10BSPORTS
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
THURSDAY MARCH 12, 2009
KU
TIPOFF
AT A GLANCE
Bill Self looks back on Kansas' 75-65 road victory against Baylor early in the season as one of the moments where he knew it all came together. Now, he just hopes the Jayhawks keep it together in Oklahoma City. Kansas can't afford another unraveling like last week's 84-65 blowout loss at Texas Tech without serious NCAA Tournament seeding consequences. Most indicators point toward that not happening. Kansas was resilient in a victory against Texas Saturday, overcoming a halftime deficit to win the Big 12 title outright. From Sherron Collins to Travis Releford, everyone understands their role and is ready to contribute.
PLAYER TO WATCH
In Kansas' last three victories, its bench has played increasingly well. Markieff Morris is the leader of the trend. Markieff is averaging
Freshman forward Markieff Morris
six points and five rebounds game in Kansas' last four contests. It doesn't sound like much, but it's the kind of consistent production Self is looking for.
When Markieff is inserted into the game, he immediately fights for rebounds down low. He's made some electrifying plays, too. Remember the put back dunk off of a missed layup by Sherron Collins in transition against Texas?
Will the good Tyshawn Taylor show up and stay for all three games in Oklahoma City?
QUESTION MARK
HEAR YE, HEAR YE
With freshman guard Tyshawn Taylor at his best, the Jayhawks are one of the best teams in the nation. Without him, they're still good but Bill Self tends to shake his head a lot more. It's clear that Self expects Taylor to play way above freshman level and doesn't accept any blown defensive assignments or foolish turnovers. If Taylor commits one of those gaffes, Self won't hesitate to put him on the bench. Which reverts to the original point: Kansas isn't as dangerous with Taylor watching from the sidelines.
"I think there is pressure just playing at Kansas, but there is always pressure trying to repeat and go back-to-back-to-back-toback. I don't think that if we lose it will be a missed accomplishment, though."
Junior guard Sherron Collins on the Big 12 Tournament
"It's a small, little lingering thing. It's nothing big at all. I just wear the boot for precautionary reasons, to keep the stress off of it and to make sure my ankle is immobilized."
—Sophomore center Cole Aldrich on his sprained ankle
KANSAS (25-6,13-1) STARTERS
NO.11 KANSASVS.BAYLOR 11:30 a.m., FORD CENTER, Oklahoma City, ESPN 2
BEAR HUNTING Kansas looks to snare Baylor for a second time this season
Collins
Sherron Collins, 5-foot-11 junior guard Will the Ford Center be the latest venue for "Sherron's Show"? Defenses will certainly be set up to stop Collins. But more often than not, those attempts fail.
BAYLOR (18-13,5-11) STARTERS
Taylor
Tyshawn Taylor, 6-foot-3 freshman guard
Taylor, 6-foot-3 freshman guard Taylor has scored in double figures in 17 games, has recorded more than three assists in 18 games and has more than two steals in 11 games. The goal: Make those statistics 20,21 and 14, respectively, by the end of the weekend.
Tweety Carter, 5-foot-11 junior guard Carter is the only starter who played poorly against Nebraska. The diminutive guard committed four turnovers and shot 0-of-3 behind the three-point line.
Carter
Jerrells
Brady Morningstar, 6-foot-3 sophomore guard
Morningstar
Curtis Jerrells, 6-foot-1 senior guard Baylor's leading scorer (16.3 ppg) shot 8-of-10 from the floor against Nebraska to lead the way with 19 points. Don't expect Jerrells to go 0-for-7 like he did against Kansas on Feb.2.
Every guard in the Big 12 should fear Morningstar. If they don't, someone should show them the tape of how his defense shut down Texas' A.J. Abrams, who went 2-for-11 from the field, Saturday.
Cole Aldrich, 6-foot-11 sophomore center Kansas has 93 dunks this season. Aldrich has accounted for 54 of them. Kansas has 136 blocks this season. Aldrich has accounted for 77 of them.
Morris
Marcus Morris, 6-foot-8 freshman forward
Marcus Morris, 6-foot-8 freshman forward Morris has become more aggressive in the last few games. Instead of posting up opponents, he's simply facing them up and beating them off the dribble.
