10B GAME DAY
BE UNIVERSITY DAYY KANSAN
MONDAY FEBRUARY 23, 2000
KU
TIPOFF
AT A GLANCE
No more thinking about it. No more arguing about it. No more waiting for it. It's here. The battle for the Big 12 Conference supremacy will take place tonight. And it's going to be fun. Junior guard Sherron Collins and sophomore center Cole Aldrich are the best one-two punch in the conference bar none. By an equally large discrepancy, Oklahoma forward Blake Griffin is the best player in the conference. For Kansas, this is a chance to take a major step towards its fifth Big 12 regular season championship in a row.
Junior guard Sherron Collins
If Saturday's game against Nebraska was Super Nintendo game NBA Jam, Collins would have been on fire and shattering backboards — even though he didn't dunk. He was that good. Collins scored 22
made a number of tough shots. During one stretch in the first half, he hit four consecutive jump shots in two and a half minutes. Imagine if Collins can get that
PLAYER TO WATCH
was that good. Collins scored 22 points on 8-for-12 shooting and
Collins
hot against Oklahoma. He might just take over the game.
How can Kansas slow Blake Griffin?
QUESTION MARK
Someone once said the best questions don't have an answer. This would be one of those questions. No one has stopped a healthy Blake Griffin, who is likely on his way to winning multiple player of the year awards, all season. Freshman forward Markieff Morris suggested the Jayhawks might double team Griffin every time he touches the ball. That's to be expected. Markieff also said the key would be making Griffin shoot jump shots. If only it were that simple, Markieff, Griffin is a beast who imposes his will on opponents.
HEARYE, HEARYE
"I had somebody text me the other day saying, 'You guys should have absolutely no problem with OU at all, you guys just go play and ... That's of course if Blake doesn't play."
-Kansas coach Bill Self
KANSAS VS. OKLAHOMA 8 p.m., LLOYD NOBLE CENTER, Norman, Okla., ESPN
"They've got good pieces coming together on that team. We're going to have to give it our all. It's going to be a man's game. We're going to have to go play. It's going to be one of those games where if you don't show up, you get blown out."
Junior guard Sherron Collins
HAWKS IN SOONER COUNTRY
KANSAS (22-5,11-1) STARTERS
Collins
Sherron Collins, 5-foot-11 junior guard
Sherron Collins, 5-foot-11 junior guard Collins loves big games. He loves even more taking over in big games. As long as he doesn't try to do too much, he should be the key for Kansas.
Taylor
Tyshawn Taylor, 6-foot-3 freshman guard
Taylor has 13 turnovers in the last four games. That's disturbing. No wonder Kansas coach Bill Self is at his most animated on the sideline when Taylor makes a mistake.
OKLAHOMA (25-2,11-1) STARTERS
Morningstar
Johnson
The Jayhawks need defensive intensity from Morningstar and a couple three-point shots, too. He's delivered those two things pretty consistently this season. No reason to believe he won't tonight.
Brady Morningstar, 6-foot-3 sophomore guard
Austin Johnson, 6-foot-3 senior guard Oklahoma's most improved player. Johnson is hitting 44 percent from the field and he boasts a 3-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio.
Warren
Marcus took a step back in the Nebraska game with five turnovers and four fouls. But in the two games before Saturday, Marcus had taken multiple steps forward.
Marcus Morris, 6-foot-8 freshman forward
Willie Warren, 6-foot-4 freshman guard
Morris
A former McDonald's High School All- American, Warren is averaging more than 15 points per game, including his 27-point outburst Saturday night. He's physical and creates some match-up problems, but without a post player to pass to he's not nearly as lethal.
Aldrich
The paint is where Aldrich dominates.The paint is where Oklahoma domi- nates.Something has to give.Aldrich needs to stand his ground.
Cole Aldrich, 6-foot-11 sophomore center
★★★★
Little
has
missed
nine
straight
shots
after
making a
key jumper
at the end d
SIMTH MAN Mario Little, 6-foot-5 junior guard
SIXTH MAN
While his little brother is having the best season of any player in the country, Taylor is having the best season of his career. He averages 8.9 points and 5.9 rebounds per game, both career highs.
