Somebody else notices. This is from ESPN’s Insider content so I won’t snip it all, but it’s all very very complimentary

Self did what great coaches do, he kept coaching and teaching and finding a way. The Jayhawks still turn the ball over at an alarming rate, but they really get out and guard people. Self has always turned out really good defensive teams, and this one has everything you would want, with the exception of experience. Kansas has long-armed defenders, good athletes and good size, and the Jayhawks can rebound and limit you to one shot.

Thanks to frequent commenter Chalmersfan for the link.

And the sad saga appears to be over. I personally wish Quin the best of luck in the future:

Snyder Steps Down At Missouri
Quin Snyder’s up-and-down tenure at Missouri is over. ESPN has learned that Snyder has resigned as men’s basketball coach after six-plus seasons. Assistant coach Melvin Watkins will take over the 10-11 squad.

link

Most everything I wrote in my preview for the game in Ames still holds true. Iowa State puts their opponents on the line a lot, doesn’t force many missed field goal attempts, allows a ton of offensive rebounds, and attempts to make up for all of this by creating more turnovers than they commit.

On a night when their opponent misses a bunch of free throws and Curtis Stinson gets hot, the Cyclones can look fairly good. However, their method is not a recipe for consistent success.

I think everyone concedes that Kansas will have a tremendous advantage along the frontcourt, though Rahshon Clark is a far better player than he’s generally credited. Thus, I’ll spend my time today comparing the backcourts.

I’ll be using the players’ stats from conference play only. This is for simplicity’s sake. I’m not attempting to make any conclusions about any player’s true talent, just their production over a roughly equal period of time against roughly equal competition. It also helps that the two offenses have been equally productive in conference play. Kansas has averaged 1.09 points per possession (and 70 possessions per game) and Iowa State has averaged 1.10 points per possession (and 69.5 possessions per game).

First of all, Stinson and Blalock play a higher percentage of their team’s minutes than does the Jayhawk duo of Chalmers and Robinson.

Thus, even though the Jayhawk guards are more efficient than their Cyclone counterparts, they aren’t necessarily more productive:

Russell Robinson has a unique scoring profile. There are only two other players in the conference who play as much as Robinson and have a lower eFG%: Jason Horton and JamesOn Curry. In fact, there are only seven players, besides Robinson, who are permitted to play even half of their team’s minutes while shooting as poorly as Robinson from the field. Of those seven, Curry has the highest PPWS, 0.93. Robinson’s is 1.07. Why? They are 20 players in the Big 12 who have attempted a shot as often as has Robinson. Of those 20, Joseph Jones makes more free throws per shot attempt (FT Rate) than Robinson.

Russell Robinson has made only 25.9% of his three-point attempts and 44.4% of his two-point attempts and he’s still a league average scorer. With even a modest improvement in his shooting Robinson will become a dangerous all-around player.

The rest of Robinson’s game has already solidified into usefulness, as seen below.

However many more assists Chalmers and Robinson get from having quality big men who can (usually) finish, a luxury Stinson and Blalock certainly don’t posses, is countered by the assists that other Jayhawks earn. Stinson and Blalock have two teammates who average three or more assists per 100 possessions: Rahshon Clark (3.00) and Jiri Hubalek (3.33). Chalmers and Robinson have two teammates who average six or more assists per 100 possessions: Jeff Hawkins (6.50) and Julian Wright (6.05).

I see no reason to believe that Iowa State can expect to have an advantage in terms of backcourt play on Saturday, especially when you consider that Stinson and Blalock front a defense that allows 20% more points per game than Kansas. Nor do I have reason to believe that Iowa State’s frontcourt is preparing for the game of their collective life.

Prediction: Kansas 84 Iowa State 72

These stats are from conference games (through February 8th) only. They are tempo free: per 100 possessions for points, assists, steals, and blocks; per opportunity for rebounds. I have included a column indicating the percentage of possible minutes each player has played so that you might weigh their efficiency against the volume of their contributions.

First, of course, comes scoring. Players are ranked by points per 100 possessions. I have also included each player’s points per weighted shot (PPWS) to give an idea of their efficiency.

As a point of reference, the league average is 1.07 points per weighted shot.

Below, I’ve listed everybody in the league who has played at least 40% of their team’s minutes and scored 1.2 or more points per weighted shot.

The Texas backcourt scores extremely efficiently.

We also see how much Oklahoma depends on Michael Neal to maximize their offense. The first table of this post shows that Everett and Gray are barely above the league average in PPWS. Bookout is below average (1.04). Austin Johnson sports the lowest PPWS of anyone playing half their team’s minutes in the Big 12 (0.62). This is why, as evidenced in Lawrence, the Sooners need everything to go right in order to beat a decent team.

Please keep in mind, when looking at the rebounding stats, that rebounds don’t occur in a vacuum. Texas and Oklahoma are easily the best rebounding teams in the conference. Multiple players on both those teams have solid rebound rates, thus supressing individual rates somewhat.

Offensive rebounding:

Defensive rebounding:

Total rebounding (Again, as with the team stats, I don’t how to quantify the relative value of an offensive rebound to a defensive rebound thus good offensive rebounders are likely underrated in the list below.):

Assists:

Granted, it stems in large part from the abilities of his teammates and the attention they draw, but AJ Abrams might be the efficiency MVP of the Big 12. His 11.5 A/100, 75.0 eFG%, and 3.44 A/TO all lead the league.

Steals:

When it comes to taking the ball away in conference play, there’s Mario Chalmers and every body else. The difference in steal rate between Chalmers and Stinson is slightly greater than the difference between Stinson and the 37th ranked player in steal rate, Jason Dorisseau (1.99 S/100).

I didn’t realize how few shots have been blocked in Big 12 play. Here’s the top 9, only six of whom play half their team’s minutes:

You’ll see more complete examinations of individual players’ tempo-free stats in the KU-Iowa State preview later today. I have the numbers for everybody who has played 100 minutes in Big 12 play. If there’s someone or something about which you’re curious, please, just ask.