Houston lost to Kansas on February 3rd as the Jayhawks ran the Cougars out of the gym. Since then, KU has gone 4-4 while UH is 8-0.

A ninth-straight win gives Houston the Big 12 title outright.

the daily #218 | 3/9/2024 | Archives

Kansas Overview

The Jayhawks shot an incredible 69% from the field in that game. But now, Bill Self brings his team to the Fertitta Center and I expect it to be the most electric crowd in UH history.

1. It’s Houston vs Kansas on ESPN.
2. It’s Senior Day, honoring some of the most iconic players in UH history.
3. The Coogs have an opportunity to win the Big 12 Conference outright. Regardless, the nets will be cut down after the game. But oh, how sweet it would be to win the title outright.
Saturday will be an incredible day that Coog fans will remember forever.

I studied the UH @ Kansas game for this scouting report.

Head of the Snake

Kansas has many worthy candidates for the head of the snake. Kevin McCullar Jr. (#15) is an elite three-level scorer and one of the top scorers in the nation. DaJuan Harris Jr. (#3) is an elite point guard who gets the ball where it needs to go on offense and is a three-level scorer. Johnny Furphy (#10) lit the Coogs up in Lawrence from outside, and KJ Adams Jr. (#24) gave the Coogs problems with his athleticism. Adams, Dillon Mitchell (Texas), and Jalon Moore (Oklahoma) are all similar athletes who have bothered UH because of their ability to get in the paint and jump so high.

But my head of the snake is Michigan transfer #1 Hunter Dickinson. Dickinson is a 7’2″ three-level scorer. He is deadly in the post and mid-range and more than capable of hitting the three as well. He is a top-5 rebounder in the country and is a problem on both ends.

The Coogs must double-team him as much as possible and recover quickly when he makes the skip pass to the opposite corner or wing. He looks to pass to wherever the double-team comes from. The Coogs did not adjust to this last time, and guys like Harris, McCuller, and Furphy made them pay.

Kansas Offense

• The Jayhawks hurt the Coogs last time with the short pick and roll, with KJ Adams getting in the paint, receiving the pass, and scoring or kicking out to open shooters. I’m sure the Coogs have worked on defending this extensively;
• They do a great job taking care of and sharing the basketball; Ranked #1 in the nation in assists per game at 19.3 apg. Ranked #9 nationally in assist/turnover ratio at 1.7;
• Kansas does a good job of taking high-quality shots on offense. The Coogs will have to make it tough on them. They are sixth nationally in FG %, shooting 49.8%;
• Hunter Dickinson loves to rebound and look to an outlet pass to someone around half-court to initiate transition offense.; Ranked #46 in offensive transition points with 12.97 points per game.
• They’re a really good cutting team. The Coogs struggled a bit guarding back-door cuts vs. Kansas the first time. They’ll have to pay closer attention to the KU cutters;
• Coogs must recover quickly when “Monster trapping” the post! Dickinson is great at passing out of the double-team;
• They LOVE to drive and look to kick to the opposite corner or wing; Can’t “over-help” on defense and be able to recover on outstanding three-point shooters like McCullar, Furphy, and Timberlake;
• Must focus on baseline out-of-bounds (BLOB) plays; They run several BLOB plays to get Adams, McCullar, and Harris open looks.

Kansas Defense

• Pretty good defensive team. Have only seen them play tough halfcourt M2M;
• Ranked #21 nationally in FG % defense”, holding teams to 40.35%;
• Ranked #22 in the nation in defensive rebounding, grabbing 28 defensive rebounds per game;
• Sometimes, they struggle against the pick and roll.

Kansas Personnel

* Indicates probable starters

*#1 Hunter Dickinson 7’2″ Sr. – 18ppg, 11rpg, 1bpg (Michigan)

• LEFTY;
• Head of the Snake;
• Very skilled post player;
• Elite scorer;
• Double-double machine. Has 16 double-doubles in 30 games;
• Tough in the post (especially going to left hand);
• Really good mid-range shooter;
• Strong three-point shooter;
• Great rebounder on both ends. He’s #7 nationally with 11 rpg.;
• Loves the outlet pass to push transition offense.

*#15 Kevin McCullar Jr. 6’7″ Gr. – 19ppg, 6rpg (Texas Tech)

• • Long/athletic wing;
  • Elite three-level scorer;
  • Good three-point shooter. Best in the corner;
  • Great at attacking the rim with his right hand;
  • Will play him in the post if he has a mismatch;
  • Draws a ton of fouls.

#3 DaJuan Harris Jr. 6’2″ RS Sr. – 9ppg, 2rpg, 7apg

• Elite point guard;
• OUTSTANDING passer. Always has his eyes on the rim (#9 in the nation with 6.6apg);
• Really good driver;
• Deadly scorer in the paint;
• Solid three-point shooter.

*#24 KJ Adams Jr. 6’7″ Jr. – 12ppg, 5rpg

• Long/extremely athletic wing;
• Ranked #21 nationally in FG%, shooting 60.08% (makes tons of dunks and shots close to the rim);
• Can jump out of the gym;
• Best when using his athleticism to get to the rim;
• Not a great shooter outside of the paint;
• Zero made three-pointers this year (0/3); Don’t chase him around out there;
• Very poor free-throw shooter.

*#10 Johnny Furphy 6’9″ Fr. – 9ppg, 5rpg.

• Long/athletic forward;
• Very athletic;
• Really good three-point shooter;
• Solid at attacking off the bounce;
• Galen Robinson said on CATS he loves this guy. Take note.

#23 Parker Braun 6’10” Gr. – 2ppg, 2rpg (Missouri/Santa Clara)

• Long/athletic forward;
• Doesn’t shoot a ton of three-pointers, but is capable;
• Sneaky athletic.

#13 Elmarko Jackson 6’3″ Fr. – 4ppg, 1rpg

• Back-up guard;
• Three-level scorer;
• Solid three-point shooter;
• Good mid-range shooter;
• Capable of driving to the basket.

#25 Nicolas Timberlake 6’4″ Gr. – 5ppg, 2rpg (Towson)

• Back-up shooting guard;
• Solid three-point shooter.

#11 Jamari McDowell 6’4″ Fr. – 2ppg, 1rpg

• Usually the last rotation player off the bench;
• Houston kid (Manvel High School);
• Solid driver to the basket;
• Capable three-point shooter.

Keys to Victory

1. Slow down Dickinson and McCullar. Easier said than done, right? These two guys combine to average 37 points per game. You’re not going to be able to stop them completely, but if you can keep them both below their averages and not allow any of the “lesser known, but still very talented players” to go off, then you give yourself a better chance of winning.
2. Create extra scoring opportunities. The Coogs will need to have a similar game as they did in Kansas regarding turning them over. The Jayhawks had 18 turnovers, but the Coogs didn’t make them pay often enough. They also need a HUGE game from Ja’Vier Francis on the offensive glass.
3. Get them in foul trouble and get into their bench. We all know they don’t have a great bench. If you can get one or two of their key players in foul trouble, they will struggle, especially on the road.
4. Communication on defense. They do a phenomenal job of moving the ball on offense to create open shots. They are the best team in the nation in creating assists. It will be crucial to communicate about rotations to limit wide-open shots.
5. Basketball is a game of runs. Limit their runs. No matter how a game starts, there will be opportunities for the other team to make a run and even the score. You can never get too high or too low. Limit their runs. Get multiple stops on defense in a row. Use every 4-minute period like a mini-game and see where you are in the last media timeout.