Kansas Basketball: Live Stream, TV, and notes vs Tennessee State
By Joel Wagler
The Kansas basketball team officially launches the 2017-18 season with a matchup against the Tennessee State Tigers of the Ohio Valley Conference.
Finally! The regular season is set to begin Friday for the Kansas basketball team as they play host to the Tennessee State Tigers Friday night.
As expected, the Kansas Jayhawks went 3-0 in their recent exhibition warmups for TSU. The Tigers will serve as the final tune-up before KU takes on the Kentucky Wildcats in the Champions Classic on Tuesday.
Head coach Bill Self is still feeling out just how to use his extremely thin roster to take advantage of its strengths. Look for this to be a work in progress over the next several weeks.
KANSAS BASKETBALL LIVE STREAM AND TV INFO
- Who: Tennessee State Tigers (0-0)
- Where: Allen Fieldhouse, Lawrence, Kansas
- Tipoff Time: Friday, November 10, 8 p.m. CT
- TV Channel: ESPNU
- Kansas Basketball Live Stream: WatchESPN
For those who subscribe to ESPN, the Kansas basketball live stream for the Tennessee State game will be on ESPN3.
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KANSAS BASKETBALL NOTES
While it is unfair to expect Devonte’ Graham to follow in Frank Mason‘s footsteps and be the National Player of the Year, the senior guard should be the undisputed team leader.
Graham scored 52 points combined in the exhibition games against Missouri and Fort Hays State but took a back seat with only six points against Pittsburg State. Look for him to be closer to 26 points than six most nights.
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The Jayhawks will probably stick with veterans Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk and Malik Newman as starters, but if they don’t perform well, don’t be surprised to see freshmen Billy Preston and Marcus Garrett step in to play bigger minutes. Self used the youngsters to spark his team against Fort Hays State and won’t hesitate to do so again.
The Jayhawks have so few big men, those they have need to crash the boards harder. According to Matt Tait of KUSports.com, Self agrees.
"“Six-foot-ten and 6-foot-9 combine for six rebounds against a team whose tallest player was 6-6 or 6-7. That doesn’t show me much.”"
Preston and sophomore Mitch Lightfoot only produced three rebounds each in their final practice game.
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The Kansas basketball team needs to shore up their defense and to rebound against Tennessee State. As limited as the roster is, the Jayhawks have little room for errors or lapses in their concentration. Hopefully, KU will tighten some things down before their game against Kentucky.