When Kansas takes the floor Monday night against Davidson, it won’t just be another non-conference game in Allen Fieldhouse - it’s a clash of basketball philosophies, and a serious test for one of the nation’s top perimeter defenses.
So far this season, Kansas has been elite at running shooters off the three-point line and contesting looks when they do go up. Opponents are shooting just 24.1% from deep against the Jayhawks - the best mark in Division I.
That’s not a fluke. KU’s rotations have been sharp, their closeouts disciplined, and their communication on switches and screens has made life miserable for perimeter-heavy offenses.
Through 12 games, no opponent has cracked 30% from beyond the arc. Even North Carolina - a team loaded with perimeter talent - only managed to go 8-for-24 (30%). Princeton hit 10 threes, the most by any KU opponent this season, but needed 35 attempts to get there, finishing at 28.6%.
But Davidson brings a different kind of challenge. The Wildcats are shooting 38% from three - good for top-31 in the country - and they’ll be the most accurate perimeter shooting team Kansas has faced this season. Notre Dame (37.9%) and Missouri (37.4%) came close, but Davidson’s system makes them uniquely dangerous.
That system? The motion offense - a scheme that thrives on reads, spacing, and constant movement.
It’s not built on set plays, but on how the defense reacts. And that’s what makes it so tricky.
“They’ll run motion,” Kansas head coach Bill Self said. “With teams that are really good at [motion offense], they’re the easiest to prepare for, but the hardest to play, because every defensive coverage dictates what the offense does.”
Translation: you can try to simulate it in practice all week, but once the game starts, it’s a different animal. Davidson’s 5-out motion - a modern twist on the classic offense made famous by Bob Knight - puts five players on the perimeter, creating endless opportunities for screens, cuts, and slips.
There’s no true point guard or dominant scorer. Instead, it’s a positionless, share-the-wealth approach where six different players average between 8 and 10.5 points per game.
That balance makes it hard to key in on any one player. And with the ball constantly moving and players reading and reacting in real time, defenses have to stay locked in on every possession. One misstep - a late switch, a missed communication - and Davidson will make you pay with a clean look from deep.
Self knows that better than most. He’s seen Davidson’s motion offense up close - and not just in film sessions.
The Jayhawks and Wildcats have met three times, but it’s the 2008 Elite Eight showdown that still stands out. That game, of course, featured a young Steph Curry lighting up the scoreboard for 25 points and nearly sending Davidson to the Final Four.
Kansas survived by just two points, the narrowest margin of their six wins en route to the national title.
“They beat us in Kansas City a couple years after [2008], if I’m not mistaken,” Self recalled. “I’ll remember the Elite Eight game more from a play-by-play standpoint than the one later on.
But they got us in Kansas City right after that. Hopefully, we won’t let them get as comfortable as we did then.”
Comfort is the key word. If Kansas allows Davidson to dictate tempo and find rhythm in their motion sets, it could be a long night. But if the Jayhawks stay disciplined, communicate through screens, and continue to close out with the same urgency they’ve shown all season, they’ll have a chance to disrupt the Wildcats’ flow.
It’s a fascinating matchup: one of the nation’s best defenses against one of the most fluid, read-based offenses in college basketball. And with the holidays right around the corner, Kansas will need to keep its focus sharp - because Davidson isn’t coming to Lawrence to exchange gifts. They’re coming to shoot the lights out.