Kansas Jayhawks Vs Towson Tigers Game Preview

Kansas Jayhawks guard Frank Mason (0) Mandatory Credit: Dennis Wierzbicki-USA TODAY Sports

THE GAME: Kansas Jayhawks (3-0) Vs Towson Tigers (3-1)

THE TIME: 7 p.m. CST, Friday, November 22

THE PLACE: Allen Fieldhouse

THE DETAILS

The Kansas Jayhawks will face the Towson Tigers Friday night at Allen Fieldhouse. Although the game is officially part of the Battle 4 Atlantis invitational, the Jayhawks will move on to the Bahamas next week regardless of the outcome.

The game is a final warm up before Kansas travels to the tropics for games against strong competition next week.

Kansas is fresh off a 20-point victory on Tuesday against Iona. Many of the pitfalls that awaited the team in that game are still present for this contest. The young Jayhawks still need to improve their defense, especially on the perimeter. They still need to be prepared to play a team that isn’t a household name.

They came out flat against Iona and allowed the Gaels to hang around much longer than was necessary. Kansas needs to put weaker opponents away earlier in the game.

Kansas Jayhawks guard Andrew Wiggins (22) Mandatory Credit: David Banks-USA TODAY Sports

After three games, three Jayhawks are averaging double digit points, led by Perry Ellis at 19 points a contest. Andrew Wiggins is scoring 17 an outing, and Wayne Selden Jr. is pitching in with 10 a game.

Ellis and Joel Embiid lead the team with 24 rebounds; Wiggins is the only other with more than 9 boards with 18 total. Naadir Tharpe tops the team with 15 assists, followed by Selden with 13.

Wiggins has the most steals on the squad with 5 steals, and Jamari Traylor has 4 blocks. Speaking of Traylor, he, along with Embiid, lead the team with 7 turnovers.

The Towson Tigers are an interesting story. Just two seasons ago, they went just 1-31 on season, including a 100-54 loss to Kansas. Last year, they made an incredible turnaround, going 18-13, including a 13-5 record, good for second place in the Colonial Athletic Conference.

So far this season, the Tigers are 3-1 with a big win over the Temple Owls last week.

Towson, who has averaged 72 points a game, also have three players in double figures in scoring. They are led by senior forward Jerrelle Benimon with 17.5 points a game. Senior guard Rafriel Guthrie tallies 11.3 a contest, and senior forward Marcus Damas points up 10.8 a game. Benimon also averages nearly 12 rebounds an outing.

Kansas is considered incredibly deep with 9 players averaging double digit playing minutes. The Tigers are almost as deep with 8 getting more than 10 minutes a game. Towson’s biggest weakness is that they struggle with shooting from the field. They are only hitting 42% of their shots while Kansas is knocking down shots nearly 56% of the time.

Kansas should win this game but Towson may be the toughest defensive team they have played thus far. The Tigers are only giving up 67 points a game. Of course, they have not played a team as deep and talented as the Jayhawks.

If Kansas can show a little more defensive acumen themselves, which has been absent for the most part thus far this season, and Towson struggles to hit shots, Kansas should win comfortably.

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