Tuesday night didn’t go how Kansas fans (or anyone, for that matter) expected.
The top-ranked Kansas Jayhawks fell to the No. 4 Marquette Golden Eagles by a score of 59-73. That 14-point loss in the semifinals of the Maui Invitational was the worst regular season loss by a No. 1-ranked team since the 2018-19 season.
The Jayhawks entered the season as the nation’s overwhelming No. 1 team. As a a result, they were preseason favorites to win the NCAA tournament. Yet, as the season begins to take shape, a lot of skeptics have been questioning whether KU is as good as advertised. Shaka Smart and the Golden Eagles exposed Kansas’ weaknesses, leaving people to wonder if this could be the beginning of the Jayhawks’ slide this season.
But should Kansas fans be concerned? In short: Yes.
There are two glaring issues with Kansas at this point in the season. First and foremost, the Jayhawks lack shooting. Secondly, there is a shortage of depth.
As one can image, the problem with putting the ball in the basket is the most pressing issue. With Hunter Dickinson, Dajuan Harris, Kevin McCullar, KJ Adams and Elmarko Jackson taking up the bulk of the minutes, there’s barely any room for a shooter to crack the rotation. On top of that, no reliable scoring option has emerged from KU’s bench.
Nick Timberlake, who was expected to be a consistent shooting threat, has been a total shell of the man that he was at Towson. Although Kansas has a very strong starting five, Timberlake’s absence and the lack of depth is seemingly limiting the team’s upside.
Playing through Dickinson will work for much of the season. And with guys like Harris and McCullar around him, they will still look like a top-10 team. But if they can’t find ways to plug those two holes, then this team will not reach its hopeful plateau of a National Championship.
The good news is that time is on the Jayhawks’ side.
It’s only Nov. 22 and we’re just five games into the season. Kansas has some bench players who can develop and grow throughout the course of the season. Timberlake has time to do some soul-searching and Bill Self‘s coaching staff will continue to work with Jamari McDowell and Johnny Furphy.
If Timberlake can find the shooting touch he had at Towson where he shot 37.9% from three on roughly five-attempts a game, then he can bring the shot-making KU needs to play deep into March. Also (if they develop throughout the season), he, Furphy and McDowell will round out a dangerous 8-man rotation which could bode well for Kansas come conference play and March Madness.