NC State basketball opponent scouting report: Kansas

NC State basketball 4-0, but the Wolfpack is also about to face by far the most significant challenges of the season thus far starting Wednesday with three games in three days at the Bad Boy Mowers Battle 4 Atlantis in the Bahamas. First up is Kansas for a noon tip Wednesday afternoon. The game can be seen on ESPN.

Here is a rundown of what to expect from Kansas.

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Kansas overview

The last time most NC State basketball fans probably saw Kansas, the Jayhawks were making history by overcoming the largest halftime deficit while winning a national title game, knocking off North Carolina to win the NCAA Tournament.

This year, Kansas is 4-0 with a most notable win over Duke on a neutral court, when the Jayhawks rallied from down 5 points with a 13-3 run to end the game, prevailing 69-64.

The contest against NC State will mark the return of head coach Bill Self to the sideline. Self, who has coached Kansas to a pair of NCAA championships, was suspended for the first four games of the year due to recruiting violations.

In his absence, Kansas has played well to climb to No. 3 in the both of the latest Associated Press and coaches top 25 polls.

Rankings

ESPN’s BPI: Kansas checks in at No. 17 (out of 362 teams). NC State basketball is No. 56.

KenPom.com: The Jayhawks are No. 11. The Pack is No. 68.

Three Kansas players to watch against NC State basketball

Freshman wing Grady Dick: Regarded as a top-20 prospect coming out of high school, Dick has not disappointed. He has scored double figures while also starting all four games Kansas has played. Dick is second on the Jayhawks in scoring at 16.8 points per game.

The 6-foot-8, 205-pounder has made 10 of 20 three-point attempts.

Redshirt junior guard Dajuan Harris Jr.: Harris may not be a scorer, but he makes a big enough impact on the game to be honorable mention all-conference last season despite averaging just 5.4 points per contest.

Kansas’ starting point guard should be able to handle the NC State pressure. In 74 career games, Harris has 256 assists with just 87 turnovers, and almost 3-to-1 ratio. This season, he has 25 assists and only 4 turnovers. His 7.7 assists per game is eighth nationally.

In addition, Harris made the Big 12 All-Defensive Team a year ago.

Redshirt junior forward Jalen Wilson: The preseason All-American is playing like it through four games. The 6-foot-8, 215-pounder is averaging 24.5 points and 9.3 rebounds per game with a pair of double-doubles to his credit.

Wilson had a monster performance of 25 points and 11 rebounds against NC State’s ACC rival Duke, although he misfired on all seven of his attempts from beyond the arc.

Three things NC State basketball should expect from Kansas

1. The best team that NC State has played yet: Kansas returns just Wilson and Harris from the primary starters on last year’s NCAA championship team. However, adding Dick plus Texas Tech redshirt senior guard Kevin McCullar Jr. in the transfer portal has helped fill the void.

Sophomore forward KJ Adams Jr., a reserve on the national title team, has greatly improved his production while elevating into a starting role.

Currently, NC State’s strength of schedule on KenPom.com is No. 342, and the top rated among the four teams the Pack has defeated is Campbell at No. 168. Kansas will be, by far, the best team the Wolfpack has played.

2. A strong defensive team: Led by Harris on the perimeter, Kansas has only let one opponent score more than 65 points in the first four games. The Jayhawks also dominate the glass, outrebounding opponents by 3.5 boards per contest.

3. An efficient offense: Kansas shares the basketball, averaging over 20 assists per game. Nearly two-thirds of made shots are off assists. Kansas also does not settle for threes. While Dick has made 10 of 20 attempts beyond the arc, the rest of the team is a combined 15 of 56 thus far.

Kansas only shoots 32.9 percent on threes, but the Jayhawks have made 110 of 197 attempts from two-point territory, or 55.8 percent.

NC State’s ability to get turnovers will be tested, too. Kansas is averaging less than 12 turnovers per game.