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KANSAN.COM/SPORTS | MONDAY, NOV.14, 2016
BASKETBALL GAMEDAY
▶ BRIAN MINI
@brianminimum
Nov. 15 | 8 p.m. | New York City
AT A GLANCE
Kansas is coming off a fourpoint overtime loss to No. 11 Indiana and it doesn't get any easier against No. 1 Duke. Duke is without a few key players, but junior Grayson Allen, freshman Frank Jackson and senior Amile Jefferson provide more than enough talent to beat most teams in the country. Kansas' best chance to win is for Josh Jackson to curb Allen's scoring ability and for Kansas' forwards to take advantage of the mismatches that Duke's injury problems present.
If Mason can score and draw fouls at the rate he did against Indiana, Kansas will be hard to stop offensively. It's nice that Mason can consistently threaten a triple-double, but it's even more important in situations like Tuesday for Mason to be able to create opportunities for other players. Mason might not get the same hype as Jackson or even Graham, but he's clearly the player that can push Kansas over the edge in games.
PLAYER TO WATCH
Frank Mason III senior, guard
QUESTION MARK
How will Kansas take advantage of Duke's missing pieces?
Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said that he doesn't expect freshmen Harry Giles, Jayson Tatum or Marques Bolden to be able to play against Kansas. Bolden and Giles figure to major contributors at the forward position while Tatum is an elite guard, who at 6'8" would have a great matchup against Josh Jackson. However, with these three out, Kansas will have a depth advantage that wasn't there against Indiana. Lucas, Bragg, Jackson and freshman forward Udoka Azubuike will even more significantly impact on this game than they did on the opener.
BY THE NUMBERS
27
21 - Josh Jackson only played 27 minutes against Indiana, a minute less than sophomore guard Lagerald Vick. With Jackson's length and defensive strength, the freshman should see a rise in minutes as he gets more comfortable with the college game.
- Kansas' nine steals against Indiana might not stay consistent throughout the season, but if it does, that would be the highest steals per game total since the 2007-08 season.
.304
.304 - Kansas' three point percentage against Indiana. Last season, Kansas averaged .418, which might not carry over this season, but provides hope that Kansas' poor shooting will improve soon.
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STARTING FIVE
Frank Mason III, senior, guard
There wasn't much question going into the Indiana game that Mason was the leader of this year's team, but he made it clear on Thursday. Mason played 40 minutes, scored 30 points, grabbed seven rebounds and dished out nine assists. Mason's ability to get to the free-throw line should challenge any opposing guard in the country, making him especially valuable against short-handed teams like Duke.
Devonte' Graham, junior, guard
Devone Graham,junior,guard Graham had a disappointing season opener, but he's still one of the best guards in the conference. Graham shot just .273 in the first game,but his nine free-throw attempts are promising.The junior should still finish this season as one of the team's top three-point shooters, although last game wasn't a great start. Graham's assist numbers should jump this week,as he will most likely try to combat Duke's lack of forward depth with passes inside.
Josh Jackson, freshman, guard
It's easy to label Jackson's debut as a poor performance, but he still managed to pick up six rebounds, a steal, and a block, and the freshman didn't turn the ball over once. He only scored nine points and, although he'll develop into more of an offensive threat as the season progresses, his defensive utility is what fans should be excited about. With two of Duke's best forwards out on Tuesday, Jackson's ability to finish inside might be on full display.
Carlton Bragg Jr., sophomore, forward Bragg's first game of the season was very hit-or-miss. He scored 12 points on 85.7 percent shooting, making him the most efficient Jayhawk offensively. The downside was that he only played 18 minutes before fouling out. The sophomore also fouled out of his last exhibition game, a trend that is somewhat worrying, although that issue has been fixed with other players in the past.
Carlton Bragg Jr., sophomore, forward
Landen Lucas, senior, forward
Lucas had a tough defensive job in the Indiana game against Thomas Bryant, although Bryant ended up fouling out, in part because of Lucas. On the other hand, Lucas also fouled out, which hurt what had been a strong game for the other starting forward. Lucas tied for the team lead with seven rebounds and contributed 11 points. Lucas' main role looks to be as a rebounder, although if the senior can come close to replicating this offensive performance, he might be a more indispensable part of this team than previously thought.
