PAGE 6
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 2, 2012
THE UNIVERSITY
Kansas 34 | 50----84 Oklahoma 31 | 31----62
KANSAS 84,0
JAYHAWK STAT LEADERS
Points
Robinson
20
Rebounds
Assists
Robinson
17
Taylor 6
Player Pts FG-FGA 3FG-3FGA Rebs A T0's
Thomas Robinson 20 9-12 0-1 17 4 3
Jeff Withey 15 4-7 0-0 2 2 0
Tyshawn Taylor 21 7-13 2-6 1 6 3
Elijah Johnson 7 2-8 2-6 1 4 1
Travis Releford 12 5-6 1-2 6 1 1
Naadir Tharpe 0 0-1 0-1 1 1 1
Conner Teahan 3 1-5 1-3 1 1 0
Justin Wesley 2 1-1 0-0 0 0 0
Merv Lindsay 0 0-1 0-1 0 1 0
Jordan Juenemann 0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Kevin Young 4 2-2 0-0 1 0 3
Totals 84 31-56 6-20 31 20 12
OKLAHOMA
PLAYER Pts FG-FGA 3FG-3FGA Rebs A TO's
Andrew Fitzgerald 14 7-12 0-0 3 0 4
Romero Osby 19 6-16 1-1 7 2 2
Sam Grooms 1 0-3 0-1 2 6 2
Steven Pledger 17 6-13 2-2 2 1 2
Cameron Clark 4 2-6 0-0 5 0 2
T.J. Franklin 2 1-1 0-0 0 1 0
C.J. Washington 1 0-1 0-0 6 0 0
James Fraschilla 0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Carl Blair 0 0-2 0-0 3 3 2
Tyler Neal 4 2-3 0-0 1 1 0
Barry Honore 0 0-1 0-0 1 0 0
Casey Arent 0 0-0 0-0 1 0 1
Totals 62 24-58 3-4 31 14 15
GAME TO REMEMBER
Thomas Robinson, junior forward
After quite possibly his worst outing of the season in Saturday's loss at Iowa State, Robinson returned with the same vigor and tenacity that has garnered national attention. He scored 20 points, converting nine of his 12 shots, and grabbed 17 rebounds, tied for his third highest total of the year. This was the kind of game Robinson wanted before Saturday's Border Showdown.
Robinson
GAME TO FORGET
Conner Teahan, senior guard
Even the most devout Teahan fans can't be pleased with this outing. Allen Fieldhouse has been Teahan's best friend all season. When he's home, he's shooting well. But not on Wednesday night. He connected on one of his five shots, three of which were from behind the arc. All season, Self has craved bench production. It's games like these that make him think nothing will change.
QUOTE OF THE GAME
Teahan
"To me, Thomas hasn't been himself for three games maybe. But he was tonight."
Bill Self, coach
Self
KEY STATS
71. 4 The Jayhawks shot this percentage from the field in the second half.
10-10 The Jayhawks hit their first 10 shots to open the second half.
31-31 Despite the 22-point victory, Kansas still tied Oklahoma in rebounds.
14-18 Robinson and junior guard Travis Releford shot this rate from the field.
17
Robinson grabbed 17 rebounds, tied for his third highest total of the season.
JAYHAWKS BA
Kansas hangs on despite sloppy start
KORY CARPENTER kcarpenter@kansan.com
In just three minutes and five seconds, the score was 11-4. Despite their quick run, Kansas offense suffered a few dry spells in the first half thanks in part to an Oklahoma zone that stifled the Jayhawk scoring at times.
"We didn't move," Coach Bill Self said of the first half offence.
Kansas played into Oklahoma coach Lon Kruger's hands for most of the opening 20 minutes, putting up 12 three-pointers and connecting on just three. Self diagnosed the offensive struggles rather easily.
The Jayhawks shot just 39.3 percent in the first half. Senior guard Tyshawn Taylor was 2-for-8 shooting with half of his attempts coming from beyond the three-point line.
"We're a better team when we play inside out," Self said. "In the first half we were so stale against the zone because we really didn't get the ball inside."
"Tyshawn didn't engage himself in the game at the first half," Self said. "How many times in the first half against the zone did he get his nose dirty or force help?
half he did a better job of doing that."
Taylor took just two second half three-pointers while adding five assists.
"He's got to get in there and make plays for others, and in the second
"I think we did a better job in the second half rebounding and turning up defensive pressure, getting some steals and creating offense off of our defense," Taylor said.
Taylor credited the Kansas defense on numerous occasions, which led to opportunities for easy baskets and was a big reason the Jayhawks shot 71.4 percent from the floor in the second half.
Self said Taylor has to be able to get into the lane to create easy shots for teammates instead of settling for what the zone was giving him: long three-point attempts.
But it wasn't just Taylor he was looking to.
"We just wanted to take it at them, and we did a good job of throwing it inside," Self said. "But we also did a good job of guards attacking the rim."
"Coach told us at halftime we have to attack," Taylor said. "And, like I said, we got a lot of fast break points because of our defensive pressure."
Edited by Bre Roach
BASKETBALL FROM PAGE 12
demanding more volume.
"He's an All-American candidate for a reason," Oklahoma junior forward Romero Osby said. "He's big and strong. He does a good job of positioning himself down low and shielding people off with those shoulders that he has."
The Jayhawks shot 39 percent from the field in the first half, then upped that to 71 percent in the second, augmented by a 10-for-10 start. Similar to the 72-61 victory at Norman, Okla., it was a tale of two
halves, but a victory nonetheless.
In the locker room after the game, Self told his team they can finally start thinking about Missouri.
"I'm leaving out of here more excited about our team than I was before the game started," Self said.
Taylor said that he and his teammates need to continue to stagnate opposing offenses.
"If we do that and rebound the ball," he said, "I think we can beat anybody."
Step on up, Tigers.
Edited by Katie James
Junior guard Elijah Johnson drives to the basket but gets stopped by his opponents block during Wednesday nights game against the University of Oklahoma.
ASHLEIGH LEE/KANSAN
TRAVIS YOUNG/KANSAN
Thomas Robinson shoots over a Sooner defender to follow through on a tough shot. Kansas played sloppy in the first half of the game, but returned to the court to defeat Oklahoma.
Fans cheer as they sing the alma mater on Wednesday nights game against the U where the Jayhawks won 84-62 over the Sooners.
Kansas players cheer after junior forward Thomas Robinson scores with a dunk during halftime and hit their first 10 shots.
785. 842.0032