Game Thread [2022-23] Kansas (at Indianapolis)

[SeanMayTriedToEatMe]

Tuesday, November 15, 9:30pm ET, ESPN
Gainbridge Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, IN

Here's the Kansas starting lineup:

PG - Dajuan Harris, 6-1 JR, #94 247sports composite recruiting ranking
Offensively has been bad in his first two seasons. Low usage, doesn't get to the line, not a good 3pt shooter, high turnover rate, not an impressive assist rate. There's nothing in the offensive numbers that would suggest he should be starting at PG for Kansas. Defensively, numbers look solid. That might explain it - he's Jaylen Blakes, but not as good offensively, which is still a very valuable player.

Wing - Kevin McCullar, 6-6 SR, #194
Transferred in after 3 seasons at Texas Tech. Like Harris, strong defensive numbers, but I'm struggling to understand how the offensive numbers support being a starter at Kansas. Bad 3pt shooter, bad efficiency, high turnover rate, moderate usage. Getting more confused about how this team scores.

Wing - KJ Adams, 6-7 SO, #75
Hardly played last season. Low usage but efficient due to high 2pt%. Bad shooter - not a threat from 3, terrible at FTs. Draws a lot of fouls. Bad passer. Good rim protection for the position. Still confused about where this team finds offense.

Wing - Gradey Dick, 6-8 FR, #20
This is one way Kansas scores. Great shooter, but appears to settle for midrange more than he should. Should have a lot of gravity and draw a lot of defensive attention, given his supporting cast. Will be interesting to see who draws this assignment if the Duke coaches aren't willing to play Grandison starter minutes.

Stretch Big - Jalen Wilson, 6-8 RS JR, #53
This is the main way Kansas scores. For a 30% 3pt shooter, he has taken a ton of 3s in his career. He's 6-13 3pt so far this season, so it might be the case that he has been unlucky and this will be his breakout/positive regression season. FT% was decent for a big last season (72%) and midrange was good last season (43%), which leads me to believe Duke should guard him closely at the arc. Low turnovers, good potential as a passer, by far the best rebounder in this lineup. Don't love the idea of any of Duke's bigs guarding him; Young, Filipowski and Lively would be more natural fits sagging off of McCullar or Adams.

I expect Kansas to be slight favorites. Vegas has Kansas with shorter odds than Duke to win the title or make the Final Four.

 

[rome8180]

If Gradey Dick played for Duke he would have already been assassinated.

 

[Pantone287]

I can see Kansas riding Dick to a win here. However, I'm hopefully we can rotate enough guys on Dick that he'll eventually wear down.

I do wonder if they run much off-the-ball action for him - Mitchell seems like a solid matchup for him, but may not be ideal if he runs around off staggered baseline screens all day.

 

[DrKlahn]

Do you think Dick's size will cause us any problems?

 

[deeyoukayeee]

Dick is pretty long, so that could hurt, but like a lot of freshman he likely hasn't filled out and is a little soft. That's probably going to keep him from doing anything inside, and if we're physical with him on the perimeter I don't think he'll have the rock-solid performance Kansas needs.

 

[dukebluedevils05]

Mitchell and Dick were high school teammates at Sunrise last year, so he (presumably) is keen to Dick’a game.

 

[Pantone287]

Dick is pretty long, so that could hurt, but like a lot of freshman he likely hasn't filled out and is a little soft. That's probably going to keep him from doing anything inside, and if we're physical with him on the perimeter I don't think he'll have the rock-solid performance Kansas needs.

Dick does supposedly struggle with stamina, and in particular, doesn't rebound well after you wear him out on the other end. Still, you have to worry about any likely one-and-done guy who's a strong shooter - can't let him get into a rhythm. I like our guys, but I'm not sure they'd be able to compete with a hot Dick.

 

[sivartrenrag]

Pants, you really seem to have a good feel for Dick.

 

[rome8180]

Half of all pants have a good feel for dick.

 

[rome8180]

The more I think about it, the less true this made-up statistic becomes. Half of all people don't have penises. And beyond that, there are millions of pants out there that have never been worn. They're either hanging on the rack, sitting in a factory, or were purchased and forgotten about. Plus, I would bet that females own more pants on average than guys do.

 

[Inveigle]

Cmon guys! Good penetration will certainly be a point of emphasis for how well Dick does.

 

[TS9]

Please, guys, I come to this website for analysis not phalluses.

 

[rome8180]

I don't think I'm going to vote on this one. I'm way too optimistic, which means we'll lose. But if I pick us to lose, it won't help us win because I'd only be doing it as a reverse jinx and not because I actually believe it.

In order for us to win, I have to genuinely believe we're going to lose. I can't bring myself to do that.

 

[ZackM]

I'll be at the game.

 

[aiw]

Please, guys, I come to this website for anal

Huh

 

[rome8180]

"Anally sis"

 

[rome8180]

I think I watched that video once. I believe it involved someone getting stuck in a couch.

 

[bdotling]

Mitchell and Dick were high school teammates at Sunrise last year, so he (presumably) is keen to Dick’a game.

Better to go with the Dick you know than the Dick that you don’t.

 

[StopThePumpFakesShav]

The more I think about it, the less true this made-up statistic becomes. Half of all people don't have penises. And beyond that, there are millions of pants out there that have never been worn. They're either hanging on the rack, sitting in a factory, or were purchased and forgotten about. Plus, I would bet that females own more pants on average than guys do.

But I also think in a lot of countries women probably aren't allowed to or just don't wear pants. Like in parts of the Middle East, for example.

 

[SeanMayTriedToEatMe]

Duke is favored by 1 over Kansas (FanDuel).

I have to believe Whitehead will be valued at around 2 points over replacement if he shows he’s 80-100% of what he’s widely expected to be this season (a top 5 draft pick and an All-ACC caliber player). Given Duke is also expected to naturally improve more in-season than just about any other team due to reliance on freshmen and a completely new roster needing to gel on the court, this line is highly encouraging and pretty surprising. Was expecting Kansas -1 or -1.5. Still possible it swings that way by tip-off.