/
+ Volume 126 Issue 71
kansan.com
Tuesday, February 4, 2014
+
+VoI
COMMENTARY Texas able to counter Kansas' size
in the case of Jayhawk opponents, the bigger they are, the harder they are to beat.
The bigger they are, the harder they fall. Or in the case of
There are few teams that can match up with Kansas, from a size perspective and physicality perspective. In the Jayhawks' defeat against the Longhorns, Kansas showed that it is vulnerable against those select teams.
Texas countered Joel Embiid's size with Cameron Ridley, who has lost weight over the last year, but still manages to encompass 90 percent of the paint by sheer presence alone. Ridley has improved his shooting percentages and gotten quicker since he lost weight. His size clearly bothered Embiid, who is 35 pounds lighter. Embiid missed six of his nine shots, which was his worst shooting performance since the Duke game. Ultimately, this should end up being a valuable lesson for the freshman from Cameroon, but for now, it raises concerns about his ability to match up with other NBA-sized players in the future.
Jonathan Holmes lines up next to Ridley as the Longhorns' power forward. Holmes outweighs Perry Ellis by 15 pounds, and like Ellis, he specializes in mid-range jump shots. Holmes' size and ability to shoot from all over the floor baffled Ellis, who looked lost on defense throughout most of the game
Ellis came to Kansas needing to bulk up to succeed as a post player in Bill Self's system. Two years later, strength coach Andrea Hudy has certainly put muscle on Ellis' frame, but the Texas game suggested that he still needs to get to know the weight room better.
In his freshman year, he was outmuscled by most opponents and had to rely on his craftiness and range to score his points. On Saturday it seemed that Ellis regressed a bit to his freshman tendencies. He was blocked three times in the paint and never appeared fully comfortable with Texas' big bodies. Granted, no one expects Ellis to be a bruiser, but he will need to use his high basketball IQ to establish superior position over stronger opponents.
Texas may not have the talent of many of the Big 12's best, but it does have superior size. The last team to play Kansas with the same level of physicality was San Diego State, who walked out of the Fieldhouse with a shocking upset.
Kansas will see no other big men like this in the Big 12. Not many teams can expose Kansas in the paint. Texas was one of them. Kansas will inevitably face another team that features large forwards and centers in the NCAA tournament. In order to advance, Kansas has to play tougher in the post.
Edited by Emily Hines
CONFERENCE PLAY
GEORGE MULLINIX/KANSAN
Kansas will have to stop senior guard Brady Heslip tonight if they want to win both matchups against Baylor this season. Heslip led Baylor with 19 points against Kansas on Jan. 20, shooting 6-9 from behind the 3-point line.
Jayhawks look past first Big 12 loss
BLAKE SCHUSTER sports@kansan.com
WACO, Texas - A few minutes after Kansas fell to the Texas Longhorns in a ghastly performance in Austin, coach Bill Self was teaching his team a very valuable lesson in college athletics: Mov
With a group of young, highly touted players, it's fair to believe that not many Kansas players had experienced a let down like the one at Texas.
in the Big 12), to pull out a home win against No. 8 Kansas, 16-5 (7-1 in the Big 12), than for the Jayhawks to salvage their swing through Texas.
In college, particularly in Big 12 basketball, you learn how to win and you learn to how lose. The Jayhawks were experiencing the latter.
With a poor showing in conference play and just one
Of course, Self was trying to learn from his mistakes, too.
It was just about this time last year when Kansas looked as if it would coast to a ninth-straight Big 12 title. Instead, the Jayhawks fell to Oklahoma State, and then again to TCU and then again to Oklahoma. Their losing
"Hopefully today's performance will help us be more mentally ready," Self said, just before boarding the team bus at the Erwin Center in Austin.
BILL SELF Kansas coach
"It's more important to get ready for Baylor than to dwell on this one. I probably didn't do that last year."
signature win on the season - a victory over No. 3 Kentucky in Dallas - the Baylor Bears are closer to playing in the NIT tournament than playing for a national championship.
"It's more important to get ready for Baylor than to dwell on this one," Self said. "I probably didn't do that last year."
