(5) = 121897
4B
KU 87,OU 78
THE UNIVERSITY DARY KANSAN
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 2009
KANSAS
OKLAHOMA 2949----78
JAYHAWK STAT LEADERS
Points
Sherron Collins 26
Rebounds
Assists
Cole Aldrich 20
No.1 5 KANSAS (23-5, 12-1)
Sherron Collins 4
Player FG-FGA 3FG-3FGA Rebs A Pts
Colle Aldrich 5-10 0-0 20 1 15
Shevron Collins 6-14 5-8 2 3 26
Brady Morningstar 0-3 0-2 1 3 2
Tyrell Reed 1-3 1-3 0 1 3
Mario Little 1-1 0-0 2 0 2
Quintrell Thomas 0-0 0-0 2 0 0
Tyshawn Taylor 8-13 3-5 1 3 26
Markieff Morris 3-6 0-0 2 1 7
Marcus Morris 1-4 0-1 3 2 5
Travis Releford 0-0 0-0 2 1 1
Tyrone Appleton 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Team 3
Total 25-54 9-19 38 15 87
No.3 OKLAHOMA (25-3, 11-2)
<table><thead><tr><th>Player</th><th>FG-FGA</th><th colspan="2">3FG-3FGA Rebs</th><th>A</th><th>Pts</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>Ryan Wright</td><td>0-1</td><td>0-0</td><td>7</td><td>1</td><td>0</td></tr><tr><td>TaylorGriffin</td><td>3-5</td><td>1-2</td><td>6</td><td>2</td><td>11</td></tr><tr><td>TonyCrocker</td><td>2-4</td><td>1-3</td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td>9</td></tr><tr><td>WillieWarren</td><td>8-16</td><td>3-6</td><td>3</td><td>3</td><td>23</td></tr><tr><td>Austin Johnson</td><td>1-5</td><td>0-2</td><td>3</td><td>0</td><td>2</td></tr><tr><td>T.J. Franklin</td><td>0-0</td><td>0-0</td><td>0</td><td>1</td><td>0</td></tr><tr><td>OmarLeary</td><td>2-5</td><td>2-5</td><td>3</td><td>0</td><td>6</td></tr><tr><td>JuanPattillo</td><td>4-10</td><td>0-0</td><td>6</td><td>1</td><td>15</td></tr><tr><td>OrlandoAllen</td><td>0-0</td><td>0-0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td></tr><tr><td>CacleDavis</td><td>4-6</td><td>4-6</td><td>0</td><td>1</td><td>12</td></tr><tr><td>BeauGerber</td><td>0-0</td><td>0-0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td></tr><tr><td>Team</td><td></td><td></td><td>4</td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Total</td><td>24-52</td><td>11-24</td><td>33</td><td>10</td><td>78</td></tr></tbody></table>
SCHEDULE
Date Opponent Result/Time
11/16 vs. UMKC W, 71-56
11/18 vs. Florida Gulf Coast W, 85-45
11/24 vs. Washington (in Kansas City, Mo.) W, 73-54
11/25 Syracuse (in Kansas City, Mo.) L, 89-81 (OT)
11/28 vs. Coppin State W, 85-53
12/1 vs. Kent State W, 87-60
12/3 vs. New Mexico State W, 100-79
12/6 vs. Jackson State W, 86-62
12/13 vs. Massachusetts (in Kansas City, Mo.) L, 61-60
12/20 vs. Temple W, 71-59
12/23 at Arizona L, 84-67
12/30 vs. Albany NY W, 79-43
1/03 vs. Tennessee W, 92-85
1/6 vs. Siena W, 91-84
1/10 at Michigan State L, 75-62
1/13 vs. Kansas State W, 87-71
1/17 at Colorado W, 73-56
1/19 vs. Texas A&M W, 73-53
1/24 at Iowa State W, 82-67
1/28 at Nebraska W, 68-62
1/31 vs. Colorado W, 66-61
2/2 at Baylor W, 75-65
2/7 vs. Oklahoma State W, 78-67
2/9 at Missouri L, 62-60
2/14 at Kansas State W, 85-74
2/18 vs. Iowa State W, 72-55
2/21 vs. Nebraska W, 70-53
2/23 at Oklahoma W, 87-78
3/1 vs. Missouri 1 p.m.
3/4 at Texas Tech 8:30 p.m.
3/7 vs. Texas 3 p.m.
MEN'S BASKET
Taylor plays best game yet against recruit who spurned the Jayhawks
BY TAYLOR BERN
tbern@kansan.com
Weston White/KANSAN
NORMAN, Okla. — Things could have been different in the Lloyd Noble Center Monday night.
Never mind the game. Last recruiting season, Kansas coach Bill Self was working hard to bring in Willie Warren to fill out his class.
It was a long process, and Warren kept delaying his decision.
