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THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2015
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PAGE 7B
BLAIR SHEADE
@RealBlairSheady
AT A GLANCE
Coach Bill Self said Kansas can't win every game by hitting three-pointers after the Texas Tech game, where the Jayhawks were 11-for-20 from downtown. The flow of the offense has pointed in the direction to more three-pointers. In the past three games, Kansas is averaging 10 three-pointers per contest. After the Texas Tech win, Kansas holds a two-game lead in the Big 12.
KANSAS VS. BAYLOR FEB. 14 | 12 P.M. | ALLEN FIELDHOUSE
Can the Kansas frontcourt stop Rico Gathers?
PLAYER TO WATCH
Greene has been the best three-point shooter on the Kansas team and in the Big 12. Greene has shot 70 percent from three in the past seven games. The only aspect of Greene's game that keeps him off the court is his defense. Greene can't guard a barstool.
BASKETBALL GAMEDAY
The 6-foot-8, 280-pound Gathers is a big body in the paint and hard to keep off the glass. Gathers averages 11 points and 12 rebounds, leading the Big 12. He had 14 rebounds the last time Kansas and Baylor played, and Gathers has 13 double-doubles this season. Freshman Cliff Alexander will have the pleasure of guarding Gathers, but the whole Kansas frontcourt will need a collective effort to keep Gathers from getting his 14th double-double.
Brannen Greene, sophomore, guard
QUESTION MARK
40
BY THE NUMBERS
Kansas can blow out Baylor in the second half. The Jayhawks have been a team of two halves this season, and when the second half starts, no one knows which Kansas team will show up. In two of the past four games, Kansas was outscooped in the second half. But the last time Kansas played Baylor, the Jayhawks outscooped the Bears.
Kansas leads the Big 12 in three-pointers, shooting 40 percent this season.
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16.411
The Allen Fieldhouse averages 16,411 fans per home game.
Perry Ellis has 37 rebounds over the past four games.
BIG JAY WILL CHEER IF
No.8 KANSAS (20-4,9-2 Big 12)
PROJECTED STARTERS
Wayne Selden Jr., sophomore, guard
Wayne Selden Jr., sophomore, guard The sophomore guard has turned into a three-point threat the past four games, shooting 64 percent from behind the arc. The increase in three-point attempts has increased Selden's scoring as well, averaging 16 points over the past four games. Selden has changed his scoring mentality from a rim attack to a spot-up shooter.
Frank Mason III, sophomore, guard
The Kansas floor general set the tone of the game by preserving the ball and not turning it over. The sophomore has eight or more assists in two of the past three games and the game in which he didn't have eight assists, Kansas lost to Oklahoma State. Mason is currently on a 20-game double-figure-scoring streak. But Mason's scoring doesn't help the Kansas offense — it's his ball distribution.
Kelly Dubre Jr., freshman, guard
No.16 BAYLOR
Oubre is the only player on Kansas with true NBA potential, but he hasn't played well recently. The freshman hasn’t played more than 20 minutes in the past two games, and he's also scored double figures in one of his past six contests. Oubre is still effective on the defensive end, where he exceeds with his long wingspan and lateral quickness. Oubre averages about one steal per game.
Perry Ellis, junior, forward
The lone junior in the starting lineup is the leading scoreer and rebounder for Kansas. Ellis has scored in double figures in seven of the past eight games. Against Texas Tech, Ellis was one rebound away from recording his seventh double-double of the season. But since Jan. 17, when the Jayhawks lost in Ames, Iowa, Ellis has become more aggressive.
Cliff Alexander, freshman, forward
The freshman started his second game of the season Tuesday against Texas Tech. Alexander struggled early in the game and turned the ball over on two consecutive possessions, but coach Bill Self never took him out. The reason: Alexander is one of the best rim protectors on the team, blocking four shots against Texas Tech. His ability to cause problems for the opposing frontcourt will earn Alexander another start against Baylor
PROJECTED STARTERS
Kenny Chery, senior, guard
The 5-foot-11 senior guard has played the fifth most minutes in the Big 12 and averages 11.6 points per game. He is near the top of the charts in steals and assists, but he often turns the ball over, averaging 2.8 turnovers per game. Chey does shoot 38.4 percent from three, making four three-point baskets against Kansas earlier this year in Waco, Texas.
Lester Medford, junior, guard
Lester Mendel, junior, guard
At 5-foot-10, Medford rounds out a Baylor backcourt that is small, but quick. Medford is a reason why Baylor ranks second in the Big 12 in assists per game (15.08), disingout on 3.71 per game. Offensively, he can be hit or miss. Against Kansas, he scored eight points, but had no assists.
Johnathan Motley, freshman, forward At 6-foot-9, Johnathan Motley looks the part of your typical
At 6-foot-9, Johnathan Motley looks the part of your typical Scott Drew, rangy athlete. He also blocks like your typical Scott Drew player, averaging the Big 12's fourth-most (1.67). The freshman scores well (8.8 per game) and averages a little over four rebounds per game. Motley was held to just two points on 1-of-5 shooting in the last match with the jawhaws, but blocked three shots.
Rico Gathers, junior, forward
Broad-shouldered and chiseled like a titan out of Greek mythology, Rico Gathers is the best rebounder in the Big 12 and one of the best in America. He's just 6-foot-8, but 280 pounds. Gathers brings down close to 12 rebounds per game,
sometimes giving the Bears second-, third- and fourth-
chance attempts. Against Kansas, Gathers scored nine points
and beaten in 14 rebounds.
Royce O'Neale, senior, forward
O'Neale teams with Gathers down low to give the Bears a menacing front court. O'Neale chips in 10 points, 6.1 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game out of the post — the sixth best assist-to-turnover ratio in the Big 12. Last time against the Jayhawks, O'Neale scored just three points, but dished
DAN HARMESEN
@UDK_Dan
AT A GLANCE
In six losses this season, Baylor's largest margin of defeat has been 11 points. The Bears will keep it close by defending the three, shooting the three and getting boards. But having Scott Drew as your coach in late-game situations is not ideal, as evident in the last Jayhawks-Bears matchup, in which Baylor turned the ball over and failed to get a shot off at the buzzer.
PLAYER TO WATCH
Taurean Prince junior, forward
In just nine more minutes than last year, Prince has nearly doubled his offensive output. Points are up from 6.2 to 12.6, assists from 0.6 to 1.3 and blocks from 0.2 to 1. In his past five games off the bench, Prince averaged 14.2 points and 5.4 boards.
QUESTION MARK
Which wins out for Kansas:
shooting two or shooting
threes?
A trend has cropped up for the Jayhawks lately. They've been shooting an equal or higher percentage from three as two. Coach Bill Self said this is no consistent way to win and that feeding the ball in the post is the better way to go. Kansas faces a front-court that could give it some problems. Shoot more threes?
The Bears rank the second-best rebounding team in the Big 12 and the fifth best in the nation.
BY THE NUMBERS
41.2
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Saturday, Rico Gathers will be working on his 13th double-double this season
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Gathers set the Big 12 record for rebounds in one game against Huston-Tillotson on Jan. 21.
BABY JAY WILL CRY IF
Kansas doesn't play fundamental basketball. Boxing out will be as important as ever Saturday as the Bears bring an imposing front court to Lawrence. The Jayhawks need strong and smart efforts out of players like Perry Ellis, Cliff Alexander, Jamari Traylor and Landen Lucas to keep Gathers and O'Neale somewhat corralled.
Prediction: Kansas 65, Baylor 61
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