Kansas Jayhawks Have To Win Against Oklahoma State

 

The Kansas Jayhawks have certainly gotten their swagger back from their disappointing three game losing streak. They blew away Kansas State and Texas back to back and will be coming into Gallagher Iba Arena with great confidence. It was Oklahoma State that knocked the wind out of them at home and started the losing skid. It has now stopped and they need to win this game if they want to keep pace for the the Big 12 crown.

The Jayhawks will have to stop Marcus Smart and not take their eyes off of him. They cannot allow Smart to roam freely inside the arc—Smart is only a 31 percent three-point shooter—and abuse out-of-position Jayhawk guards again. Smart is one of the best players in the Big 12 and the Jayhawks need to be aware of him every time he is on the court. They also need to make sure that guard Markel Brown doesn’t torch them for 28 points, 22 of them in the first half like he did in the last game.

Elijah Johnson needs to be productive like he was against Texas where he only had one turnover, four assists and hit five shots. They need to execute on offense and make the right shots. Their shot selection needs to be focused and they need to drive to the rim more. Ben McLemore needs to have the ball in his hand more. The way he played against Kansas State and Texas, shows us what he is capable of.

On defense they can’t let the Cowboys have the open shot and make the easy basket. They need to provide flawless communication and backside help at all times. They also need to wake up and be more consistent on their transition defense. It is so important that Kansas controls the transition game, both offensively and defensively, with timely risks, smart perimeter passing and excellent shot selection. If they don’t it will be a long night for the Jayhawks. They need to play tough and not soft like they did the last game. Rebounding the boards, crashing the offensive rebounds and hustling after the 50-50 balls will help them win this game. The Jayhawks have to own the glass and Jeff Withey and Kevin Young need to dominate the paint on both sides of the ball.

The environment with the home crowd against them will be hard to overcome but if they play as a team and not think out there they will keep their crown. If they keep doing the Harlem Shake and have fun playing the game of basketball they will go far in March. Their first step is this Wednesday night against the Cowboys.

John D. Hayden  is a Writer and Contributor for www.RantSports.com, covering the NCAA and NBA.  Follow John on twitter @jdhayden09, or add his Google +  to your circles for all of his latest articles, thoughts, and rants.