santa Barbara, but freshman guard Devonte’ Graham replaced Greene to start the second half. Graham started Kansas’ first exhibition against Washburn, while freshman Svi Mykhailiuk started against Emporia State.

This story was originally published November 16, 2014 at 10:45 PM with the headline "Kansas Notebook: Jayhawks must be better on boards against Kentucky."