4B
SPORTS
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
MONDAY FEBRIARY 4, 2008
COUNTDOWN TO TIPOFF
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2008
KU
TIPOFF
AT A GLANCE
Kansas needs a big victory. The Jayhawks toughed it out against Colorado and played well in the second half, but Kansas really should have won that game much easier. Missouri will be tough, but without three key players, the Jayhawks should win by a large margin. A major victory would likely give Kansas back the strut it displayed before the Kansas State game.
WHO TO WATCH
You might have already forgotten that Kaun had a solid 12 points
Sasha Kaun
against the Buffalooes on Saturday. He's been playing much better since Self moved him to the bench in December. Kaun will likely go against DeMarre
Carroll and Leo Lyons tonight, both of whom are good post players. He'll help the team most if he can rebound the ball well.
Will this free throw shooting streak continue?
QUESTION MARK
The Jayhawks have been great from the charity stripe the past two games. They made 21 of 25 against Colorado and at one point hit eight in a row against K-State. Self always says there's no specific reason for a good run of free throw shooting, especially a coaching reason.
"We tell them to make the shots,"Self said jokingly.
"I just texted him and told him to keep his head up. I'm supportive of anyone from Chicago, and I know him well. He's a friend to me even though we're at rivalry schools. It's pretty bad something like that had to happen."
HEARYE, HEARYE
KANSAS VS MISSOURI 8:00 p.m., Allen Fieldhouse, ESPN
— Sherron Collins on the Stefhan Hannah situation
"Last year, Missouri could have beat us at our place. Obviously, they can play with us."
RIVALRY EXHILARATES FANS
Bill Self
Kansas (21-1,6-1) THE PROJECTED STARTING 5
Russell Robinson, 6-foot-1 senior guard Robinson has been struggling mightily on offense the past two games. He had one field goal against K-State and none against Buffaloes.
Mario Chaimers, 6-foot-1 junior guard
Missouri (13-9,3-4) THE PROJECTED STARTING 5
Keon Lawrence, 6-foot-2 sophomore guard
Bill Self said Chalmers helped spark the team in the second half at Colorado with his passing, defense and rebounding. He's improved in all three of those categories season.
The sophomore Newark, NJ, was contained by Russell Robinson during Kansas' 76-70 victory against Missouri on Jan. 19. Lawrence has to be productive for Missouri to stay in the game.
Brandon Rush, 6-foot-6 junior guard
this
Rush didn't fade in the second half on Saturday, scoring eight. He should be a major mismatch if Matt Lawrence guards him.
Jackson exploited the smaller Colorado lineup on Saturday, going for 18 points. Even more impressive was that he made all 10 of his free throws.
Darnell Jackson, 6-foot-8 senior forward
J.T. Tiller. 6-foot-3 sophomore guard
Darrell Arthur, 6-foot-9 sophomore forward
Tiller is the "x-factor" against Kansas this time around. He only played nine minutes when these two teams last me on Jan. 19, but with Hannah — and possibly Horton — out, Tiller is a focal point of the offense.
Matt Lawrence, 6-foot-7 junior guard
Arthur played a very quiet 25 minutes against the Buffaloes. The good? He had no fouls in the first half. The bad? He turned the ball over four time
THE SIXTH MAN
Sherron Collins, 5-foot-11 sophomore guard
The four-turnover first half can't happen again,
but Collins made up for it in the second half
against Colorado. He had one of his best career
 games against Missouri at home last year.
Lawrence struggled mightily against Kansas earlier this season. The St. Louis, Mo., native made only 2-of-10 from the field and show 1-of-9 from the behind the
DeMarre Carroll 6-foot-8 junior forward
three-point line.
The Big 12 coaches'
The Big 12 coaches preseason pick for Big 12 Newcomer-of-the-Year, Carroll was scored only five points on 2-of-11 shooting in Missouri's first game against Kansas this season.
Vaidotas Volkus, 6-foot-8 senior forward
Volkus replaced Lyons in starting line-up when Kansas played at Mizzou Arena on Jan. 19. Volkus responded with eight points in 10 minutes.
