LAWRENCE — Kansas basketball has a chance at a second-straight win during Big 12 Conference play on Wednesday, at home against Arizona State.
The No. 12 Jayhawks (10-3, 1-1 in Big 12) will look to build upon a win on the road against UCF. On the other side, the Sun Devils (10-3, 1-1 in Big 12) will look to do something similar after a win at home against Colorado. Arizona State is one of the new members of the Big 12, and can provide a challenge for KU inside Allen Fieldhouse.
Consider a few things, and a prediction, ahead of the 8 p.m. (CT)-scheduled tip-off in Lawrence:
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Look for Shakeel Moore to start again for Kansas
Graduate guard Shakeel Moore made his first start of the season for Kansas during the win this past weekend against UCF, and impressed head coach Bill Self — especially defensively. Looking ahead to Wednesday and Arizona State, Self said on Tuesday he anticipates Moore will start again. In that event, Moore will look to sustain the momentum of a performance against UCF that saw him score six points, dish out six assists and grab three rebounds.
Moore, who joined the team as a transfer during the offseason, hasn’t always had much of a role this season as he’s been recovering from an injury. He said Tuesday he’s close to feeling 100% at this point, and more specifically estimated being at about 95%. From his perspective, while he hopes to continue to start he is comfortable with either option because he has done both during his career.
Don’t overlook what Bill Self had to say about AJ Storr, Rylan Griffen
Considering how much attention junior guards AJ Storr and Rylan Griffen garnered when they transferred to Kansas during the offseason, their acclimation processes through the initial months of the season have been significant topics of conversation. Both have had stretches of success, but as Self would say Tuesday both are better than what they’ve shown. And Self’s analysis of the UCF game, when it came to those two, should not be overlooked.
Self, who’s trying to get everyone to play at a high level not just one group of five, acknowledged it can be pretty humbling for Storr to be the reserve option off of the bench Storr was against UCF. However, the Jayhawks excelled while starting Moore because of Moore’s mindset defensively. Self didn’t think it was a bad for thing Storr to witness that.
When Griffen got in against UCF, he hit shots that helped spark Kansas’ effort offensively in a 99-48 win. However, Self pointed to more than just that if someone was to analyze how well Griffen played. Self wondered aloud about how many times Griffen dove for a loose ball or stole an extra possession, because efforts like that can give Griffen confidence to shoot it — understanding whether it goes in or not it’s not the only way he’s affecting the game.
Bill Self previews Arizona State
Self described Arizona State as a team with seven players capable of starting. Overall, he thinks the Sun Devils have an ability to score the ball easily — in addition to being gifted physically. He noted they can shoot the ball well from behind the arc, and that defensively for the Jayhawks that means not just focusing on two guys. Of note, Self highlighted Arizona State freshman forward Jayden Quaintance as someone who’ll be difficult to stop and mentioned Quaintance is someone Kansas once recruited.
Kansas basketball vs Arizona State prediction
No longer looking for a rebound performance, Kansas — which did, literally, rebound the ball well against UCF in that win — has a chance to impress in front of its home crowd. Arizona State shouldn’t be as easy to dispatch as UCF proved to be just days ago. But the Jayhawks have some momentum now, and that should help carry them to a 77-69 win.
Jordan Guskey covers University of Kansas Athletics at The Topeka Capital-Journal. He is the National Sports Media Association’s sportswriter of the year for the state of Kansas for 2022. Contact him at jmguskey@gannett.com or on Twitter at @JordanGuskey.
This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Kansas basketball vs Arizona State: Scouting report, prediction
