Why KU Jayhawks’ transition offense poses threat to UNC basketball in NCAA title game
It didn’t take long for North Carolina coach Hubert Davis to notice the devastating force the Kansas men’s basketball team can be in transition.
To reach an NCAA national championship game, like the Tar Heels and Jayhawks have done, each team has figured out a variety of ways to win a basketball game. But it doesn’t take long to pick up on how good the Jayhawks can be on the fast break.
Defending in transition is what Davis was focused on during his Sunday press conference ahead of Monday’s national title game between UNC (29-9) and KU (33-6) with an 8:20 p.m. tipoff in New Orleans from the Caesars Superdome.
“On film, they appear to be the fastest transition team that I’ve seen this year, whether it’s on made or missed baskets,” Davis said. “They sprint to offense.”
The numbers from Synergy Sports Technology back up that sentiment from Davis: KU is averaging 14.9 points per game in transition and is scoring 1.11 points per possession in transition, a top-50 national mark.
Two players make up more than half of that production, as Ochai Agbaji and Christian Braun have terrorized defenses this season when they are able to get out in the open floor. That duo has scored 351 points in transition alone this season at 1.18 points per possession, which would be good enough for the No. 8-ranked transition attack in the country if they were their own team.
Whether it’s off a missed shot or a live-ball turnover, Agbaji excels on the break because he sprints like he is shot out of a cannon down the sidelines to beat the defense down the floor and loop toward the basket like a high jumper preparing to clear the bar to catch lobs and finish above the rim. Agbaji scores 1.32 points per possession when he runs the wings on the fast break.
While Agbaji is most dangerous without the ball in transition, Braun does the most damage when he’s leading the break and can use his 6-foot-6, 218-pound frame and crafty finishing skills. He punishes defenses for 1.28 points per possession as the lead ball handler in transition.
And if UNC finds a way to bottle those two up, Remy Martin has been torching unsuspecting defenses who back-pedal too far on the break by knocking down pull-up jumpers just inside the three-point arc. Jalen Wilson and Dajuan Harris have also been threats for KU running the floor this season.
It’s a serious issue for an UNC defense that is giving up 1.04 points per possession in transition, which ranks No. 260 nationally. Davis said he is stressing to his team to force KU to score against a defense set in the half-court.
“It’s really important for us that our transition defense always has an end game,” Davis said. “And our end game in transition defense is no layups or dunks, no pitch-ahead, lace-up threes, make them make two passes or more so the defense can get set.
“I feel very comfortable against our set defense that the way that we’ve been playing defensively that we can do a good job on the defensive end.”
For as good as KU is in transition, UNC also poses a threat to run. The Tar Heels score 12.3 points per game in transition at 1.12 points per possession, which is slightly ahead of KU for 40th nationally.
While guards R.J. Davis and Caleb Love are the two most prolific scorers for UNC in transition, 6-foot-9 stretch forward Brady Manek is by far the most efficient. The fifth-year senior is shredding defenses for 1.60 points per possession in transition and shooting an outrageous 69% from the field, a combination of knocking down open threes running the floor and sneaking behind defenses for easy looks at the rim.
Manek is a familiar foe to the Jayhawks after playing 2017-21 at Oklahoma. KU is most worried about Manek spotting up from deep, as he is shooting a career-best 40.1% on three-pointers and making a career-best 2.5 threes per game.
“Brady has been unbelievable,” KU coach Bill Self said. “He and Caleb have arguably been the two best players in the tournament. He’s playing with freedom. He was a threat always at OU, but Hubert’s given him a mind, a free mind that he feels like that anytime he’s got any separation at all he needs to let it fly. And that’s a compliment to his coach and their staff, but also he’s such a good player. He’s got such a quick release. It’s a high release.”
Monday’s game promises to feature plenty of up-and-down play between two of the best transition offenses in the country.
Which team is able to slow the other the one down more effectively could go a long way in determining who hoists the national championship in the Big Easy.
This story was originally published April 3, 2022 at 3:45 PM with the headline "Why KU Jayhawks’ transition offense poses threat to UNC basketball in NCAA title game."
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