Both teams show up on the floor. This is the biggest rivalry for both schools, and fans always get pumped for this game. Everything is louder. The P.A. system is even cranked up a little higher for Kansas-Missouri. The atmosphere will be nuts. This could be the loudest game at Allen Fieldhouse this season regardless of whether the score is close.
THE SIXTH MAN
Rodrick Stewart
Leo Lyons, 6-foot-9 junior forward
Leo Lyons, 6-foot-9 junior forward The border war means more for Lyons — a Kansas City, Kan., native. Lyons has attended plenty of games at Allen Fieldhouse as a fan, but he's never won a game thier as a player.
ALLEN FIELDHOUSE WILL ROCK IF...
Mark Dent
PHOG ALLEN WILL ROLL OVER IN HIS GRAVE IF...
- Rustin Dodd
Kansas gets off to another slow start. The Jayhawks did against K-State and Colorado, and they of course lost the game to the Wildcats. Bill Self has the superior team in this game, especially with the suspensions for Missouri. This can be a statement victory for Kansas if it plays well early and pressures the Tigers on defense.
MU TIPOFF
AT A GLANCE
Missouri keeps garnering more attention for its off-the-court trouble than its play on the court. In the latest incident, senior guard Stefhan Hannah suffered a fractured jaw during a Jan. 26 incident at a Columbia, Mo., bar. Four other players – junior Leo Lyons, senior Marshall Brown, senior Jason Horton, senior Darryl Butterfield – were also involved in the incident. Hannah is out indefinitely, and Missouri coach Mike Anderson suspended the other four players for last Wednesday's 66-62 loss against Nebraska. Lyons and Brown returned for Saturday's 77-74 victory against K-State, but Horton, who was arrested for misdemeanor assault on Friday for his part in the incident, and Butterfield remained sidelined. Despite the distractions, the Tigers' victory against K-State improved them to 13-9 overall and 3-4 in the Big 12.
WHOTOWATCH
J.T. Tiller
Tiller led Missouri with a career-high 20 points in its 77-74 upset of K-State. Which begs the question: just who is J.T. Tiller? The 6-foot-3 sophomore guard from Marietta, Ga., was averaging 6.6 points per game during the first 20 games of
game during the first 20 games of
the season. But after Hannah went out with a broken jaw and Horton was suspended, Tiller has averaged 17 points in the last two names.
Tiller
Tiller's not a total surprise. *Rivals*, cam named Tiller the 37th best high school guard in the country during his senior season.
Who will play for Missouri?
QUESTION MARK
During Missouri's loss to Nebraska on Wednesday, a student held up a sign that read: "Can I play?" If Missouri would have lost a few more players, they might have needed him. Lyons and Marshall were back on Saturday and Lyons contributed 13 points. After the game, Anderson told reporters that Horton and Butterfield would be game-time decisions on Monday. Anderson may have little reason to insert Horton and Butterfield. Missouri has played inspired in the two games while playing without Hannah, Horton and Butterfield.
HEARYE. HEARYE
"Sometimes adversity can in some kind of way have a positive affect on a team. Our kids, they're fighting hard, they're fighting together."
Missouri coach Mike Anderson to the associated Press after the Tigers' victory against K State
"It ites us a lot, but we'll see them again. It's a good win for Missouri and now we got to focus on Missouri."
