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THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
TUESDAY, MARCH 3, 2015
PAGE 13
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KANSAS TIPOFF
BLAIR SHEADE
@RealBlairSheady
AT A GLANCE
No. 9 Kansas is looking to tie the season series against No. 20 West Virginia after the Mountaineers held off the Jayhawks 61-60 in West Virginia. Kansas coach Bill Self and the Jayhawks own a 3-2 series advantage over the Mountainers, two of the three wins coming in Allen Fieldhouse. Kansas is ranked No. 2 nationally in the Ratings Percentage Index for the second toughest schedule in the country. West Virginia will be the 12th ranked opponent Kansas has faced this season.
Without Cliff Alexander, Self said players like sophomores Hunter Mickelson and Landen Lucas need to step up. Self said Lucas provided quality minutes against Texas, scoring five points and grabbing four rebounds. In the last two games, besides Ellis, the Kansas frontcourt combined for five points and Self thinks the frontcourt needs to take the pressure off Ellis by providing a lift on offense.
QUESTION MARK
KANSAS VS. WEST VIRGINIA MARCH 3,8 P.M.,ALLEN FIELDHOUSE
BASKETBALL GAMEDAY
Landen Lucas,
sophomore, forward
Can Kansas protect the rim without Alexander?
Perry Ellis said the two things Kansas will miss while Alexander is on the bench is his toughness and shot-blocking ability. Alexander was the best rim protector on the team, but that doesn't mean Kansas can't block shots in his absence. Without Alexander, Kansas blocked a season-high 10 shots against Texas. In the four previous games with Alekander, Kansas didn't surpass four blocks in each of those contests.
PLAYER TO WATCH
In the last 12 games, sophomore guard Brannen Greene shot 50 percent
50
BY THE NUMBERS
45
BIG JAY WILL CHEER IF
Kansas holds Iliwan Staten under 20 points. Staten is the preseason Big 12 Player of the Year and scored 20 points while playing 32 minutes against Kansas during the Feb. 16 matchup. The Mountaineers needed all 20 points to beat Kansas as the deciding basket came from Staten's layup with less than four seconds.
Wayne Selden Jr. has a team high 45 three-points this season."
The only senior to graduate this season will be Christian Garrett
No.9 KANSAS (23-6,12-4)
PROJECTED STARTERS
Wavne Seiden Jr., sophomore, guard
All the players consider Selden the vocal leader of this team. Even though Selden is the glue this young Kansas team, his on-court performance has struggled. Since the last game against the Mountaineers in Morgantown, WYa., Selden has averaged six points, two rebounds and two assists per game. Before the first meeting against WWU, Selden had a four- point bocce be covered 17 points.
Frank Mason III, sophomore, guard
Frank Mason in, sophomore, guard Mason is the floor general for this Kansas team and is third in the Big 12, averaging four assists per game, with 41 assists in his last eight games. Against Texas, Mason scored 12 points with three assists, but his lone three-pointer helped Kansas secure the win. That three-pointer was his 34th of the season, the third-highest on the team. Mason is also Kansas' best on-ball defender with 40 steals.
Kelly Oubre Jr., freshman, guard
Oubre was named to the Wayman Tisdale Freshman of the Year award watch list for the most talented freshman in the country on Monday. In Big 12 play, Oubre has started every game and averaged 10 points. Against Texas, Oubre scored 15 points and grabbed nine rebounds. Oubre was one of three Kansas players with double-figures, scoring 14 points in the last matchup against WUW.
Perry Ellis, junior, forward
Winning his third Big 12 Player of the Week award, Perry Ellis leads Kansas by averaging 14 points and seven rebounds — the only player in the Big 12 to rank sixth or higher in scoring and rebounding. Against Texas, Ellis scored a season-high 12 rebounds, Ellis
28 points and grabbed a season-high 15 rebounds. Elmo Saturday performance was his third-straight 20-point game, and his seventh double-double of the season.
No.20 WEST VIRGINIA (22-7,10-6)
Traylor is starting his second consecutive game in place of Cliff Alexander, who sat out against Texas as a precautionary measure. Traylor isn't uncommon in the starting lineup, playing 15 games and averaging four points and three rebounds this season. Against Texas, Traylor played 11 minutes, scoring zero points and grabbing only two rebounds. Traylor will need to become an offensive threat.
