Two of the most iconic programs in college basketball will face off for the second year in a row when the #2 Kansas Jayhawks travel to Bloomington to take on the Indiana Hoosiers this Saturday.
Kansas is coming off a rivalry win against Missouri in the Border War last Saturday. The Jayhawks look to continue to build momentum towards conference play while the Hoosiers will aim to bounce back from a bad loss coming from the hands of Auburn. Bill Self’s squad comfortably took care of business against Indiana last December, but this year the game moves to Indiana’s historic Assembly Hall, complete with 5 national championship banners hanging at the end of the court. Despite the recent ups and downs of the program, Assembly Hall still remains one of the toughest places to play in the country. Self noted, “It’s loud. It’s a good home court. And I’m sure it’ll be packed on Saturday and all red.” “It’s a lot like Allen (Fieldhouse) when it’s turned up.”
All eyes will be down low on the front court players in this matchup. For Kansas, Hunter Dickinson has been playing as advertised. The number one transfer leads the Jayhawks with 19.4 points and 12.6 rebounds per game. He’ll be matched up with Indiana’s Kel’el Ware. The former 5 star recruit transferred from Oregon to get a fresh start in his second year and a fresh start he’s gotten. He also leads his team in points and rebounds per game with 16.7 and 9.7 respectively. Lining up next to Ware will be 5 star freshman Mackenzie Mbgako. Originally committing to Duke in April of 2022, Mbgako would later reopen his recruitment one year later. Bill Self and Kansas were quick to talk to the 6-8 forward and were considered the early leaders in the late recruitment. Coach Mike Woodson and Indiana were also interested, and were right behind Kansas in hosting a visit. Kansas still remained the favorites, with some insiders already inserting him into hypothetical lineups, but Mgako ended up committing to Indiana, leaving quite a few people in the sunflower state shocked and surprised. Despite all this, he’s had a bit of a slow start to the season, but has now scored in double figures in each of the last 4 games. He’ll be facing off a lot against Kansas forward K.J. Adams, who has had quite a month after unfortunately losing his mother to cancer a few weeks ago. Adams, now in his third year, helped KU win the 2022 national championship coming off the bench before being named a starter last season. He has continued to get better every year, and has become a favorite for not only the Jayhawk faithful, but also for point guard and lob thrower Dajuan Harris. Adams is up to 12.9 points per game on 67% shooting from the field.
In the backcourt, Keven McCullar will be starting for the Jayhawks, along with Dajuan Harris and Elmarko Jackson. McCullar, now in his 5th year overall and 2nd for Kansas, is scoring a career high 19 points per game. Along with Dickinson, McCullar is the most recent in a long line of “go-to scorers” for Self, following the likes of Jalen Wilson, Ochai Agbaji, Devon Dotson, and many others. Keep an eye on his efficiency in this one. Not previously known as a shooter, McCullar is up to 37.8% on his three point attempts this season, including a few daggers late in the game against UConn. Last week against Missouri, he was just 4-15 from the field, but was able to hit 8 free throws. If Kansas is able to establish Dickinson and Adams inside early, then things should free up for McCullar without him having to force anything.
The other key for Kansas will be bench production, something Kansas fans have been waiting to see since the beginning of last season. This year Self almost completely revamped the bench, which will potentially be the new normal in the age of the transfer portal. Nicolas Timberlake was added to give so much needed shooting off the bench, but has only hit on 29.2% of his attempts from deep. It’s highly likely that this mark will continue to improve, but now is as good a game as any for a breakout, especially if Ware and Mbgako slow things down in the post. Self will also continue to look towards late addition Johnny Furphy. The 6-9 guard from Australia remains one of the most intriguing pieces for the Kansas team. He was scoreless against Missouri, but possesses too unique size and shooting to ignore.
Stats to know:
Kansas:
Kenpom #11
Net #16
52.7% FG
22.1 Assists per game (Leads country)
38.2% 3PG
Indiana:
Kenpom #77
Net #120
49.5% FG
18 FTM (#24 in the country)
27% 3PG
All time series
Kansas 7-8 Indiana
Most recent: Kansas 84 Indiana 62 (December 17, 2022)