Game 5: North Dakota State vs. #7 Kansas Preview and Prediction

The No. 7 Kansas Jayhawks will play their second straight home game against the Bison of North Dakota State for game number five on the season. Kansas has been able to score well this season, averaging 84.5 points per game through their first four games. Despite being 0-3, NDSU looks to be more of a test for the Jayhawks than Washburn. They hold their opponents to low numbers shooting, just 30% from three and 42.5% from the field. However, the Bison don’t shoot the ball especially well themselves, just 26% from three and 32% in total.

• Saturday, December 5, 2020, 3:00 pm CDT
• Allen Fieldhouse –  Lawrence, Kan. 
• ESPN+
• Kansas will play its home game of the 2020-21 season when it hosts North Dakota State on Saturday afternoon. The contest will air on Big 12 NOW on ESPN+ with Dave Armstrong and Chris Piper again calling the action.
• North Dakota State is coached by David Richman. He’s been on the coaching staff since 2003, and has been the head coach since the 2014-15 season.
• After defeating Washburn, KU has won 47 straight home openers.
• Through four games, Kansas has had four different players lead the team in scoring.
• Kansas shot 50% from three (13-26) against Washburn, which is the third time in four games that they’ve shot 40% or better. 

Bison to Watch

Tyree Eady – 6’5”, junior, guard

Eady averages ten points and eight rebounds through three games for North Dakota State. He is tied for the team lead in made threes (4) and three point percentage (44%). However he only shoots 40% from the field, which is good for second on the team. Like I said, this is not a team that shoots well at all.

Jayhawk Pick to Click

Marcus Garrett – 6’5”, senior, guard

This feels like a Marcus Garrett game to me. This game is going to be pretty slow, gritty, and grimy. Just the way Bill Self likes it. Look for Garrett to make a lot of hustle plays, and break the game open when he can in transition. He’ll likely be tasked with guarding Eady; a task that I believe he’ll be up to. Garrett may not lead the team in scoring this game, but he seems like a solid choice to be the game’s most influential player.

Prediction

KU should easily be the better team here. The Bison don’t have the scoring or size to truly compete with Kansas here. Don’t panic if NDSU keeps things close for a while though. Washburn hit a lot of threes to make it a game early, but look for the Bison to put in work on the other end of the floor to keep themselves in it until Kansas eventually overwhelms them. I think North Dakota State is a decent team, but not good enough to genuinely keep up with the Jayhawks. I’ll take the Bison to cover a larger-than-expected spread.

Kansas 70, North Dakota State 55
NDSU +23

Season Record: 3-1 (3-1 ATS)