"Coach was recruiting him a lot and he was supposed to come here," Kansas freshman Tyshawn Taylor said. "Coach kind of hesitated on recruiting me because of him. I felt like I had something to prove."
Warren eventually spurred Kansas for Oklahoma, and Taylor, who originally committed to Marquette, was looking for a new school after Marquette coach Tom Cream left for Indiana. Taylor scheduled a visit to Lawrence but committed before taking it.
"We've been pretty fortunate." Self said of snapping Taylor.
Monday night, in the biggest game of the season, Taylor played what Self called the best game of his college career. Taylor scored a career-high 26 points, out-dueling Warren by three points and helping spur Kansas' crucial 16-0 run in the first half.
Taylor's second bucket in that stretch was a banked-in three-pointer.
Junior guard shannon Collins screams after hitting a three pointer. Freshman guard tshawn Taylor helped Collins lead the jayhawks to victory with a career-high 26 points.
During a three-minute stretch in the first half, Taylor scored 11 points to help turn a 22-8 deficit into a 23-22 lead.
Taylor averaged just 4.3 points in the Jayhawks' previous three games.
"Coach has been getting on me and I've been getting a little down on myself." Taylor said. "I just felt like today was one of the days when I needed to step up."
"I just kind of smiled because I knew Coach was probably going crazy." Taylor said. "That was the confidence booster I needed."
Self agreed that crazy shots like that tend to pump up a struggling player.
Taylor led all players with 16 points at halftime.
Taylor's steal and dunk 2.30 into the second half catapulted Kansas to its 20-point lead.
Taylor dunked so hard that he fell down after slamming it through.
Early in the season, it looked like Taylor would consistently be the third scoring option behind Collins and Cole Aldrich. That changed when he started rotating between games of 14 points and four.
"As a freshman you're going to have up and down games," Collins said. "He's on a roller coaster and right now he's just shooting back up."
It was the Collins show in the final minutes, but Taylor actually made Kansas' last field goal, a layup over 6-foot-7 forward Taylor Griffin, to put the Jayhawks up 80-71.
"He picked a good night to make shots," Self said.
Taylor was an efficient 8-of-13 from the floor and also dished out three assists.
on the court, but it had never translated into the kind of point production he had Monday night.
He had a big smile on his face for most of the game. Collins said he'd seen Taylor that happy
Long after the game, Taylor was still amazed when he reflected on the circumstances that put Warren at Oklahoma and himself atop the Big 12 standings.
"I wanted to come where I was going to be able to play," Taylor said. "I was kind of waiting on him to see what he was going to do. It just happened like this."
"Coach Self lucked out with me I guess."
- Edited by Melissa Johnson
Weston White/KANSAN
Sophomore center Cole Aldrich leaps to grab an offensive rebound over Oklahoma's Austin Johnson Monday night. Aldrich pulled down a career-high 20 rebounds, including five off the offensive glass. He also added in 15 points.
MEN'S (CONTINUED FROM 1B)
Of course, Kansas may have never been in that position without Taylor. Oklahoma opened the game on a 22-8 tear. At that point, Collins gathered the team and told them not to let this one slip away.
Taylor must have listened. He made three three-point shots before the end of the half to finish the first 20 minutes with 16 points. Kansas went into the locker room with a 36-29 lead.
"I told him it was his game," Self said. "He was great. Tyshawn — best game he's had in college."
Self stopped right after that statement. He wondered aloud if it might have been Aldrich's best as well.
He also scored 15 points. But on a night where no other Jayhawk totaled more than three rebounds, Aldrichs 20 rebounds might have been the difference.
Aldrich crippled Oklahoma's offense by dominating the glass and getting nearly every loose ball around him.
"I knew I had a lot," Aldrich said. "I thought, Well, I'm going to
try to get every board I can.'
Of course, this might not have happened if Oklahoma forward Blake Griffin would have played. Griffin — the favorite to be named the national player of the year — averages 22 points and 14 rebounds per game and could have neutralized Aldrich inside.
Griffin sat out of the game with a concussion. Self admitted the jayhawks were at an advantage playing the "Blake-less" Sooners. But Aldrich wasn't so sure the outcome would have changed.
"With or without Blake, they're a great team," Aldrich said. "They showed that tonight."
No wonder Collins and Taylor didn't slow down once the game ended.
With Collins, Aldrich and Taylor performing as they did Monday, Kansas can call itself a great team — one that's now at the top of the standings in the Big 12.
"We feel pretty good," Collins said.
@ KANSAN.COM
Edited by Casey Miles
BEWARE OF "THE BLOG"
For more men's basketball coverage, check out Case Keefer's "Blog" Allen on Kansan.com. If you would rather kick back and rest your eyes, listen to the postgame edition of The Jay Report podcast.
---