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Four Things to Watch: KU v. UNC
��️ No. 9 UNC @ No. 1 Kansas
�� 6pm CT on ESPN
�� Kansas is favored by 7.5-points
1) The Trimble Test for KU’s Wings
North Carolina arrives with two scoring guards who demand attention: RJ Davis and Seth Trimble.
Davis is more of a known threat, averaging 21ppg last year. Davis will get his points, but KU should make him work for it, with Dajuan Harris guarding him.
Trimble presents the bigger uncertainty, having dropped 33 points against Memphis in UNC’s exhibition game.
He’ll force KU's new wing defenders – Zeke Mayo, Rylan Griffen, and AJ Storr – to prove themselves early. Call it The Tremble Test.
The Jayhawks can handle one guard going off. But two could cause a problem.
2) Battle of the Boards
Kansas should have an advantage here, but it’s not a guarantee.
The Jayhawks were average-to-bad rebounding last season. KU ranked No. 99 in total rebounding percentage and No. 259 in offensive rebounding.
However, UNC is replacing its starting bigs from last year. The new group struggled with just a +3 rebounding margin vs. Elon in its season opener.
Watch to see if KU’s added depth and athleticism (Bidunga, Storr, Griffen) will help Dickinson and KJ Adams give the Jayhawks a real edge on the glass.
3) Zeke and Diggy vs. Top 10 Competition
Zeke Mayo and Diggy Coit shined in Monday’s opener. Now comes the real test vs. Power Conference competition.
While playing at home should help ease the transition, their performance is worth paying close attention to. KU doesn’t have the best recent history with transfer guards from smaller schools like Joe Yesufu and Nick Timberlake.
It’s only one November basketball game, so any struggles that may happen aren’t a big deal.
But it’s still something to watch for.
4) The Bench Mandate
For KU to meet expectations this year, the bench must provide quality minutes against high-major competition.
Better stretch there consisting of more Dickinson touching the ball. They’ll have to double him and that will lead to good things with this team’s shooting. [Reply]
