Surprised?

Big 12 3-point shooting numbers
(Through games played on Monday)

Kansas (9-1): 75-for-201, 37.3%; 7.5 makes per game on 20.1 attempts

Baylor (8-1): 79-for-220, 35.9%; 8.8 makes per game on 24.4 attempts

TCU (8-2): 94-for-274, 34.3%; 9.4 makes per game on 27.4 attempts

Texas (9-1): 91-for-267, 34.1%; 9.1 makes per game on 26.7 attempts

Oklahoma (7-2): 64-for-190, 33.7%; 7.1 makes per game on 21.1 attempts

Texas Tech (7-3): 69-for-213, 32.4%; 6.9 makes per game on 21.3 attempts

Kansas State (6-4): 70-for-216, 32.4%; 7.0 makes per game on 21.6 attempts

West Virginia (9-1): 55-for-176, 31.3%; 5.5 makes per game on 17.6 attempts

Oklahoma State (8-2): 66-for-214, 30.8%; 6.6 makes per game on 21.4 attempts

Iowa State (6-4): 72-for-246, 29.3%; 7.2 makes per game on 24.6 attempts

Moretti bottomed tt way down in one game🤣

@BeddieKU23 what do u think about attempts?

@Crimsonorblue22 When Doke is making 80% of his 2s and Big Dave is going for 28 in 17 minutes, the attempt number seems about right. Our goal this year should really be to shoot and make just enough threes to keep teams from sagging and clogging up our massive advantage inside. Doke dunking on teams 3 or 4 possessions in a row is just demoralizing. If Dot, Ochai, or Moss can pop in a couple a game we should be fine.

Surprised? Yes. Pleased? Yes.
Five more attempts per game is a sweet spot vs. better competition, in my opinion. I doubt the quality of our looks decreases based on the increased attempts.

If we're not getting those close to the rim looks that Doke or Dave are getting us 80%+ on, this is the next best option. But we need BOTH to make BOTH more effective.

We need the 17 foot jumper to just go away. Attack the rim off the dribble, jam it inside, shoot the three. That's it.

This team can be elite offensively. Keep shooting the three. Dotson. Agbaji, Moss, and get Braun going. And let's see if Garrett can continue the trajectory.

It is scary to think how good we can be offensively.

This is the best team in the nation.

@Crimsonorblue22 Doke is a stout 90% at the rim. Wow.

@BeddieKU23 This ranks 57, 77, 108, 137, 147, 180, 189, 223, 238, and 293 out of 353 teams. I don't know, I think our conference just sucks at shooting 3-pointers. That's probably good news for us.

KirkIsMyHinrich said:

@BeddieKU23 This ranks 57, 77, 108, 137, 147, 180, 189, 223, 238, and 293 out of 353 teams. I don't know, I think our conference just sucks at shooting 3-pointers. That's probably good news for us.

It's still early but I was surprised to see KU on top given how much emphasis has been placed on the perimeter shooting with this team.

@HighEliteMajor

A few things sticks out here. The attempts per game seem low because KU has two advantages over opponents most nights. No one can stop Dotson from getting to the rim and no one can stop Doke from camping 3 feet from the hoop and shooting 80+% from the field. You can obviously try and game plan (zone them both out) but over a course of a game it seems so far teams just can't handle how quick and aggressive Dotson is and just how big and dominant Azubuike is around the hoop. If our attempts stay around 20 and this team is that dominate over opponents over a 40 minute game do you change anything? I think we'll see Saturday on the road against a 5 out team if this style of play and the 1-2 punch KU has is just what the doctor ordered or needs some tweaking

@BeddieKU23 I didn't think 3-point shooting would be a huge issue for us, especially after getting Moss. I'm more worried about our ability to defend them, actually. So far we're doing better than I thought we were - teams are only shooting 29.6% from us from 3 (ranks 64/353).

Maybe our biggest problem is turnovers? We average 14.0 per game (ranks 191/353). The worst is Chicago St at 20.2 turnovers per game. It's actually kind of amazing that we turned the ball over 28 times against Duke and only lost by 2. Think we'd beat them if we played again.

It is all part of a diabolical plan, ladies and gentlemen - this team has a great shot at winning the National Championship. Is Braun struggling? Yes. But he is struggling only due to the competition, not due to his ability. He will only get better, and we're going to need his outside shooting (and Coach knows that). I am sold on this teams defense!

KirkIsMyHinrich said:

@BeddieKU23 This ranks 57, 77, 108, 137, 147, 180, 189, 223, 238, and 293 out of 353 teams. I don't know, I think our conference just sucks at shooting 3-pointers. That's probably good news for us.

ya, you think our conference is shooting bad - -and nothing great for sure. - -However the All mighty N Carolina is shoot at like 29.8 % - now THAT'S BAD

You figure were hitting that in Conference in 3 point and were 2nd in the Nation at 52.9 % fg overall - -Doke is shooting 83 % from the filed. - - Our 3 pt is right at 50th in the Nation so ya we doing ok

Marco said:

It is all part of a diabolical plan, ladies and gentlemen - this team has a great shot at winning the National Championship. Is Braun struggling? Yes. But he is struggling only due to the competition, not due to his ability. He will only get better, and we're going to need his outside shooting (and Coach knows that). I am sold on this teams defense!

