Game 7: Wofford at No. 2 Kansas – Preview and Prediction

After some late game heroics from Lagerald Vick to sneak by Stanford, the No. 2 Kansas Jayhawks continue non-conference play on Tuesday by hosting Wofford. The Terriers look to be on of the better teams among mid-majors this season, as they were picked to finish second in the Southern Conference and rank 58th in the latest NCAA NET Rankings. This won’t be a cake walk by any stretch for the Jayhawks. We haven’t seen KU’s “A-game” so far this season, so they can’t take Wofford too lightly on Tuesday evening.

AUDIO PREVIEW: LINK (go to 60:30 mark of podcast)

Game Info and Notes:

• Tuesday, December 4, 2018 at 7:00 pm CDT
• Allen Fieldhouse, Lawrence, Kan.
• ESPN+ ($)
• Dave Armstrong & Chris Piper will be on the call
• KU is coming off back-to-back overtime victories, with its most recent a 90-84 OT win against Stanford (12/1). Wofford brings a four-game winning streak to Lawrence after its 79-62 win versus East Tennessee State on Dec. 1.
• Kansas and Wofford are meeting for the first time in men’s basketball. KU is 11-0 all-time against current membership of the Southern Conference.
• Kansas is looking to go 7-0 for the second straight year and sixth time in Bill Self’s 16 seasons at KU.
• Kansas is the only team in the Big 12 that has two players ranked in the top five in league scoring. Senior G Lagerald Vick leads the Big 12 with a 20.8 ppg, while redshirt junior F Dedric Lawson is fifth at 18.8 ppg.
• Coming off his third-straight double-double, Lawson is the only player in the Big 12 to average a double-double with an 18.8 ppg and 11.2 rpg.
• Vick is 28-of-43 (65.1 percent) from 3-point range in his last five games. His 28 triples are the most ever by a Jayhawk in a five-game span.

About Wofford

The Terriers won 21 game a season ago and have experience of beating a blueblood on the road, as they defeated North Carolina in Chapel Hill last December. They bring back a pretty good core from last year’s squad, including their top-three leading scorers in Fletcher Magee, Cameron Jackson and Nathan Hoover. This season, Wofford stands at 6-2, with their only losses to North Carolina and Oklahoma.

Terriers to Watch

Fletcher Magee – 6’4′, senior, forward

Magee is Wofford’s best scorer, as he pours in just a little over 17 PPG. Last season, he averaged 22.1 points per game and shot 43% from beyond the arc. He enters with over 1900 career points scored. This season, he’s not shooting the ball as efficiently, as both his FG% and 3PT% have both dipped. Nevertheless, Magee is more than capable of lighting you up. Marcus Garrett, Quentin Grimes and Lagerald Vick will all have their hands full on Tuesday night.

Cameron Jackson – 6’8′, senior, forward

Jackson is Wofford’s best interior player, as he leads the team in rebounds at 8.0 RPG and is second on the team in scoring at 13.1 PPG. Jackson averages nearly three personal fouls a game, so the Jayhawks could be to pound the ball inside early to try and get Jackson in foul trouble.

Nathan Hoover – 6’4′, junior, guard

Hoover is the definition of a sharp-shooter. This season he’s shooting 51% from three-point range, which includes a 9-12 performance against South Carolina. The Jayhawks can absolutely not let Hoover get going from three.

Prediction

Kansas 76 – Wofford 67

This one will be closer than the experts think. Wofford is a solid, veteran basketball team. They will have a very good shot of winning their league and making an NCAA tournament appearance. They also aren’t scared of playing in big environment such as Allen Fieldhouse.

I see this being a close game into the second half, but I really like KU’s size to play a huge factor here. I don’t see Wofford having an answer for Azubuike or Dedric Lawson for that matter.

Lagerald Vick has been on an absolute tear of late, and it’s almost getting to the point where you can almost expect Vick to produce night in and night out. I like another big performance from the senior.