5 things to know ahead of Kansas basketball’s non-conference game against Eastern Illinois

LAWRENCE — Kansas basketball’s 2023-24 regular season has its next matchup Tuesday at home against Eastern Illinois.

Here are five things to know before the No. 6 Jayhawks (5-1) tip off at 7 p.m. inside Allen Fieldhouse against the Panthers (3-4):

Kansas is coming off of a 2-1 record at the Maui Invitational

The Jayhawks went to Hawaii recently for the Maui Invitational and placed third. They collected wins against Chaminade and now-No. 11 Tennessee. They suffered their lone defeat against now-No. 3 Marquette.

Kansas coach Bill Self described the victory against Tennessee as one of the best wins the Jayhawks have had as a program in a long time, considering a number of different factors. Those factors included a quick turnaround after the loss against Marquette, graduate senior guard Kevin McCullar Jr. being sick and the Volunteers being a team that could win the Southeastern Conference. And when it came to the loss against Marquette, Self said it was a learning experience.

Bill Self addresses team’s readiness for Eastern Illinois

Self said Kansas was a very tired team Saturday, and that it didn’t do a lot. He added the Jayhawks were better in that regard on Sunday. And he anticipated they would be full speed Monday, with their being no excuses for how ready they will be to play against Eastern Illinois after an — at times — taxing Hawaii trip.

Here’s what stands out to Bill Self about Eastern Illinois

The statistics don’t paint Eastern Illinois as a team that has a lot of shooters, but from Self’s perspective the Panthers do have that capability. He’s clearly not getting lost in Eastern Illinois’ 40.9% mark from the field or 31.1% mark from behind the arc. And he noted that they can’t let the Panthers come in and hit a lot of 3s, because that can be the great equalizer between the two teams.

Self also praised how good of a coach he considers Eastern Illinois’ Marty Simmons. Simmons, who’s in his third season at the helm for the Panthers, has been a head coach in the past at Evansville — which Self highlighted. Simmons’ Evansville teams did participate in some postseason events during his 11 seasons leading the program from 2007-18, those postseason events did not include a NCAA tournament.

Bill Self downplays significance of Nicolas Timberlake’s shooting struggles

Graduate senior guard Nicolas Timberlake transferred to Kansas from Towson with the reputation of being a 3-point shooter. It’s what made his addition in the recruiting class such a valuable one, because the Jayhawks needed a player like that. But while Timberlake is 4-for-15 (26.7%) from behind the arc through six games, Self indicated the sample size is too small right now to worry about Timberlake.

Self added Timberlake also didn’t play much against Tennessee, because he “got his bell rung.” However, Timberlake is set to be available against Eastern Illinois. Timberlake has been practicing in recent days.

Jamari McDowell is coming off of a quality week in Hawaii

Freshman guard Jamari McDowell had seven points, four rebounds and an assist in more than 27 minutes off of the bench in the win against Tennessee, and the performance helped wrap up what was a quality few games for the Kansas newcomer. Self mentioned McDowell’s play against the Volunteers has helped McDowell gain confidence. Now, it’s time to see if McDowell can sustain that as the Jayhawks continue to make their way through their non-conference slate.

Self said McDowell probably has as much moxie as any of Kansas’ younger guys, and is as confident as any of them, too. Why McDowell is doing well, from Self’s perspective, it comes down to McDowell not trying to do more than he’s ready for at this point. That means moving the ball, guarding, rebounding and shooting if he’s open.

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Jordan Guskey covers University of Kansas Athletics at The Topeka Capital-Journal. He is the National Sports Media Association’s sportswriter of the year for the state of Kansas for 2022. Contact him at jmguskey@gannett.com or on Twitter at @JordanGuskey.

This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: 5 things to know before Kansas basketball’s game vs. Eastern Illinois