NCAA Championship: 5 Things Kansas Must Do in Order to Beat Kentucky

It has all funneled down to two teams, Kentucky and Kansas, who will be battling for the men’s NCAA Championship on Monday night. SEC vs. Big 12, the young Wildcats vs. the experienced Jayhawks, No. 1 seed vs. No. 2.

Although Kansas has proved itself against many doubts this season, the Jayhawks are the underdog going into this national championship game, as Kentucky has a slight advantage with its slew of raw talent.

With it all on the line on Monday, here are five things that Kansas must do in order to bring home its second NCAA Championship in the 21^st century. 

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1. Control the Tempo

As we saw in Kentucky’s Final Four matchup against Louisville, the Wildcats like to push the ball up the court and run in transition, which is something that Kansas must halt.

The Jayhawks must slow down the game and force Kentucky to play in the half court. Kentucky is very dangerous when it controls the game’s tempo and seamlessly pushes the ball up-court after a defensive rebound.

Although Kansas runs just as well in transition as Kentucky does, the Jayhawks would be much better off slowing down the tempo of the game and forcing Kentucky to shoot more from the perimeter instead of surrendering easy transition buckets.

2. Shoot from Outside

Tyshawn Taylor, Elijah Johnson, and Travis Releford must step up and hit their outside shots in order for Kansas’ offense to flourish.

If the Jayhawks shoot well from outside, they will be able to spread the floor and keep their top performer, Thomas Robinson, in the game. If not, Kentucky head coach John Calipari will flood the paint and cut off Robinson. 

3. Play Tight Defense

This almost goes without saying because it’s a very high-stakes game, but Kansas will have to be tough as it always is on defense.

There’s no doubt that Thomas Robinson will be bumping bodies with Kentucky’s forwards all game, so he’s not the concern for Jayhawks’ fans on defense.

However, Jeff Withey must hold down the paint with Robinson in order for Kansas to keep up with Kentucky’s explosive offense.

4. Force Kentucky to Shoot

This is a combination of playing tight defense and controlling the game’s tempo. Kentucky thrived on transition buckets, most of which were dunks, in its Final Four game against Louisville.

Although the Wildcats exhibited a solid mid-range game in their previous game, they didn’t shoot well from beyond the arc (2-7; 28%).

Kansas needs to contest every Kentucky shot and give away no easy baskets, especially in transition. Starting the game with a zone defense will reveal any holes in Kentucky’s offense.

Kentucky can shoot, but Monday night could be an off night for them. Butler’s awful Championship shooting performance last year proved how critical that can be. 

5. Maintain Team Continuity and Mental Toughness

We saw on Saturday how a team can get hung up on a previous call that didn’t go their way and become distracted from the ultimate goal of winning the game.

Ohio State was arguing with the referee with a few seconds left instead of marking up on defense and subsequently allowed Kansas to inbound the ball and watch time expire without committing a foul.

Kansas will have to forego incidents like that in order to beat Kentucky. Forget about whose defensive lapse caused an easy alley-oop for Anthony Davis, per se. Remain focused on the ultimate goal of winning this game, the National Championship, and never stray an inch from it.

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