Realistically, it's more important for Baylor, 14-7 (2-6
streak placed the Big 12 title within reach for a number of teams, nearly derailing the Jayhawks season.
The Bears will enter Tuesday night desperate for a win, facing a vulnerable Kansas team, and possessing enough
skill to take them down.
After defeating No. 8 Oklahoma State on the road Saturday, Self said the Bears have their "mojo" back. In Baylor's history, the team has never defeated AP-ranked opponents back-to-back (0-6). Considering how the Bears are playing currently, Kansas is better off ignoring history.
"They're obviously just about as talented as anybody in our league," Self said, which is why he's worried about the Jayhawk's ability to move on after a loss and to keep their heads in the right place.
In their final game of the conference season last year, the jayhawks had a chance to win the Big 12 title outright, when Kansas State lost earlier in the day.
Instead, Kansas came out flat, played uninterested and fell to the same Baylor team that previously was run out of Allen Fieldhouse in a manner
Because of Saturday's loss, the Jayhawks will enter Tuesday's game with a similar situation.
reminiscent of last Saturday's loss to Texas.
"I said 14-4 would win it and I'm not sure I'm going to be far off on that." Self said. "It's a long season. We weren't going to run the table. We lost to the second best team in our league."
Before getting on the bus in Austin, Wayne Selden Jr. tried to heed Self's message of making sure one loss doesn't become two, or three or four.
"We don't worry about what the other team did." Selden said. "It's all about us."
— Edited by Krista Montgomery
MEN'S BASKETBALL
Defeat on the road won't slow Kansas' roll
BRIAN HILLIX sports@kansan.com
If the first half of the season is any indication, Kansas should be fine coming off of a loss.
Texas, ranked No. 25 when it defeated Kansas, played like it was on a mission as it handed the Kansas Jayhawks their first conference loss 81-69 in Austin on Saturday. Kansas ran into a hungry team that hasn't received much national attention, despite Texas being ranked second in the Big 12. But even after his team's worst game in almost a month, Kansas coach Bill Self isn't hitting the panic button. "We were humbled," Self said. "And I think that may end up being good for us."
History says it will be. Prior to conference play this year, the layhawks lost four games but recovered nicely by winning their first seven conference games, four of which were against ranked teams.
Last season, Kansas hit a major road bump at the midway point in conference action. The Jayhawks started 7-0 but went on to lose three straight games, including the shocking loss at Texan Christian University. Kansas went on to win the Big 12 with a 14-4 conference record. Self even noted that the year Kansas won the national championship in 2008, the Jayhawks experienced a stretch of three losses in five games.
In fact, the team can still likely afford several more losses and remain in good shape to win their tenth consecutive Big 12 title. Kansas remains atop the
"Everything is still possible," Self said. "Every goal you have is still attainable."
"Everything is still possible. Every goal you have is still attainable."
BILL SELF Kansas coach
Big 12 with a one game lead over the Longhorns; Texas still has road matches loom
"I don't think it's a panic mode deal at all," Self said. "Other people still got to go to Ames, still got to go to Austin, still got to go to Stillwater."
Kansas can certainly expect a better performance, from a majority of its starters, against Baylor on Tuesday. Andrew Wiggins, Perry Ellis, Joel Embiid and Naadir Tharpe combined for just 29 points against Texas. For some perspective, Wiggins scored 29 by himself against Iowa State on Jan. 29.
ing against Kansas State, Iowa State, Kansas and Oklahoma.
"I expect us to bounce back individually," Self said. "More importantly, as a team I expect us to play better." Kansas received some help as Oklahoma State lost at
home to Baylor on Saturday. The preseason co-favorites to win the Big 12 are tied for seventh place in the conference with a 4-4 record. Self said he likes where his team is at in the league. The Big 12 has a higher winning percentage and RPI than every other conference, while six teams are currently projected to make the NCAA Tournament. "14-4 or 13-5 would be an unbelievable record in this league," Self said. No. 8 Kansas begins a stretch against five unranked teams before a rematch against Texas in Allen Fieldhouse on Feb. 22.
Edited by Krista Montgomery
+