Reviewing Kansas basketball’s season-opening win vs Howard, as UNC matchup approaches

LAWRENCE — Kansas basketball will be tested Friday against UNC in a way the Jayhawks weren’t Monday, in their season opener at home against Howard.

No. 1 Kansas (1-0) will be going up against a No. 10 North Carolina (1-0) team that will arrive in Lawrence with a much more talented roster. Jayhawks head coach Bill Self told reporters postgame that freshman forward Flory Bidunga made plays against Howard, plays that will build confidence, but the plays he’ll look to make against UNC will be tougher to pull off. Graduate center Hunter Dickinson highlighted how difficult it will be to guard North Carolina’s backcourt, which he described as one of the best in the nation.

The 87-57 win Monday against Howard (0-1), though, is still something Kansas can build upon. It served as another source of momentum for a team that will look to protect its home court on Friday. Here are some more takeaways from the Jayhawks’ performance inside Allen Fieldhouse.

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This is why Shakeel Moore didn’t play

Although Self thought in the lead-up to Kansas’ game against Howard that graduate guard Shakeel Moore would play, Moore missed the matchup as he continues to make his way back from an injury. Self explained Moore, who described it in the preseason as an ankle injury, felt pain the day before the game. Self added he hoped by Thursday that Moore would be back out there, as Moore’s soft-tissue issues and such improve, and also expressed hope Moore would be available in some capacity in the week ahead.

This is something that stood out to Bill Self about David Coit

Senior guard David Coit started for Kansas and finished with eight points, four assists and two rebounds. Self noted Coit, a transfer from Northern Illinois, is where they thought he would be from a developmental standpoint. What impressed Self was how Coit looked to do things other than just shoot the ball, which shows Self that Coit is figuring…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/reviewing-kansas-basketball-season-opening-090216174.html

Author : The Topeka Capital-Journal

Publish date : 2024-11-07 09:02:00

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