You want to know how good the Big 12 is? Heading into play Monday night, there are five teams with a 3-2 record in Big 12 play. There are six more teams with a 2-3 record in Big 12 play. That means 11 out of 14 teams are either 3-2 or 2-3 in Big 12 play.
The Cincinnati Bearcats are one of those six teams at 2-3, but their three losses are by a combined eight points. Every game in the Big 12 is a possession-by-possession game. This is college basketball at an other-worldly level of intensity. The Bearcats are experiencing that first-hand in their first season in the Big 12. And Monday night, they’ll face their biggest test so far when they travel to Lawrence, Kansas to take on the Kansas Jayhawks. My TFON colleague, Neil Meyer, will be on site covering the game from Allen Fieldhouse. Here are my players to watch on Kansas for Monday night.
1. #1 Hunter Dickinson, 7’2″, 260 lbs., Sr., C Alexandria, Va., Michigan Transfer
19.3 ppg, 11.3 rpg, 60.1 FG%, 16-38 3-PT FG, 72.2 FT%, 26 blk, 22 stl, 32.1 mpg
Normally I list the opponent’s leading scorer as the first player to watch. That’s not the case here. Not when Dickinson, who is Kansas’s second-leading scorer, was voted as the Big 12’s Preseason Player of the Year and a Preseason All-American. I don’t know how the Bearcats are going to defend this guy. He’s a prolific scorer and rebounder, ranking fifth in the country in the latter category. So far this season, Dickinson has eight 20+point games, including two 30+point games, and 11 games with double-digit rebounds. Whereas the previous five teams the Bearcats played had maybe one guy averaging 30 minutes per game and another group of four to five players averaging around 25-28 minutes, Kansas is different. Their top guys play over 30 minutes per game, including Dickinson averaging over 32 minutes per game. He’s also efficient, needing 15 or more shots in just six out of 18 games this season. The Bearcats may not be able to stop Dickinson completely, but they can try to limit his proficiency in both scoring and rebounding. Boxing out will be paramount for the Bearcats in this game.
2. #15 Kevin McCullar Jr., 6’7″, 212 lbs., G-Sr., G, San Antonio, Texas, Texas Tech Transfer
20 ppg, 6.4 rpg, 49.6 FG%, 36.8 3-PT FG%, 84.2 FT%, 85 ast.-45 TO, 25 stl, 34.8 mpg
McCullar brings experience and versatility to this Jayhawks team. Kansas’s leading scorer has spent his entire college career in the Big 12 and has earned three All-Big 12 selections and twice has been a semifinalist for the Naismith Defensive Player of the Year Award. With double-digit points in every game this season, McCullar has also passed the 20-point mark eight times and has recorded multiple steals in a game seven times. This is a player who entered the NBA Draft Process after the 2022-23 season, and his all-around career stats show why. McCullar entered this season with over 1,000 points, 500 rebounds, 200 assists and 150 steals.
3. #24 KJ Adams Jr., 6’7″, 235 lbs., Jr., F, Austin, Texas
12.7 ppg, 5 rpg, 62.3 FG%, 0-2 3-PT FG, 58.1 FT%, 58 ast.-31 TO, 13 blk, 19 stl, 33.1 mpg
Adams has steadily become one of Kansas’s best and most important players. He burst onto the scene on Kansas’s National Championship team and was named to the Big 12 All-Freshmen Team. Then in his sophomore season, he upped his scoring to a double-digit average and his rebounding to 4.3 per game. Those numbers earned him the Big 12’s Most Improved Player of the Year Award. Adams has now become Kansas’s third-leading scorer this season with 15 games in double figures and five games with multiple steals on the defensive end.
