Kansas Defense Continues to Set the Tone as Jayhawks Handle Towson
There’s still plenty to sort out with No. 17 Kansas on the offensive end, but one thing’s becoming crystal clear: this team can flat-out defend. And in a season where consistency has been hard to come by, Bill Self’s defense is starting to look like the foundation Kansas can build on.
Through nine games, the Jayhawks are holding opponents to just 63.5 points per contest - good for 12th in the nation. Even more impressive?
They’re allowing just 36.6% shooting from the field, which ranks fourth nationally. That’s not just good defense - that’s elite, lockdown, grind-you-down defense.
And it showed again Tuesday night against a scrappy Towson squad.
Kansas rolled to a 73-49 win, and while the final score tells part of the story, the real tale was told on the defensive end. The Jayhawks held the Tigers to just 28% shooting from the floor.
Only one Towson player - Dylan Williamson - reached double figures, and even that came with an asterisk. It took Williamson 20 shots to score 11 points.
That’s the kind of inefficient night that defenders dream about.
After the game, Self acknowledged the defensive strides his team is making.
“I'll go home thinking our first shot defense is getting better,” he said. “We just don't rebound the ball the way we're capable of rebounding the ball, but I do think we have a chance to be a really good defensive team.
I don't think we are yet. And our defense is definitely ahead of our offense, but when we get all our pieces out there and have some time to play together, I see the thing coming together.”
Self’s not wrong about the rebounding, either. If there was one area where Towson found some success, it was on the offensive glass.
The Tigers pulled down 22 offensive rebounds - a number that jumps off the stat sheet and raises a red flag for a Kansas team with championship aspirations. That many second-chance opportunities can be a killer in tighter games, especially come March.
But outside of that? This was a clinic.
Kansas controlled the game from the jump, dictated the pace, and suffocated Towson’s offensive rhythm. It wasn’t just about effort - it was about execution, communication, and the kind of defensive discipline that’s been a hallmark of Self’s best teams.
Offensively, the Jayhawks are still a work in progress. The pieces are there, but the chemistry is still coming together. That said, when you can defend like this, you give yourself a chance every night - even when the shots aren’t falling.
Next up, Kansas faces the Davidson Wildcats on Monday. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m.
CT, with streaming available on ESPN+. It’s another opportunity for the Jayhawks to tighten things up, especially on the boards, and continue building the kind of defensive identity that could carry them deep into the season.
Because if defense really does win championships - and history says it does - then Kansas is already on the right track.