6B
GAME DAY
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 2000
KU TIPOFF
ATAGLANCE
Kansas slaughtered Kansas State 87-71 a month ago. So mark Saturday's matchup down as an easy win, right? Not even close. Aside from the obvious fact that the rematch will be played at Bramlage Coliseum, the game will also be tougher because Kansas State has improved dramatically. Heck, it's practically a different team. The Wildcats are on a five-game winning streak after starting Big 12 Conference play 0-4. But as long as junior guard Sherron Collins and sophomore center Cole Aldrich play effectively, Kansas is still the more talented team.
for a technical foul. The referee told Self that Marcus intentionally bumped into him. Upon watching the game film, Self realized
Self benched Marcus for the final 17 minutes of the Missouri game after the referee called him
Freshman forward Marcus Morris
PLAYER TO WATCH
Morris
the contact was inadvertent, Self won't be looking to punish Marcus any further. Look for Marcus to start and log around his average of 16 minutes. The question is if he can make the most of them like he did in Kansas' last road game at Baylor last week.
How many rebounds will Cole
\Idrich grab?
QUESTION MARK
Basic, yes, but Aldrich has recorded 18 and 15 boards in Kansas' last two games, respectively. Those are ridiculous numbers. Aldrich is averaging a double-double in Big 12 play with 12 points and 11 rebounds. The Wildcats don't have a big man to match up against Aldrich, which means his third big game in a row could be on the horizon. He scored 15 points with eight rebounds in Kansas' first game against Kansas State.
KANSAS VS. KANSAS STATE 2:30 p.m., BRAMLAGE COLISEUM, Manhattan, Kan., ABC
Despite KU's earlier 16-point win, Saturday's game will be tough
HEARYE, HEARYE
KSU LOOKS FOR PAYBACK
"I've always thought the Missouri game was more hatred and the Kansas State game was more of a rivalry, a respective rivalry, maybe for a better word. That's how I've always viewed it since I've been here."
"I was barely missed one year over there. I think we had four or five thrown down there. I'm sure they were intended for somebody else and just happened to land by me."
Self on Kansas State fans throwing chickens onto the court
- Kansas coach Bill Self
Collins
KANSAS (19-5) STARTERS
Sherron Collins, 5-foot-11 junior guard The last two games Collins is only 8-for-25 from the field with 21 points. If Collins can't find his shot again against Kansas State, Kansas is in trouble.
Taylor
Tyshawn Taylor, 6-foot-3 freshman guard
If Kansas would have beat Missouri,
Taylor would have been hailed as the hero.
He scored a team-high 11 points, including
four during a key stretch near the end of the
second half.
Brady Morningstar, 6-foot-3 sophomore guard
Morningstar
Morningstar played poorly against Missouri with two points and three turnovers in 34 minutes. Morningstar, however, has bounced back from rough games all year.
Morris
Kansas State's frontcourt is weak. Morris needs to take advantage by attacking the basket and going up strong, instead of tentatively.
Marcus Morris, 6-foot-8 freshman forward
KANSAS STATE (17-7) STARTERS
Denis Clemente, 6-foot-1 junior guard
Clemente is a fiery little rocket who can speed past defenders if he gets the right angle. He was a horrid 3-of-13 against Kansas on Jan. 13 but he's been money since then.
Clemente
Jacob Pullen, 6-foot-0 sophomore guard
The target for most of coach Frank Martin's rage. Pullen leads the team with 79 assists and also 75 turnovers. He hits just 38 percent from the floor but still averages 13.6 points per game.
Pullen
Dominique Sutton, 6-foot-5 sophomore forward
Kansas, Wake Forest and Illinois all offered Sutton a scholarship, but he spurned them for Manhattan. Sutton started to emerge at the end of last season and he's performed ably this year, notching 7.8 points and 4.9 rebounds per game.
Darren Kent, 6-foot-11 senior for ward
Aldrich
Sutton
Kent was a complete non-factor in Lawrence. He scored just three points and committed two turnovers in nine minutes. However, he's averaging 13.7 points in the last three games.
Cole Aldrich, 6-foot-11 sophomore center Other than Oklahoma's Blake Griffin. Aldrich might be the most devastating force in the Big
12. As long as Kansas can get him the ball, he's unstoppable.
★★★★
Kent
SIXTH MAN Mario Little, 6-foot-5 junior guard
Luis Colon, 6-foot-10 junior center
Self trusts Little to hit big shots, as evidenced by his jump-
Little
Colon's numbers have great balance. He averages 5.3 points and 5.2 rebounds per game. Colon also leads one team category; foul outs. He has six.
ter to tie the Missouri game at 60. Little still needs to fix his fouling propensity as he had four against the Tigers.