Ah, don't be .. meaning don't be sold on the defense. The reality is that Bill Self is not prioritizing defending the three point line. We've gotten by so far, but this is our Achilles' heel. Still is. And it scares me.

Jesse Newell was on the radio discussing it last week. He was very clear in his opinion that Self was more concerned with the two point shot. It's obvious when we watch how we defend.

It's an area that certain teams will be able to exploit.

Dayton shot nearly 50%. And how many open looks did they miss? How many did they have (answer, way too many -- we're just used to it).

That kept Dayton in the game. We're a better team. But they took us to overtime. It's a March nightmare scenario.

Newell made the point that Self is clearly banking on misses in his strategy.

A scary proposition. It's hard enough to stop a hot shooting team when you are committed to 3 pt defense as a priority. When you're not, well, we've seen the results in the NCAA tourney.

That is not good news for the rest of the league. Also, weird seeing Iowa St. at the bottom. Seems like they have been a good 3 point shooting team for several seasons now.

KirkIsMyHinrich said:

@BeddieKU23 I didn't think 3-point shooting would be a huge issue for us, especially after getting Moss. I'm more worried about our ability to defend them, actually. So far we're doing better than I thought we were - teams are only shooting 29.6% from us from 3 (ranks 64/353).

Maybe our biggest problem is turnovers? We average 14.0 per game (ranks 191/353). The worst is Chicago St at 20.2 turnovers per game. It's actually kind of amazing that we turned the ball over 28 times against Duke and only lost by 2. Think we'd beat them if we played again.

Agree about the turnovers. Turnovers and defending the 3 are the two big ones.

I don't think KU could turn the ball over 28 times in a game if you played that Duke game over 100 times. Those games just end up being complete outliers

Marcus Garrett is shooting 38% from 3 so far this season!

kjayhawks said:

Marcus Garrett is shooting 38% from 3 so far this season!

Shot looked good pregame on Saturday. Wasn't surprised he canned a couple.

This team is a Bill Self dream, if they can cut down on the turnovers.

Two dominant bigs. Length. Defensive nightmare. Efficient 3-point shooting both in makes and shot selection.

BeddieKU23 said:

kjayhawks said:

Marcus Garrett is shooting 38% from 3 so far this season!

Shot looked good pregame on Saturday. Wasn't surprised he canned a couple.

Whatever Garrett does, it just has to be good enough so that folks guard him at the line. That's it. He's in the "prove it" stage -- you know, after you hit the winning shot in game of HORSE and your opponent misses. You hit it again. IF he can sustain a mid-30s %, taking the open and available shots from three, he suddenly transforms into something different.

We're a national championship quality team.

Damn it feels good to feel good.

approxinfinity said:

Damn it feels good to feel good.

Been a minute since we had a team like this. What might have been last year with a healthy Doke and mentally okay Vick.

@BShark shhhhhh🤫

HighEliteMajor said:

BeddieKU23 said:

kjayhawks said:

Marcus Garrett is shooting 38% from 3 so far this season!

Shot looked good pregame on Saturday. Wasn't surprised he canned a couple.

Whatever Garrett does, it just has to be good enough so that folks guard him at the line. That's it. He's in the "prove it" stage -- you know, after you hit the winning shot in game of HORSE and your opponent misses. You hit it again. IF he can sustain a mid-30s %, taking the open and available shots from three, he suddenly transforms into something different.

We're a national championship quality team.

Agreed, so far he's taking quality looks and most importantly looks confidence shooting for the first time. If he sustains 38% jeesh a lot of that lane clogging and playing two bigs concerns will be minimized.

I'm pumped to see how this team responds to the road atmosphere Saturday. Leaving there with a victory would definitely push those NC aspirations a bit higher. College B-Ball is down big time this season overall and could be a great year to capitalize

BeddieKU23 said:

kjayhawks said:

Marcus Garrett is shooting 38% from 3 so far this season!

Shot looked good pregame on Saturday. Wasn't surprised he canned a couple.

Actually do believe Marcus is getting a little better and not forcing the 3

2nd lowest shooting totals yet leading in %. That says we are selective from trey.

You can read between the lines and say we favor going inside and defenses try to stop our inside play so our treys are more open.

And since we are not a team full of famed trey shooters it does imply we are disciplined in our offense.

I expect our trey numbers to climb as the year progresses. We are just now starting to see us run some offense. We have so many scoring options and over the season we will scheme out ways to exploit what every opponent gives us.

KU is now #4 in Kenpom Rankings.

10 offense

6 defense

If they keep playing like they are those numbers will continue to rise.

There are only 4 teams hovering with Top 10 in both metrics- KU, Ohio St, Duke, Louisville.

The Big-12 has 3 of the Top 10 defenses in the country (KU, Baylor, Tech).

8 of 10 ranked in the Top 50.

Only 5 of the 10 rank in the Top 50 on offense. KU & Baylor are the only teams in the Top 30.

Translation- there will be some ugly basketball games in the Big-12 this year.