Davidson at Kansas: Quick Preview and OGT

Tonight, Kansas hosts Davidson in a rematch of the 2008 Elite Eight game the Jayhawks barely won. The bad news is Darryn Peterson will, once again, not be available for KU. The good news is Steph Curry ain’t walking through that door.

Time: 7pm Jayhawk Time

TV/streaming: ESPN+

Line: Kansas -16.5

Davidson: The Basics

While Kansas enters this game ranked 16th nationally in KenPom’s ratings, Davidson comes in just 119th, with their offense rated 127th and defense 130th, making for a pretty even blend of mediocre. As far as the four factors are concerned, only two areas stand out: offensive eFG%, where they’re 50th nationally, and defensive FT rate, where they send players to the line regularly and rank 281st. Everywhere else, they’re about what you’d expect from a team barely in the top 120.

A big part of the reason their eFG% ranks so high is that they do shoot it well from three. They’re 32nd in D1 hitting 38% of their threes. As always, that makes them dangerous if they’re shooting well. However, their offense isn’t built around hoisting the three, as they’re pretty average in 3 point rate. Strangely, though they shoot well from outside, they’ve been awful at the free throw line, hitting just 66.3% as a team.

Given that Davidson is prone to hacking, Ahmad Kansas is likely to have a strong athletic advantage, I’m not real worried about the three point shooting numbers. Davidson is a subpar shot blocking team that allows opponents to hit 52% of their twos. Between Tre White, Melvin Council, and Flory Bidunga, Kansas should have no problem getting good looks in the paint and forcing their way to the free throw line. Aside from getting scorching hot from three, it’s hard to see how Davidson keeps up on the scoreboard.

Rock Chalk!