KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Who knew regression toward the mean could be so ... mean?
"Man, I don't know what it is," Brannen Greene said as he sat in front of his locker stall inside Sprint Center early Thursday evening. "It's a lid on there. It'll come off. Eventually."
Team #FreeThe3 is five for its last 38 (13.1 percent) from beyond the arc. The Kansas Jayhawks, No. 9 in the land and No. 34 in the nation in 3-point shooting percentage (.383) heading into a date with Texas Christian in the Big 12 tournament quarterfinals, is eight for its last 59 (13.6 percent) on treys. Thursday, they were 0 for eight. In their last two wins, counting an overtime rally job against West Virginia back on March 3, they're 0 for their last 23.
Just like that, William Tell is all head and no apple.
"Yeah, we were pretty bad," said Greene, who was 0 for 3 himself in KU's 64-59 grind-it-out victory over the Horned Frogs, and is 0 for 14 on treys over his last four contests.
When a reporter suggested that perhaps they were showing some different ways to win, perhaps they were surviving in spite of themselves, Greene's brow furrowed.
"I mean, we've barely squeaked them out, to be honest," countered the Jayhawks' sophomore off-guard, a dude currently stuck in the kind of funk -- two for 22 beyond the arc since Feb. 11 -- Bootsy Collins used to lay down. "The West Virginia game, most teams don't come back from being down 20 to win the game.
"And (Thursday), we were playing a team that we were much better than and barely squeaked it out. We have found (different) ways to win, but also we know we have to get it going offensively. Once we play a team like Kentucky or a team with a great inside presence, you know, it's not going to work out the same."
Still, good teams can change their repertoire on the fly, even in March. Especially in March. For the last fortnight, the fates have dealt KU (25-7) crappy hand after hand. Freshman power forward Cliff Alexander was sidelined after the loss on Stormy Monday at Kansas State because of allegations over improper benefits. Sophomore guard Wayne Selden has been fighting through a bum ankle; junior power forward Perry Ellis, an absolute rock in the post for most of February, went down with a knee injury late in the first half in that aforementioned West Virginia game and has yet to appear in a contest since.
A frontcourt rotation consists of piano wire and gum, and yet look at what the piano wire and gum have managed over their last two games: Junior enforcer Jamari Traylor is averaging 9.0 points, 2.0 boards and 2.5 blocks; sophomore center Landen Lucas is averaging 13.0 points, 12.5 boards and 2.0 blocks.
Perry Who?
"It's something that we've done in the past," said Lucas, who helped keep KU aloft with 13 points and seven rebounds against the Frogs. "And it's one of the main reasons I came here -- the high-low (approach) and everything. And I've always liked that, I've always admired the bigs that had come in (to Lawrence) and did that. I'm trying to do everything I can to hopefully bring that back."
With Lucas swatting away three TCU shots and changing a half-dozen other attempts, KU dominated the points-in-the-paint ledger at the half, 26-14, finishing with a 42-34 edge for the afternoon.
And even without Ellis -- a Thursday morning scratch who might be cleared to roll against Baylor early Friday night in the Big 12 semis -- to run the offense around, Self is still working from his preferred inside-out approach. He's just doing it with wing man Kelly Oubre, a 6-foot-7 high-flyer (25 points, six boards against TCU), as the catalyst, driving to finish, driving to kick, or driving to get to the line (15 of 19 from the charity stripe).
With center Hunter Mickelson in early foul trouble, Self even trotted out a four-guard lineup featuring Oubre as the de facto power forward. Which -- and this is the kooky part -- actually worked, more often than not.
"I think Kelly did a good job with guarding (in the post)," Lucas said. "You know, he's learning it, so it's going to take a little bit of time.
"But on the offensive end, when he has a bigger guy on him, he's able to go around them. And I think it'll be good for us, moving forward, because we'll be quicker on offense and we can spread them out and open the floor up a little bit, let them drive to the floor, get fouled."
Moving forward, it's the Bears (24-8), a crew that defensively uses zones the way Greg Maddux used a changeup; that's their out pitch, the beast.
"So we've just got to be able to attack their zone, get inside their zone," guard Devonte' Graham noted. Then he smiled ruefully. "And make shots, actually."
Wish 'em luck. Traylor was the best at finding the holes (13 points, five assists) in the first meeting between the two schools in Waco, but it was Greene who was most adept at exploiting those holes (12 points, two for three beyond the arc). In the rematch on Valentine's Day in Lawrence, the looks were there again -- Greene attempted five treys, misfiring on four.
"I haven't hit a shot in about eight, nine games, so it's been different," offered the KU guard, currently averaging 5.9 points off the bench. "But it'll get done.
"Wayne (Selden) will get going, we'll all get it going. Just got to keep throwing it at the hole. Once one goes in, it feels like it'll turn around."
Eventually.
You can follow Sean Keeler on Twitter at @SeanKeeler or email him at seanmkeeler@gmail.com.