STARTING FIVE
Luke Kennard, sophomore, guard
Kennard is in his second year as a starter after a freshman campaign in which he averaged 11.8 points, 3.6 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game. He's not technically a point guard, but he'll handle the ball quite a bit for Duke. He struggled to shoot the three last year, hitting only 32 percent, but he's started this year stronger in two games, averaging two threes on four tries per game. He's one perimeter shooter Kansas will be tested with.
Grayson Allen,junior,guard
The player of the year favorite who opted out of the NBA Draft last season, Allen will likely be the focus of Kansas' defense. It's likely that Allen will see a mix of Kansas defenders, but it's not likely they'll be able to stop him. His per-40 minutes stats from 2015-16 are absurd: 23.7 points, 5 rebounds, 3.9 assists, 1.4 steals. And in this game, Allen just might have to play the full 40, or at least close to it, with Duke missing three freshmen. Expect a huge game from Allen.
Matt Jones, senior, guard
Jones will again be a 30-minute player for coach Mike Krzyzewski this year — he just played 37 minutes against Grand Canyon on Saturday. He's struggled from beyond the three-point line so far this season, shooting 28.6 percent in two games, but he's still going to be a major threat from outside, which is where Duke will have to do a lot of its scoring in this game. Offensively, he doesn't flash much, but he's consistent. It'll be interesting to see where Krzyzewski puts Jones in man-to-man defense, as he's probably the team's best perimeter defender, and maybe one of the best in the nation.
Amile Johnson, senior, forward
This is Jefferson's fifth year at Duke, and he's played at least 21 minutes per game in four of those seasons. Still, he doesn't pose much of a threat for the Kansas defense. Carlton Bragg Jr. should see him on the defensive end, and though Bragg is still figuring things out, Bragg is bigger in height and size. Jefferson is a passable post-man, but where he poses he biggest threat to Kansas is on the boards, as he averaged a double-double last year.
Chase Jeter, sophomore, forward
Chase Jeter, Sophomore, forward Jeter is the closest thing that Duke has to a center in this starting lineup, though he's listed at 230 pounds and may have trouble down low against either Landen Lucas or Udoka Azubuike, who are both bigger than Jeter. Like Jefferson, Jeter could cause some problems down low for Kansas, though, as his best attribute is his rebounding, which creates extra possessions for guys like Allen to get shots up.
CHRISTIAN S. HARDY
@ByHardy
AT A GLANCE
Duke's going to have to shoot the three and do it well to win this game. Kennard, Allen and Jones will all be relied upon heavy to create those three-point shots. The Blue Devils aren't going to get much scoring from the inside, especially with Bolden sidelined. Expect coach Mike Krzyzewski to run plenty of four-guard lineups in this game to give his big men some breathers. But, bottom line, if Duke can't hit the three and getting extra possessions, there isn't a clear path to victory with their banged-up team.
PLAYER TO WATCH
Grayson Allen, junior, guard
With Duke playing only six players right now due to the rash of injuries, Allen becomes integral for this team's success. The Blue Devils need him both as the team's leading three-point scorer last year and most important facilitator. He's the lone player on this team that can create shots for himself, but he will especially open up the floor for others. He averaged 36.6 minutes per game last year and hit 41.7 percent of his three-pointers. Duke is probably going to need a lot of Allen to win this game.
Brian: Kansas 78, Duke 80
QUESTION MARK
Will Duke have enough reliable depth without its three marquee freshmen?
The true question mark is whether freshman Harry Giles will be ready to play in this game. He's not expected to, meaning he'll be sideline along with freshmen Jayson Tatum and Marques Bolden. That leaves Duke with six players who will log more than 10 minutes. In the first two games, Jackson has run with the starters when Kryzezewski decides to go with a four-guard lineup, Duke is not deep right now, which could cause a problem if fouls stack up like they did in the Kansas' first game, when the teams combined for 63 fouls and seven players fouled out.
BY THE NUMBERS
32
32 Kansas was called for fouls 32 times in Friday's game against Indiana, and four starters fouled out by the end of the game.
37.3
37. 3 - Duke is shooting an unimpressive 37.3 from three-point range this season through two games. The Blue Devils are 19-of51 from beyond the arc. Indiana shot 48.4 percent from distance on Friday, and the Hoosiers still took overtime to win.
1985
1985 — The last time Kansas and Duke faced off at Madison Square Garden the year was 1985. Coach Mike Krzyzewski was 38 years old and in his fifth year coaching. Duke won, 92-86, to take the preseason NIT title.
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Beat Writer Predictions
Christian: Kansas 83, Duke 76
Skylar: Kansas 92, Duke 94
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