KU 81 Baylor 75 - My Thoughts

I'm not sure I have a word for it, but I know KU played much better
tonight and, once again, ran into a team that played very well and had
an extremely hot shooter...and who, as a team, shot over 50% the game, ending the 92-game streak KU had going of holding opponents to under 50%.

We definitely got the ball inside a lot more and I was thrilled with
that. Our first 6 pts were in the paint.

Once again, Marcus Morris came to play and 1 of the 3 sophomores was a
big difference maker.

What did everyone think of Tyshawn buried on the bench for the first
half? I think it's clear Brady was out there because of experience and
his defensive skills. But Tyshawn wasn't much of a factor when he was
in there.

Sherron played great and penetrated much more consistently tonight,
though I'm still not comfortable with him having to score 20+ a night
in order for us to win. That said, he's doing it because Xavier
continues to defer too much offensively and settle for 3 pt shots.
It's maddening seeing him ignore a wide open baseline and instead take
a contested 3 over a guy that's 6'10". He did go to the hole a couple
of times, which is a couple more than he usually does, so maybe he's
taking baby steps.

I thought Brady played well and did a good job defensively even though
Dunn was in the zone.

KU played with great energy for most of the game and the ball didn't
"stick" as Self likes to say.

I would still like to see more hunger on the glass from this team.

Thomas Robinson has regressed. You can tell he is thinking way too
much out there and plays tight every time he's on the floor...earlier
in the year, he was a lot more carefree, but he's clearly struggling
with implementing what he's learned in practice.

The one official that called the foul on Brady when he cleanly stole
that ball was brutal all night. I think he's also the one that called
a foul with 3 seconds to go and the game decided.

Baylor impressed me, especially how well they battled in that
environment with foul trouble.

I thought the crowd was average at best and missed some opportunities
to give the team energy. They shouldn't have to wait for Sherron to
wave his arms before getting off their asses...er, fat butts.

Overall, a very good win over a hot shooting team that has a lot of
talent. It was close for longer than I hoped, but we closed it out.
This team doesn't have a dominant edge yet, still doesn't play
hungry/angry, is still learning to lock down defensively, and
continues to struggle to find an identity they can hang their hat on. I hope those
thing come sooner rather than later because the Big 12 is looking
tougher every week.

Keep Rockin and Chalkin,

Mic