Defense Falls Short Against Kansas

The heralded USC defense took a statistical beating in a 29-point loss at Kansas on Saturday.

The Trojans had been holding opponents to 34% shooting and 61 points a game. Kansas shot 59% on its way to 107 points. Only twice before--against UCLA in 1967 and Arizona in 1992--had USC given up so many points.

The Trojans had five steals, less than half their average. They had limited opponents to 27% from three-point range; the Jayhawks made 62% of their long shots.

USC point guard Brandon Granville was disappointed that he and his teammates left Kansas guards Ryan Robertson and Jeff Boschee unguarded on several occasions, especially during a first-half run that broke the game open.

“We kind of lost track of some of their shooters,” Granville said. “They hit a lot of open shots.”

Coach Henry Bibby said the Jayhawks’ ability to break the press for layups ignited their big victory.

“They got some easy baskets and then everybody started making shots,” Bibby said. “The basket gets bigger when you get an eight- to 10-point lead.”