I've mentioned it before, but this season is tracking to be the worst K-State efficiency defense, the worst eFG% defense, and the worst 2PT% defense in the 3 point era for a K-State team. The Cats will likely perform well enough against a bad Omaha offense tomorrow to move out of the bottom spot in efficiency, but we'll see what Big 12 play brings. Note how bad the K-State defense has been in the 2nd half of games, allowing an incredible 1.21 PPP (nearly 40 points per half) and 58.4% eFG%. Of all the things to correct as the season goes along, holding teams to the upper 40s on 2s instead of the mid 50s and forcing TOs at a 21-22% clip will be the biggest things to watch.
That said, K-State's shooting has actually been pretty good, especially on 2s. In fact, this group currently has the highest 2PT% on offense of any K-State team... ever. Even with a 3PT% that isn't great, K-State currently ranks 5th ever (among other KSU teams) in eFG%. Also, compared to the current state of college basketball, this team is pretty good on the offensive glass, ranking in the top 50 in college basketball. 33% doesn't seem high if you remember oboarding rates from Frank's days when the Cats typically were around 40% and top 10 nationally. However, the average OR% rate in college basketball in those days was the mid-30s and now it tracks at around 28%; teams simply don't hit the offensive glass like they did a decade ago. The key offensively will be to cut the TOs as the Cats currently turn it over on 23% of possessions to rank only #280 nationally. Plus it would help to hit some more 3s, especially if K-State continues to take 43% of their shots from 3, another all time high at K-State. No other team has had a 3PT rate of more than 39% and that was last season.
The individual stats are quite a mix.
The first notable stat is points per 100 which typically shows who is the high volume scorer. Mike McGuirl currently leads at 22.8 among players with meaningful minutes, no disrespect to Linguard's ridiculous 37.5 rate in limited time so far. The issue is typically your stud player needs to be scoring at least 26-27 points per 100 and no one is close right now. That's typically what it takes for someone to approach All Big 12 level and the standard for a top half team is usually 2 players that make at least 2nd team. Right now McGuirl might get a HM nod and Pack is likely an all freshman team type, but that's it.
McGuirl and Pack both have really nice offensive ratings of at least 1.10 which is good, plus McGuirl has a solid PER of around 17. They both take the most shots with rates of 22% or more each. Neither of those are bad things for K-State. Interestingly, the highs for usage come from Dajuan Gordon and Selton Miguel with rates of 22% each, but both have efficiencies under 0.95 mainly because of poor TO numbers from each of them, plus 3PT shooting percentages of under 30%.
Speaking of 3PT shooting, a bunch of guys are taking a lot of 3s. 56% of McGuirl's total shots are 3s, 53% for Miguel, 51% for Pack, 50% for Rudi, 49% for Dajuan, and even 39% for Antonio. That's a lot of guys taking a lot of 3s which could become a good thing if they can start making them at a higher rate.
Speaking of shooting, the number of guys with really good 2PT% numbers reflects the high 2PT% for the team. Linguard is making 73%, Antonio 68%, Bradford 65%, Rudi 62%, Lewis 60%, EZ 59%, Miguel 56%, and Dajuan 51%. Only Mike and Pack are below 50%.
On the boards, Dajuan has been a monster with a per 100 of 12.9, which is so good for a wing. Right behind him is Antonio, with solid numbrers from Linguard and Lewis in their limited minutes of 13 and 15. Bradford and EZ both are at just over 9 per 100, which you would like to see above 10 for the bigs. Pack's rate of 7.9 is really good for a small guard, but it also reflects K-State's team rebounding philosophy.
