Kansas Needs To Find Cutting Edge

I'll leave the preview and predictions for Saturday's conference clash, between Kansas and Nebraska, to the professionals. I want to discuss what is on the mind of many Kansas fans.

When will this KU team finally be able to put teams away early?

Now I realize that this is still a young team, but where is the cutting edge?

I am not nitpicking either. Those who see a team full of top-quality high school recruits, whether they are freshmen or not, want to see them put inferior teams to the sword early.

KU fans go to Allen Fieldhouse for a number of reasons. It drips with tradition, you have to be dead not to get goose bumps when they play the opening montage video, and you come to be among true college basketball fans.

They also go to Allen Fieldhouse to see dominating victories out of their beloved Jayhawks.

It is the unspoken expectation that a non-conference team should never beat KU in Allen Fieldhouse. Also, along those same lines, KU should beat every non-conference opponent by 15, 20, or more, depending on the quality of that opponent.

The same goes for conference opponents. If you ask any fan about the Jayhawks having the nation's longest home winning streak, sure they'll acknowledge that it's important, but winning in Allen Fieldhouse is the expectation for the Jayhawks, regardless of the opponent.

Now I understand that in rebuilding years this may not always be the case, and in those years is when KU usually has a slip-up.

KU fans don't ever want to be nervous when going to Allen Fieldhouse. When thousands of people make their 25- to 45-minute trip from Kansas City, and other areas surrounding Lawrence, they usually come to see a dominating victory, not a close win.

This Jayhawk team has impressed me. One could make an argument that this Kansas team could be 24-2 right now, and subsequently a top-five team.

Don't get me wrong. I expected KU to win between 10 or 11 conference games and end the season with about 22 or 23 wins. I am glad that KU sits at 21-5 with five games to play.

I really should not even be writing this article, right?

Wrong.

Why is it that we have to be so uneasy when the Jayhawks have cruised to a huge lead early?

I realize the Missouri game was being played in Columbia, but why should KU fans have to be thinking that Missouri isn't out of the game when they were down 14 at the half?

Why should KU fans be nervous when they go up 24-7 against Iowa State with just over 10 minutes of the first half completed?

The answer is that we shouldn't. KU fans have to be nervous when up 24-7 because this Jayhawks team has shown that it can't play with leads, as exemplified by Iowa State's run to start the second half—cutting a 17-point lead to five.

Again, the point of this article isn't to be critical, though it will come off that way. The point is to show that this KU team, despite a surprising 21-5 record, still has ground to cover if it wants to make a Sweet 16, or deeper, run in March.

This criticism is valid because this is a team that has the talent to make an Elite Eight run. The teams that the Jayhawks will face in the first, second, third, and—if they are lucky—fourth rounds, will be playing the game as though it is their last.

If KU jumps out to a quick 16-point lead against Weber State, KU's projected first-round opponent if the season ended today, are we going to have to shade our eyes to avoid the self-destructing turnovers that have recently plagued the Jayhawks?

Teams like Gonzaga, whom KU would be projected to play in the second round, are far better than Iowa State. The Zags will score points off of those turnovers nearly every time. KU has to find the cutting edge now.

If KU can mentally weather the storm when playing with a big lead, they will be poised for another Elite Eight run. If they can't, we could see Bill Self's first second-round defeat as the Kansas coach.

I think Kansas can survive a self-destruction like the one in Columbia against its first-round opponent. The gulf in talent in the first round will play a big factor. KU can't survive one in the second round.

Now, I am not about to predict a surprise upset for Nebraska tomorrow. I wouldn't even go as far to say KU will win against Oklahoma, in Norman, on Monday night.

I will say, however, that if Kansas can't find a way to put its foot on the throats of its opponent when it get early leads, we may be looking at a disappointing loss in the first or second round of the tournament.

Hosting Nebraska in the Fieldhouse tomorrow will offer another opportunity to exorcise the demons I have criticized the Jayhawks for. KU should beat Nebraska by 25 or more. The biggest question is, will they turn a 12- or 15-point early first-half lead into a 20-point halftime lead? Or, will it dwindle to a four or five point lead?

I love the 21-5 record. As a fan you have to be pleased with the outcome so far. I grasp at straws to criticize this team because the players and coaches need it. I also do it in hopes that realizing their flaws will improve them for a deep run in March.