Rogers
Kevin Rogers, 6-foot-9 senior forward Against the same team that held Cole Aldrich without a first-half rebound in Lincoln, Rogers snatched a career-high 20 rebounds. He probably can't duplicate that, but a doubledouble would be enough to keep Baylor in the game.
Aldrich
Josh Lomers. 7-foot iunior center
Josh Lomers, 7-foot junior center Started for just the fourth time this season. Lomers hit 5-for-5 from the floor and blew away his season average of 3.2 points per game.
Quincy Acy, 6-foot-7 freshman forward
Lomers
Quinney Acy, 6-foot-7 freshman forward Acy has started only 10 games this season, but he has been a constant source of energy off the bench for the Bears. Despite playing just under 18 minutes per game he leads Baylor in blocks with 32.
Tyrel Reed,
6-foot-3
sophomore
guard
Reed makes
one key three-
point shot per
game but
Reed
hasn't contributed much else lately. A breakout game could be forthcoming.
Acy
SIXTH MAN
Case Keefer
Henry Dugat, 6-foot senior guard
senior guard In what could have been the last game of his career, Dugat came off the bench for just the fourth time this season on Wednesday. The adjustment
The adjustment
Dugat
didn't do him much good as Dugat scored just three points and committed two turnovers in minutes
Tyshawn Taylor
Taylor Bern
BU
TIPOFF
AT A GLANCE
When Baylor plays to its potential, the Bears are one of the top four teams in the Big 12. Problem is the ninth-seeded Bears tripped and stumbled their way to 10 losses in their last 12 games. On Wednesday, however, Baylor played one of its best games of the season to wipe out eight-seed Nebraska. Coach Scott Drew's team has the athleticism to hang with Kansas, as long as it gets guard Curtis Jerrells involved early in the game.
PLAYER TO WATCH
Senior forward Kevin Rogers
Rogers is the engine that runs Baylor when it's playing well, as evidenced by his performance in the first round. Rogers scored 10 points and pulled down a career-high 20 rebounds, which
Rogers
was nearly hairy his team's total and two more than the Cornhuskers could muster. In their last match-up, Rogers had little trouble Kansas' for-wards, notch
wards, notch-
ing six rebounds, four blocks and 15 points on 6-of-9 shooting.
Can Baylor's starters find their legs?
Against Nebraska, Baylor's bench scored just three points while four starters played at least 35 minutes. In a must-win situation, Drew left his best players on the court and they came through with a 16-point victory. Now what? If Drew didn't trust his bench against Nebraska, how's he going to feel about trotting it out against top-seeded Kansas? The Bear starters are likely going to be asked to duplicate their minutes and production against the Jayhawks. That will take quite a toll with such a quick turnaround.
QUESTION MARK
HEARYE, HEARYE
"The good thing for us because we are a more experienced team, any adjustments you make, normally we have done them --we have played a certain style, played certain plays in the past. It is a matter of telling what they are going to do."
Baylor coach Scott Drew on the quick turnaround
"From this point on, everybody is 0-0. You lose, you go home. We understand that. We just want to come in and our goal is to win, win, win."
Baylor guard Curtis Jerrells on his team's tournament mentality
BIG 12 SCHEDULE
Game
Time (CT)
Channel
Texas vs. Kansas State
Big 12 Network
3 p.m.
JAMES NAISMITH WOULD APPLAUD IF...
Sherron Collins and Cole Aldrich dazzle the masses at Oklahoma City. Not just today, but all weekend long. They form the most dominant one-two punch in the Big 12 and it would only be appropriate if they proved it on the conference's grandest stage. Add in a Collins-to-Aldrich alley oo for good measure.
PHOG ALLEN WILL ROLL OVER IN HIS GRAVE IF...
Kansas shows up without energy. It wouldn't be the first time. In its first game of the Big 12 tournament last year, Kansas lacked motivation against Nebraska and trailed at halftime before pulling out a 64-54 victory. Sometimes, an arena atmosphere away from home in the morning can have that effect on teams.
PREDICTION KANSAS 72, BAYLOR 67
KU BRACKETOLOGY
Strength of schedule
12
RPI 7
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