THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2014
PAGE 8
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KANSAS TIPOFF
BASKETBALL GAMEDAY
Jayhawks hungry after loss to Longhorns, need to hold off Bears from beyond arc KANSAS VS. BAYLOR FEB. 4, 6 P.M., FERRELL CENTER, WACO, TEXAS
BLAIRE SHEADE
sports@kansan.com
AT A GLANCE
The last time Kansas went to Waco, Texas, the Jayhawks were steamrolled 81-58 against Baylor team led by Pierre Jackson, who scored 28 points that night. This time will be a little different. Baylor and Kansas both have different looks. Kansas beat Baylor at home on Jan. 20 by 10 points, but Baylor is coming off a huge win against Oklahoma State in Stillwater.
Andrew Wiggins
PLAYER TO WATCH
Wiggins has already scored 17 points against Baylor in Allen Fieldhouse this season, but he is the player to watch in this upcoming game because he's coming off his worst shooting performance since donning the Jayhawk jersey. Wiggins didn't shoot very well the first time he faced Baylor, but he did make 10 of his 12 attempts at the line. Watch for him to be aggressive in the lane tonight.
QUESTION MARKS
can Naadir Tharpe bounce back after his performance against Texas?
Tharpe hit two of his three 3-pointers during the first meeting with Baylor, but only had one assist. Kansas to win, Tharpe will need to distribute the way he has lately.
BY THE NUMBERS
16 Andrew Wiggins' scoring average which leads all Jayhawks
4 Kansas is fourth in the nation in field goal percentage (50.6)
2. 7 Joel Embiid's average blocks per game
BABY JAY WILL CHEER IF
No.8 KANSAS (16-5,7-1 Big 12)
Kansas can hold Baylor under 40 percent from 3-point range. Baylor shot 50 percent from three in the first half on Jan. 20 and finished the game shooting 48 percent. Baylor's three point shooting is its best attribute.
— Edited by Austin Fisher
STARTERS
After coming off his season-high 12 assists and his first double-double against Iowa State, Tharpe had one of his worst performances against Texas. He shot 1-4 from the field, with three assists and two turnovers in just 26 minutes. Once Self knew Tharpe was playing poorly, Self allowed freshmen guard Frank Mason to takeover. Prior to the Texas game, Tharpe was averaging 11.8 points per game and 5.25 assists per game.
Naadir Tharpe, guard
Wayne Selden, Jr., guard
Selden helped Kansas avoid a colossal beat down on Saturday against Texas. When no one was able to find a way to score, he gave the team some flashes of hope. When his 3-point shots wouldn't fall, he started taking the ball to the basket and became more effective. He finished the game with 21 points on 50 percent shooting from the field and showed the capability to carry a young team.
Andrew Wiggins, guard
In Austin, Texas, anyone could hear the crowd chanting "overrated" to Wiggins. His performance proved them right: He shot a season-low 16 percent on 2-12 from the field and scored only seven points, his third lowest total this season. He has always bounced back after poor shooting nights. After scoring only three points against Oklahoma State on Jan. 18, he put up 17 points against Baylor. Wiggins will look to take his struggles out on Baylor once again.
Perry Ellis, forward
Coming off back-to-back double-digit performances, Perry Ellis has shown that he can score. But he still has problems dealing with big guys in the paint. Texas' big men pushed Ellis around, making him ineffective rebounding the ball. Ellis had one defensive rebound the whole game, which explains how Texas crushed Kansas on the glass. He will need to play more aggressively, especially underneath the basket.
Teams have started to double team Embiid on the block and in the paint, forcing him to pass a lot more instead of taking the ball to the rim. Texas was able to match Embiid's size and made him a non-factor on Saturday, but he was still able to grab 10 rebounds. Embiid will try to bounce back against Baylor; the team that limited him to 12 points and four rebounds when they met on Jan. 20.
Joel Embid, center
STARTERS
Cory Jefferson, forward
Jefferson leads Baylor with 12.5 points per game on the season but has only hit that mark once in eight conference games. A skilled rebounder, the fifth-year senior ranks third in the Big 12 in rebounding and also blocks a lot of shots with his athleticism. His best conference game against Kansas on Jan. 20 when he scored 16 points on 6-10 shooting.
Royce O'Neale, forward
The 6-foot-6 junior has received inconsistent minutes this season. He played seven minutes against West Virginia on Jan. 28 but played 31 in the win over Oklahoma State on Saturday. O'Neale's stats aren't overwhelming, but he does shoot a respectable 55 percent from the floor.
★★☆☆☆
Isaiah Austin, center
The conference's leading shot-blocker uses his 7-1 frame to make scoring in the paint difficult. Against Kansas, he has proven capable of stepping outside and scoring from long range. Considered an NBA-level talent, his scoring and rebounding numbers are down from last year. His 5.5 rebounding average is surprisingly low for his size.
Brady Heslip, guard
First in the league in 3-pointers made and second in 3-point field goal percentage, more than three-fourths of the senior's points have come from long range. Last time against the layhawks, he tied a season-high with six 3-pointers. Hesilip scored a season-high 20 points against Oklahoma State on Saturday on 6-14 shooting from 3-point range.
Gary Franklin, guard
Another Baylor guard that relies on the deep ball, Franklin came up huge against Oklahoma State and made three 3-pointers in three minutes after the Cowboys took the lead in the game. He went scoreless against Kansas a couple weeks ago in only 10 minutes of action.
★★★☆☆
Prediction: Kansas 81, Baylor 75
BAYLOR TIPOFF
BRIAN HILLIX
sports@kansan.com
AT A GLANCE
After losing five conference games in a row, Baylor (14-7, 2-6) revived its hopes of an NCAA tournament berth after an upset over No. 19 Oklahoma State in Stillwater on Saturday. Still considered a bubble team, the Bears haven't won consecutive games since they won six in a row a month ago when they were ranked as high as No. 7 in the country.
Heslip isn't afraid to launch it from beyond the arc, which is one of the biggest reasons for the upset win over Oklahoma State. He went 4-4 from 3-point range in the first half against the Jayhawks on Jan. 20. Kansas should be able to take advantage of him on the defensive side with Wayne Seidel's size and Naadir Tharpe's quickness.
PLAYER TO WATCH
Brady Heslip
How will the Bears follow up their impressive win over the Cowbirds?
QUESTION MARKS
It is unclear whether Baylor is a true contender or not, but we will have a good idea after Tuesday night. The Bears will need to sustain their level of play against a Kansas team coming off its first conference loss.
BY THE NUMBERS
40. 1 3-point percentage, best in the Big 12
2-4 Record against ranked teams
BABY JAY WILL CRY IF
Kansas plays soft. Against Texas, Kansas didn't have any energy and struggled to score inside. Against a lengthy Baylor frontcourt, the Jayhawks will need to show more toughness to avoid losing consecutive games for the second time this year.
Edited by Austin Fisher
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