Bill Self thinks Kansas’ non-conference closer is an important game
Kansas closes its non-conference schedule with a home matchup with Davidson on Monday at Allen Fieldhouse. The Jayhawks sit at 9-3 on the season, and Bill Self thinks the last game of the calendar year is an important one.
Self wants the team to head into the break on a high note. Kansas won’t play again until January 3rd for the Big 12 opener at UCF, and Self wants to be happy heading into the holidays.
“To me, this is a very important game, and it matters because the team leaves for Christmas,” Self said. “I think any time you have a break in games, you want the last one to be a good taste in your mouth, so you don’t have that negative taste for two straight weeks or whatever.”
Davidson sits at 8-3 on the season, coming off a close loss to Temple on Thursday. The Wildcats run a motion offense, developed under legendary coach Bob Knight. Self said high-motion offenses can be tough to play against.
“Motion, with the teams that are really good at it, are the easiest to prepare for but the hardest to play,” Self said. “Because every defensive coverage dictates what the offense does. So you can simulate it and practice all you want to, but it’s hard to create it.”
Self said good motion offenses are able to adjust based on the defensive looks they’re seeing.
“It all depends on basically how the defense reacts to their actions,” Self said. “And that’s one reason why Coach Knight was so ahead of his time, was they ran motion better than anybody.”
Davidson plays at one of the slower tempos in the country (326th in D-1), similar to Kansas’ last opponent Towson. The Wildcats’ strengths offensively are in three-point percentage (38%) and effective field-goal percentage (55.7%). Defensively, Davidson has done a good job limiting three-point attempts and assists.
Kansas has a history with Davidson under Self. The Jayhawks took down a cinderella Davidson team in 2008 with Steph Curry. The two teams split games in Kansas City in the 2010s, with Davidson winning in 2011 and Kansas winning in 2016.
“I’ll remember the Elite Eight game more from that time, I don’t know, play-by-play standpoint than the one later on,” Self said. “But yeah, they got us in Kansas City right after that… So hopefully, we won’t let them get as comfortable as we did then.”
Kansas will tip off against Davidson at 7 p.m. on Monday. The game will be streamed on ESPN+.
