PAGE 8
WEDNESDAY,FEBRUARY 8,2012
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
KANSAS TIPOFF
AT A GLANCE
The Jayhawks once held a cushy two-game lead in the Big 12 standings. After losses at Iowa State and Missouri, they're now tied for second place with — you guessed it — Baylor. On Jan. 16 at Allen Fieldhouse, Kansas whooped Baylor, 92-74. Junior forward Thomas Robinson tallied 27 points and 14 rebounds while senior guard Tyshawn Taylor tied a career-high of 28 points. The Bears can't be happy about the way they were embarrassed the last time these teams met.
PLAYER TO WATCH
Jeff Withey, junior center
At Missouri on Saturday, Withey was pretty much useless when his team needed him most. In 23 minutes played, he grabbed four rebounds and
Withey
didn't score a point. Withey said he prefers playing against players more his size and Baylor's length front-court provides just that.
QUESTION MARK
Can the Jayhawks forget about Saturday?
The Border Showdown loss was disheartening to Kansas. The emotion was evident in post-game interviews, with both Robinson and Taylor glossy-eyed. Will a loss like this stick in the back of their minds and lead to less focus? The Bears, no matter how much they struggled in Lawrence, present a unique challenge when they're at their best. Kansas needs to be fully focused to avoid a second-straight defeat.
HEAR YE. HEAR YE
"If our guys don't play well or if we don't win, it won't be because of what happen Saturday."
Bill Self, coach
BIG JAY WILL CHEER IF...
Kansas turns Acy, Miller and Jones III into jump shooters.
COUNTDOWN TO TIPOFF
Taylor
A battle for second place Tonight's game will determine Big 12 rankings NO.7 KANSAS VS.NO.6 BAYLOR 6 P.M., FERRELL CENTER, WACO, TEXAS
Johnson
Releford
KANSAS (17-5,7-2) STARTERS
Robinson
TYSHAWN TAYLOR, GUARD
Taylor was the reason Kansas hung around with Missouri in the first half on Saturday. He was also a primary reason why the team faltered in the final three minutes. Matched up against junior guard Pierre Jackson, the Big 12 rookie of the week, Taylor will need to play fast without turning the ball over.
Johnson hesitated on the final shot of Saturday's game, but before that, he showed his ability to hit the contested jump shot. He has the ability to score in bunches. He scored 23 against UCLA in the Maui Invitational. For a team that often finds itself in scoring droughts, a scorer like Johnson can be a real savior.
ELIJAH JOHNSON. GUARD
TRAVIS RELEFORD. GUARD
Releford found himself in foul trouble on Saturday, so he logged just 29 minutes played, his lowest amount in the conference season. The Jayhawks, a team with less depth at forward than Baylor, need Releford to stay in the game and possibly play out of position. He has proven capable, but he has never done so against this kind of competition
★★★★
★★★★
THOMAS ROBINSON. FORWARD
After Saturday's loss, Robinson said that he doesn't want to lose any more. If he really means it, he could help his team out by starting games off the right way. He scored just six points at Missouri in the first half and often seemed rattled by the pressure of the environment and the defense. He turned it on in the second half, but against Baylor, his teammates will need his production for a full 40 minutes.
★★★★
JEFF WITHEY, CENTER
Withey
Withey has got to keep proving his worth. He was pretty much useless at Missouri and Self was noticeably upset with his performance. There have been games that make Kansas fans think Withey has finally come around, then others that make them cringe. Withey will be relied upon again and this time, he won't be matched up against shorter players.
PIERRE JACKSON. GUARD
BAYLOR (19-2,8-2) STARTERS
Jackson
Jackson is one of the 11 finalists this season for the Bob Cousy A ward, which annually recognizes the nation's top point guard. Jackson had an impressive performance in his debut against Kansas on Jan. 16 with 11 points and 11 assists. Defensively, however, Jackson will have to do a better job of containing Tyshawn Taylor.
BRADY HESLIP, GUARD
★★★☆
Heslip
Heslip is the least athletic of the Baylor rotation but is probably the best shooter for the Bears. He's taken fewer than four three-pointers on just two occasions in Big 12 games but has reached double figures four times in 10 contests.
★★★☆☆
QUINCY ACY. GUARD
The senior forward stands at 6-foot-7 but is just the third-biggest starter, one of the many reasons Baylor is a tough matchup for every opponent. Acy is averaging 12.4 points and seven rebounds this season and had 14 points in the first game against Kansas.
★★★★
Miller
QUINCY MILLER, FORWARD
Max Rothman
★★★★
Miller has had an impressive freshman season for Baylor, averaging 12.4 points and 5.3 rebounds on the year. He's had two 20-point performances in the Big 12, including a 29-point game against Missouri on Jan. 21. Miller has finished with double-digit points in more than half of his Big 12 games.
PERRY JONES III, FORWARD
Jones
Miller has slowed down a little bit since beginning Big 12 play, but he's still a candidate for first team all-conference and is one of the toughest matchups in the league. He's able to score from the outside consistently despite his 6-foot-11-inch frame.
Kory Carpenter
Prediction:
Kansas 73, Baylor 65
BAYLOR
TIPOFF
BAYLOR
BEARS
PLAYER TO WATCH
Kansas is looking to break its second-place tie with Baylor tonight while completing the season sweep of the Bears. Both teams are half a game behind Missouri after the Tigers defeated Oklahoma Monday night. Kansas handled Baylor rather easily in the first matchup in Allen Fieldhouse on Jan. 16, 92-74. It was the first loss of the season for the Bears, who subsequently lost to Missouri before rattling off four consecutive victories. Like the first meeting, Baylor faces off with Missouri immediately following Kansas. If the Bears have any hopes of winning the Big 12 title, they need at least one victory in the next two games. Coach Scott Drew will need to figure out how to slow down junior forward Thomas Robinson if he intends to split the season series with Kansas. Robinson had a huge night in the first meeting, tallying 27 points and 14 rebounds. The Baylor frontline was overpowered by Kansas from start to finish, and another disappointing performance in the paint will yield similar results.
AT A GLANCE
Pierre Jackson, junior guard
HEAR YE, HEAR YE
"Early on, we didn't have some success in the paint and got away from it. From there we couldn't stop them all night long."
Jackson has emerged as one of the nation's best point guards this season. He's more of a score-first, pass-second point guard in the mold of a
Tyshawn Taylor, but has improved his assist numbers in Big 12 games, with three of his highest assist totals coming in conference affairs. He's currently tied for second in the Big 12 with 5.9 assists per game on the season but leads the Big 12 in conference games with 7.9 assists per game.
QUESTION MARK
Baylor coach Scott Drew after the 92-74 loss to Kansas
How does Baylor adjust defensively?
Baylor's patented zone was torn to shreds by Robinson, but senior guard Tyshawn Taylor had a spectacular night as well, finishing with 28 points and six assists. Taylor had no trouble penetrating the zone while Robinson was able to find holes near the elbow all game. From there, a quick double-team resulted in a pass to an open three-point shooter. If no double-team showed up, Robinson had space to work with and ended up with a bucket more often than not. Baylor had the definite size advantage over Kansas, but the zone negated much of that. Switching to a man-to-man, at least for a stretch of the game to see its effectiveness, wouldn't be a bad idea for Drew.
BABY JAY WILL WEEP IF...
The Bears regularly get into the fast break with ease.