Taylor Griffin, 6-foot-7 senior forward
at the end of the
Missouri defeat. His mid-range game was valuable to the Jayhawks when it was clicking earlier in the season.
Crocker is a good compliment to the athleticism of Johnson and Warren. He hits 38 percent behind the three-point line and scores 10.2 points per game.
Crocker
Tony Crocker, 6-foot-6 junior guard
Little
Blake Griffin, 6-foot-10 sophomore forward
T. Griffin
Before his concussion, Blake was the best college basketball player in the nation. How will he play post-concussion? We may not find out tonight, but even a damaged Griffin is better than almost anyone else.
B. Griffin
- Case Keefer
★★★★★
SIXTH MAIN
6-foot-6 junior forward
Since pulling his redshirt, Patillo emerged as Oklahoma's top quiv
Oklahoma's top guy off the bench and a
Pattillo
welcome relief to the Griffins. If Blake can't start, look for Pattillo to make the first Division I start of his career.
-Taylor Bem
OU
TIPOFF
AT A GLANCE
SherronCollins
Oklahomams a completely different team without Blake Griffin in the lineup. Since we don't know if hell play, here are the two versions:
With Griffin: Even if he's not 100 percent, Oklahoma is the best team in the Big 12 and a top-five team. He's the best player in college basketball and he has to be double-teamed on every possession.
- Sans Griffin, Oklahoma is a decent team with one electrifying talent in freshman Willie Warren, but no inside complement. Without Griffin, Oklahoma is the second or third best team in the Big 12.
Senior forward Taylor Griffin
PLAYER TO WATCH
Obviously, if Blake Griffin's in the lineup, he deserves the most attention. If he sits, then Kansas could focus on shutting down Willie Warren. That's not easy, but
without inside presence, it's possible.
That's where Taylor Griffin comes in. The elder Griffin is usually lost in Blake's shadow, but he'll have to emerge on
T. Griffin
his own if Oklahoma wants to win without its best player. It's time for older brother to step into the spotlight.
QUESTION MARK
Can Willie Warren dominate like he did Saturday night?
After Blake Griffin went out of the game, the freshman sensation exploded for the Sooners. He scored 27 points and dished out six assists in 35 minutes. Kansas has athletic guards who can slow him down, but if Warren plays as well he did against Texas then Kansas will need to use a lot of double-teams and help defense. That could give guys like Taylor Griffin and Juan Pattillo more room to operate in the paint.
HEARYE, HEARYE
"I feel like with Blake playing it would have been a different game and feel like with him we would have won"
- Oklahoma guard Willie Warren to the Associated Press after Saturday's loss
"I talked to him a bit and asked him if he could stop hitting shots to help us out a bit, but he didn't listen."
— Oklahoma guard Wille Warren on Texas 'A.J. Abrams, who scored 16 straight points in the second half
BIG 12 SCHEDULE
Game
Tuesday
Baylor at Iowa State 8 p.m. Big 12 Network Texas A&M at Nebraska 8:30 p.m. ESPN2
Time (CT) Channel
UPCOMING SCHEDULE
LLOYD NOBLE CENTER WILL BESILENT IF...
PHOG ALLEN WILL ROLL OVER IN HIS GRAVE IF ...
Someone emerges to help out Collins and Aldrich. The last two games, it hasn't happened. The two combined for 61 percent of Kansas' points against Iowa State and 57 percent against Nebraska. The Jayhawks will be much tough with a third prime performer. Paging Tyshawn Taylor, Marcus Morris or Mario Little for assistance.
Date Opponent TV Time
March 1 MISSOURI CBS 1 p.m.
March 4 atTexas Tech ESPN2 8:30 p.m.
March 7 TEXAS CBS 3 p.m.
Kansas doesn't use its depth to its advantage. Perhaps the only knock on Oklahoma, one of the best teams in the country, is thats bench is not full of talent. The Sooners have started the same five guys all season and only two reserves are averaging more than 10 minutes per game. Kansas should have fresher legs ready to fill in.
Prediction OKLAHOMA 76,KANSAS71
c t r c t s b l l F U
c / h v a s F a s t t t v s