★★★☆★
Case Keefer
Colon
★ ★ ★ ★
SIXTH MAN
Fred Brown, 6-foot-2 sopho-
more guard
Brown is a marksmans behind the three-point line. He's attempted
the second-most threes on the team (4109) and he hits them at a 45 percent clip.
Brown
★★★☆☆
-Taylor Bern
KSU TIPOFF AT A GLANCE
Something snapped in the Wildcats on Jan. 24. On that day, Kansas State pulled out a 77-75 overtime victory at Colorado. It should have been an easy victory, but the Buffaloes' Dwight Thorne II scored a career-high 30 points to push the Wildcats to the brink. A loss would have put Kansas State at 0-5 in the Big 12. Instead, coach Frank Martin's bunch battled back to win, and they've won every game since. Kansas State (6-4) is playing some of the best basketball of any Big 12 team right now.
Senior forward Darren Kent
PLAYER TO WATCH
Senior forward Darren Kent Why watch the 6-foot-11 fence post? Because he'll be the most entertaining player on the court. Kent couldn't move your grandmother off the block, but he still
Kent
manages to pour in 9.2 points and 5.9 rebounds per game. His wingspan surprises opponents and he hustles after loose balls. But the real reason to watch him is
his spectacular failures. Example:
In last year's Sunflower Showdown at Bramlage Coliseum, Kent fell down twice, pushed his own player to force a traveling violation and bounced a three-pointer off the top of the backboard. What will he come up with to top that?
QUESTION MARK
Will Bramlage get nearly as hostile as last year?
Hate breeds in environments like last year's game in Manhattan. There's always tension between these two schools, but the 2008 brawl in Bramlage Coliseum was an extreme example. It got downright ugly in the stands and occasionally on the court.
Without Michael Beasley to spur Kansas State it may not be so hostile, but the Wildcats are playing well right now. The purple-clad crowd needs to reenact last year's meeting in order to avenge a 16-point loss at Allen Fieldhouse earlier this season.
HEAR YE, HEAR YE
"Do you look forward to play a Bill Self team? Not me, but you like the challenge."
Tyshawn Taylor
Knauz University of Malawi
Kanata State University of Malawi
the KC Stat University of Malawi
"The one thing I did say:'I don't mind getting beat if I know I have another opportunity to go beat them.'We have a chance Saturday."
— Kansas State coach Frank Martin to the KC Star about his 16-point loss in Allen Fieldhouse on Jan. 13
BIG 12 SCHEDULE
Game Time (CT) Channel
Texas at Colorado 12:00 p.m. ESPN
Nebraska at Missouri 12:30 p.m. Big 12 Network
Texas Tech at Oklahoma 12:30 p.m. Big 12 Network
Texas A&M at Baylor 5:00 p.m. FSNSW
Iowa State at Oklahoma State 3:00 p.m. Bin 12 Network
BRAMLAGE COLISEUM WILL BE SILENT IF...
The fans start to leave the arena before the end of the game. That would mean Kansas has a commanding lead with minutes to play and it's the only way the crowd will be quieted. Kansas State fans look forward to this game all year. Even if the Wildcats fall behind, there will be plenty of heckling of the Jayhawks.
PHOG ALLEN WILL ROLL OVER IN HIS GRAVE IF...
Kansas can't stop Denis Clemente. The junior guard from Puerto Rico has cured Kansas State's turnaround by averaging 17 points and three assists per game in Big 12 Conference play. In an upset against Texas, Clemente tended a Big 12 record by scoring 44 points. If Clemente — the second-cousin of Major League Baseball Hall of Famer Roberto Clemente — gets into a rhythm, Kansas could lose its second straight at Bramlage Coliseum.
UPCOMING SCHEDULE
Prediction:
KANSAS 71, KANSAS STATE 70
Date Opponent TV Time
Feb. 18 IOWA STATE Big 12 Network 7:00 p.m.
Feb. 21 NEBRASKA Big 12 Network 3:00 p.m.
Feb. 23 at Oklahoma ESPN 8 p.m.
March 1 MISSOURI CBS 1 p.m.
March 4 at Texas Tech ESPN2 8:30 p.m.
March 7 TEXAS CBS 3 p.m.