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MONDAY, JANUARY 26, 2015
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
THE DAILY DEBATE
If Kansas' 10-straight streak ends this year, who will end it?
G.J. Melia
@gjmelia
"WEST VIRGINIA"
With an impressive 75-62 win against No. 17 Texas (14-5, 3-3) on Saturday, the Kansas (15-3, 5-1) basketball team inched one step closer to its 11th-straight Big 12 regular season title.
The 11th title could debatably be the most difficult of the streak, with a proficient and powerful league around the Jayhawks. Eight of the 10 Big 12 teams are currently or have previously been ranked in the Associated Press Top 25 poll this season.
With some help from an upset-minded Texas Tech (11-9, 1-6) squad, Kansas regained first place Saturday after Te defeated No. 9 Iowa State (14-4, 4-2) in Lubbock 78-73 for its first conference victory. Behind Kansas in the standings are Kansas State (12-8, 5-2), No. 18 West Virginia (16-3, 4-2) and Iowa State.
If Kansas doesn't win the Big 12, one of the three teams behind them will likely be the reason why. As it sits today, West Virginia appears to be the most viable team to upend the javahaws.
West Virginia defeated TCU (14-5, 1-5) in a comeback
overtime victory Saturday to stay tied with Kansas State and Iowa State for second place in the league.
There are multiple reasons why West Virginia has the best chance to knock Kansas off its 10-straight pedestal. First, the Mountaineers have yet to play the Jayhawks this year. They still have two opportunities to make up ground in the standings.
Secondly, West Virginia senior guard Juwan Staten is the frontrunner for Big 12 Player of the Year. Staten is a scoring
most impressive win came in a 21-point schooner-tipping of No.19 Oklahoma.
Even when playing poorly against TCU, West Virginia was able to tie the game in the closing seconds. In overtime, the Mountaineers came back from a six-point defect to escape with a one-point win.
This West Virginia team is one of the best teams in the country when they play up to its potential. With the win against TCU, it also exhibited an ability to grind out a win where it played far below par.
"EVEN WHEN PLAYING POORLY AGAINST TCU, WEST VIRGINIA WAS ABLE TO TIE THE GAME IN THE CLOSING SECONDS."
threat as well as a dangerous distributor, averaging 15.2 points and 4.4 assists.
With the exception of an incredibly embarrassing 27-point loss to Texas in Austin, in which the team was held to 24 percent shooting and Staten scored just three points, the Mountaineers have looked quite impressive. Their
Saying it will simply be a "difficult task" to dethrone Kansas is an outrageous under-statement, but if West Virginia can continue winning games, however those Ws may come, it has a shot to end the decade of Jayhawk tyranny the Big 12 has become accustomed to.
Edited by Lane Cofas
"IOWA STATE"
Dylan Sherwood
@dmantheman2011
Iowa State has been Kansas' toughest opponent in the Big 12, playing close games since the 2012-13 season, the same season Missouri joined the SEC.
Fred Hoiberg's Cyclones statement win against Kansas put them in the running for a chance to win the Big 12 conference outright this season. But on Saturday, Iowa State lost to the last place team in the conference, Texas Tech.
The loss for Iowa State may have ruined its shot at
Morris and junior forward Georges Niang from Iowa State will need to play exactly like they played against Kansas in Ames, Iowa, on Jan. 17. If they do that they will have a shot at defeating the 10-straight conference champions.
Feb. 2, the day the two teams meet in Lawrence, will be personal and physical with everything on the line.
Two years ago on that exact date was when Marcus Smart and Oklahoma State came to Allen Fieldhouse and snapped a 33-game winning streak for Kansas and an NCAA-leading
"IF THEY DO THAT THEY WILL HAVE THE SHOT AT DEFEATING THE 10-STRAIGHT CONFERENCE CHAMPIONS."
the Big 12 title, but there is still some time left for the Cyclones to potentially end the Jayhawks' 10-straight streak.
18-game winning streak when Kansas was ranked No.2 in the nation at the time.
That was the last time Kansas lost a Big 12 game in
Sophomore guard Monte
Allen Fieldhouse. Iowa State could come in and snap a winning streak if Kansas defeats Kansas State on Saturday.
Before the two teams meet in a week, Kansas travels to TCU on Wednesday and will host in-state rival Kansas State on Saturday. Iowa State hosts Texas tonight and TCU on Saturday. Defending home court is a big advantage for Iowa State this week. The Cyclones have two home games after losing on the road to Texas Tech.
However, Kansas will have back-to-back home games and should feel comfortable playing at home twice in a 48-hour period.
If each team wins both of its games before the matchup or if either队 loses once, it will determine whether Kansas will be up two games on the rest of the conference or if more teams will get into the title hunt.
Regardless, the Big 12 title comes through Lawrence and it will take a near perfect team to knock off the Jayhawks, but the Cyclones might just be the team to do it.
Edited by Lane Cofas
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UPCOMING SHOWS
The Kansas women's rowing team will open its spring season on March 14 in Oak Ridge, Tenn. This years team is relatively young, with only 10 seniors on the roster. Last year's team had 15.
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 27
EARPHUNK
ZOOGMA
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Kansas rowers nearly ready for spring season
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GRIFFIN HUGHES
@GriffinJHughes
The University of Kansas women's rowing team returned from winter training in Tampa, Fla., on Jan. 16. With less than two months until the spring season opens in Oak Ridge, Tenn., coach Rob Catloth will rely on a young team for Big 12 success.
enth in the regatta. The real story, however, was the novice rowers, whose eight-man boat led by coxswain Bailey Coolidge finished in fourth. That team posted a final time of 14:51.
The Jayhawks took third in the Big 12 tournament last year in Oklahoma City; they ended up falling just 23 points shy of the Oklahoma Sooners. Five of the nine rowers on the top eight-man boat in that tournament were seniors.
In the Jayhawks' last fall tournament — the Jayhawk Jamboree in Lawrence — the varsity coxswain carried her team of just three seniors to a 13:50 time, good for sev-
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Louisville Invite, held in Oak Ridge, Tenn., marks the beginning of the season for the Jayhawks. The team was exceptionally strong last year in that tournament. They never finished outside the top three and earned four second place finishes and one win.
Catloth has resumed training in Lawrence in preparation for their first tournament of the year. The
The Jayhawks are much younger this year than in years past. Catloth has just 10 seniors this year, five fewer than last year's squad.
— Edited by Kayla Schartz
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