JAYHAWK STATS
-Sherron Collins about Missouri beating K-State on Saturday
<table><thead><tr><th>Player</th><th>MPG</th><th>FG-FGA</th><th>3FG-3FGA</th><th>RPG</th><th>PPG</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>00 Arthur, Darrell</td><td>23.2</td><td>123-131</td><td>2-10</td><td>5.8</td><td>13.3</td></tr><tr><td>32 Jackson, Darnell</td><td>24.8</td><td>110-167</td><td>2-4</td><td>7.0</td><td>12.8</td></tr><tr><td>25 Rush, Brandon</td><td>27.2</td><td>85-196</td><td>40-93</td><td>5.1</td><td>12.3</td></tr><tr><td>15 Chalmers, Mario</td><td>29.0</td><td>85-158</td><td>36-76</td><td>2.9</td><td>12.0</td></tr><tr><td>04 Collins, Sherron</td><td>22.4</td><td>57-122</td><td>21-56</td><td>1.8</td><td>9.2</td></tr><tr><td>24 Kaun, Sasha</td><td>17.7</td><td>61-91</td><td>0-0</td><td>3.8</td><td>7.5</td></tr><tr><td>03 Robinson, Russell</td><td>27.1</td><td>43-107</td><td>21-65</td><td>2.5</td><td>6.9</td></tr><tr><td>05 Stewart, Rodrick</td><td>14.4</td><td>32-62</td><td>3-13</td><td>2.8</td><td>3.8</td></tr><tr><td>02 Teahan, Conner</td><td>3.7</td><td>15-25</td><td>11-18</td><td>0.6</td><td>3.1</td></tr><tr><td>45 Aldrich, Cole</td><td>8.5</td><td>24-47</td><td>0-0</td><td>3.1</td><td>2.8</td></tr><tr><td>14 Reed, Tyrel</td><td>7.6</td><td>15-30</td><td>9-21</td><td>0.5</td><td>2.4</td></tr><tr><td>10 Case, Jeremy</td><td>5.5</td><td>12-35</td><td>6-20</td><td>0.4</td><td>1.6</td></tr><tr><td>11 Bechard, Brennan</td><td>1.8</td><td>4-8</td><td>2-5</td><td>0.3</td><td>1.2</td></tr><tr><td>54 Kleinmann, Matt</td><td>2.4</td><td>2-6</td><td>0-0</td><td>0.7</td><td>0.4</td></tr><tr><td>22 Buford, Chase</td><td>1.8</td><td>1-9</td><td>0-6</td><td>0.5</td><td>0.2</td></tr><tr><td>40 Witherspoon, Brad</td><td>1.7</td><td>0-3</td><td>0-2</td><td>0.2</td><td>0.0</td></tr></tbody></table>
PREDICTION
Kansas 81, Missouri 61
The Tigers gave everything they had to beat K-State on Saturday. It was a great victory, but they will be too drained to have success against the Jayhawks.
Witherspoon Meter
Will senior walk-on Brad Witerspoon get the opportunity to play tonight? This meter tells all.
TIGER STATS
<table><thead><tr><th>Player</th><th>MPG</th><th>FG-FGA</th><th>3FG-3FGA</th><th>RPG</th><th>PPG</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>03 Hannah, Stefhon</td><td>28.1</td><td>99-230</td><td>45-117</td><td>3.0</td><td>14.7</td></tr><tr><td>01 Carroll, DeMarre</td><td>25.6</td><td>117-213</td><td>2-13</td><td>7.6</td><td>13.7</td></tr><tr><td>05 Lyons, Leo</td><td>19.4</td><td>99-160</td><td>0-7</td><td>4.3</td><td>11.8</td></tr><tr><td>02 Lawrence, Keon</td><td>27.1</td><td>81-199</td><td>21-70</td><td>3.7</td><td>9.8</td></tr><tr><td>33 Lawrence, Matt</td><td>25.3</td><td>68-183</td><td>50-147</td><td>2.8</td><td>9.3</td></tr><tr><td>04 Tiller, J.T.</td><td>17.6</td><td>56-122</td><td>7-30</td><td>2.0</td><td>6.6</td></tr><tr><td>15 Brown, Marshall</td><td>12.8</td><td>39-91</td><td>10-24</td><td>2.3</td><td>4.8</td></tr><tr><td>35 Butterfield, Darryl</td><td>15.6</td><td>34-77</td><td>6-20</td><td>2.6</td><td>4.6</td></tr><tr><td>12 Horton, Jason</td><td>21.5</td><td>21-51</td><td>6-23</td><td>1.9</td><td>3.7</td></tr><tr><td>32 Volus, Validotas</td><td>8.1</td><td>19-36</td><td>0-0</td><td>1.9</td><td>2.5</td></tr><tr><td>23 Safford, Justin</td><td>8.7</td><td>9-26</td><td>3-9</td><td>2.3</td><td>1.6</td></tr><tr><td>10 Berardini, Nick</td><td>1.6</td><td>3-5</td><td>3-5</td><td>0.1</td><td>1.3</td></tr><tr><td>13 Anderson, Michael</td><td>5.0</td><td>2-7</td><td>1-5</td><td>0.1</td><td>0.6</td></tr></tbody></table>
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