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THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 2. 2015
PAGE 11
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KANSAS TIPOFF
BLAIR SHEADIE
@RealTairSheadie
AT A GLANCE
Kansas has won its past four games after losing to Iowa State in Ames, Iowa, on Jan. 17. The layhaways are averaging 72 points per game this season and has a +7.6 scoring margin. This young Kansas team, which starts five underclassmen, has been one of two halves. Coach Bill Self compared this team to Sybil, because his team has played well in the first half, but has been outscored in the second half against Kansas State and TCU.
Can Kansas slow Iowa State in transition?
PLAYER TO WATCH
Greene, who scored 11 points in 14 minutes against Kansas State, has become the three-point assassin. The sophomore is averaging 11 points in his past four games, and has made 14 three-pointers during those four games. Greene is second on the team with 27 three-pointers and is shooting 50 percent from three this season.
KANSAS VS. IOWA STATE FEB.2,8 P.M., LAWRENCE, KAN.
On Jan. 17, the last time Kansas and Iowa State met, the Cyclones scored 31 of their 86 points in transition compared with the Jayhawks' 19 points. Iowa State had 24 transition plays with a total of 19 transition field goal attempts. If the Jayhawks can slow the Cyclones offense down, Kansas can control the game.
QUESTION MARK
Brannen Greene, sophomore, guard
BASKETBALL GAMEDAY
BY THE NUMBERS
18 Frank Mason has scored in double figures in 18 straight games
iowa State forward Jameel McKay scores 11 points in transition. On Saturday, after the Kansas State game, Self said the team has to make sure to run back on defense to prevent the transition offense. McKay scored 11 points against Kansas on Jan. 17, all in transition.
175 Kansas leads the series against Iowa State 175-61
30
Wayne Selden Jr.leads the team with 30 three-pointers this season
BIG JAY WILL CHEER IF
No.9 KANSAS (18-3,7-1 Big 12)
PROJECTED STARTERS
Wayne Selden Jr., sophomore, guard
The sophomore has changed his game this season. Selden has shot 81 three-pointers, making 30 of them, leading the team. Selden, who's averaging nine points per game, stays on the court because he's a strong defensive presence, swatting four balls against Kansas State, and he's a solid post passer, averaging three assists per game.
Frank Mason III, sophomore, guard
Mason is the best Kansas player on both sides of the court. He's second in scoring, averaging 12.7 points per game. It's hard to keep Mason off the court because he also leads the team with 26 steals. Ever since Devonte' Graham returned from injury, Mason still averages 33 minutes per game. Mason and Graham played 18 minutes together Saturday.
Kelly Oubre Jr., freshman, guard
Oubre will start his 12th straight game, but has struggled the past two games due to the flu. In those two games, Oubre averaged only four points. In Big 12 play, the freshman has averaged 16 points and six rebounds per game. Oubre is known for his long arms on defense and is second on the team with more than one steal per game.
Perry Ellis, junior, forward
Self said the offense runs through Ellis because the team is talented enough to run Self's traditional high-low offense. Ellis had a double-double in the first half against Kansas State, the worst rebounding team in the Big 12, but was held to only one field goal and two rebounds in the second half. Kansas' best offensive threat needs to be consistent.
NO.15 IOWA STATE
Jamari Traylor, junior, forward
Traylor has transformed his identity into the hustle man on the team, and Traylor said he prides himself on that image. The hustle play against Texas is still coach Self's favorite play and said to be the best play Self has ever seen. Traaylor averages five points and four rebounds per game.
PROJECTED STARTERS
Equipped with a smooth stroke, and always a threat to drive and dish. Long presents a tough matchup on the perimeter. Long is 15th in the conference in scoring (11.7) and third in three-pointers made (2.6). But since his 20-point outburst in the win against Kansas on Jan. 17, he has been spotty, averaging 6.5 points on 7-of-21 shooting.
Naz Long, junior, guard
Bryce Dejean-Jones, senior, guard
Dejean-Jones enters Monday's game averaging 12.8 points, good for eighth in the Big 12, including 18 against Texas. He can be careless with the basketball at times, averaging 2.0 turnovers per game. Dejean-Jones went for 12 points in the win against Kansas in 31 minutes of playing time.
Monte Morris, sophomore, guard
Just a second-year player, Morris has established himself as one of the league's premier facilitators. His 5.7 assists per game and 5.1 assist-to-turnover ratio leads the conference. Over the course of the season, Morris has averaged 11.1 points per game, but that number has risen over the past five, in which he's averaged 14.2, including 20 points in the loss to Texas Tech.
Dustin Hogue, senior, forward
Dustin Hogue's efficiency tends to get lost in the stat sheet to more explosive Cyclone players such as Long and Niang, but Hoiberg is well aware and rewards his senior handsomely in the form of playing time. The forward leads the Big 12 with a 59 percent field-goal percentage and brings down 5.1 boards per game. Hogue went for 14 points against the Jayhawks in January on 5-of-7 shooting, adding six rebounds.
Georges Niang, junior, forward
The fourth-most prolific scorer in the Big 12 (15.2 per game), Georges Niang can beat you from several spots on the floor. His ferocious in the low-post, he can beat you off the dribble and another European-style facet to his game. He shoots nearly 40 percent from behind the arc. Not to mention, when doubled down low and the opponent thinks he has got him stopped, think again.
DAN HARMSEN
@udk_dan
AT A GLANCE
lowa State is a stubbed-toe against Texas Tech away from keeping pace with the 10-straight champs. At times, the Cyclones looked unchallenged in the 86-81 win against then-No. 9 Kansas. However, all four of Iowa State's losses this season have come away from the magical confines of Hilion Coliseum, as the Cyclones enter Allen Fieldhouse, where they haven't won since 2005.
Jameel McKay, junior, forward
The 6-foot-9 forward came off the bench for the Cyclones a few weeks ago and ran past Jayhawk defenders in transition. He finished the night with three blocks and 11 points on 4-of-5 shooting.
QUESTION MARK
Can Kansas slow Iowa State in transition?
Kansas' loss to Iowa State on Jan. 17 was quite conceivably a result of poor transition defense. The Cyclones outdid the Jayhawks 21-10 in fast-break points. But strategically speaking, look for Kansas to send an extra man back after missed shots to thwart the Iowa State counter-attack.
17.8
BY THE NUMBERS
iowa State leads the nation in assists per game
80.4
Iowa State ranks 13th in the nation in points per game and is the only Big 12 school to average more than 80 points per game
Six ranked opponents, including No. 9 Kansas, remain for the Cyclones
Prediction: Kansas 82 Iowa State 79
Kansas doesn't avenge the January loss. On Monday night, this could not be more true. A win at home against the Cyclones would propel Kansas into a different stratosphere within the Big 12, separating itself from the pack sans two-loss West Virginia. Kansas hasn't lost since the trip to Ames.
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