Jamari Traylor, junior, forward
PROJECTED STARTERS
Juwan Staten, senior, guard
The preseason Big 12 Player of the Year is averaging 14 points and four assists per game. Staten was awarded Big 12 Player of the Week four times this season after going on week-long scoring binges. When Staten scored 20 points against Kansas, he also scored 22 points against Oklahoma State later that week. Staten is third in the Big 12 in assists-to-tumor ratio at 2.4 and leads WU with 125 assists.
Gary Browne, senior, guard
Browne, who averages just seven points per game, is the best on-ball defender among the WVU guards. Playing around 29 minutes per game, Browne has 33 steals on the season. In the last Mountainer contest, Browne scored zero points and had zero rebounds against No. 19 Baylor. If West Virginia wants a chance to win, Browne will have to hit more than one field
Daxter Miles Jr., freshman, guard
In the last two games against Texas and Baylor, Miles has averaged 11 points in each of those contests. Before those games, Miles averaged just five points and two rebounds per game. Miles was a non-factor shooting the basketball against Kansas in its first meeting, not connecting on his three three-point attempts. Miles had three of the team's 22
Johnathan Holton, junior, forward Holton is the best rim protector on WVU, blocking a team-high 26 shots this season. The junior also leads the team
Holton is the best rim protector on WVG blocking a team high 26 shots this season. The junior also leads the team with six rebounds per game. For an under-sized power forward at 6-foot-7, Holton is an impressive post player, averaging seven points per game. Kansas was able to hold Holton to five points on Feb. 16, but holton crushed Kansas on the offensive glass. Kansas needs to keep Holton offensive glass to prevent another 22 offensive rebounds.
Devin Williams, sophomore, forward
Devin Williams, sophomore, forward
Standing at 6-foot. 9, 255 lbs., Williams is a force inside.
Williams is the second best scorer on the team, averaging
10 points and eight rebounds per game. Williams could be
a better player if he could stay on the court longer. Against
Kansas, Williams scored eight points with four rebounds.
The sophomore is still learning how to find his role, but
Williams can cause problems for Kansas with his size.
Prediction: Kansas 78, WVU 70
WVU
TIPOFF
BLAIR SHEADE
@RealBlairSheady
ATA GLANCE
PLAYER TO WATCH
No. 20 West Virginia is coming off a 78-66 Baylor loss, losing three of their last four away games. West Virginia has its best conference record in the three seasons under Bob Huggins, who is 172-98 in eight seasons at VVU. West Virginia averages 74 points per game, but the last three losses, the Mountaineers haven't reached their 74-point average. With only two games left, West Virginia must win to have a chance at winning the Big 12.
Jevon Carter, freshman, guard
Carter is a front-runner for Big 12 sixth man of the year. The freshman is the best shooter off the bench, averaging eight points per game and leading the Mountaineers with 44 three-pointers made this season. Carter gives Staten the ability to play the shooting guard because Carter can run the offense — Carter is second on the team with 50 assists with season, 75 less than the leader Staten. Carter also provides help defensively and leads with team with 52 steals.
How can WVU take advantage of the Kansas frontcourt?
QUESTION MARK
in the first meeting in Morgantown, the Mountaineers grabbed a season-high 22 offensive rebounds against Kansas — and that was with Cliff Alexander in the starting lineup. Self said the WUU guards were getting the majority of the offensive rebounds because "long shots mean long rebounds" and the Mountaineers took 21 three-pointers and 10 of the 22 offensive rebounds came from guards.
45
Among the WU rebounding,
45 percent of its rebounds
come on the offensive glass
BY THE NUMBERS
20
The Mountaineers force 20 turnovers per contest
327
WVU leads the Big 12 with 327 total steals, averaging 11 per game
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BABY JAY WILL CRY IF
WU hit over 40 percent of its three-pointers. WU is ninth in the Big 12, shooting 31 percent from behind the arc this season. Against Kansas, the Mountainers shot 38 percent (8-21) from three and only won by one on a last second layup by Juwan Staten. If WU was able to hit over 40 percent from three, Kansas will have trouble staying with the Mountainers, who score over 74 points per game.