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THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
KU 75,BU 65
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2009
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pourt drive during the first half. Collins led the way for the Jayhawks, scoring 17 points on 5-of-13 shooting and taking over late in the game when Bavlor bean to close the margin.
BALL REWIND
Ryan McGeeney/KANSAN
ODD (CONTINUED FROM 12A)
A. B. C. D.
Irish getting his face smashed unst Nebraska. Heres what I don't get. We live in the age of the none and Skype and the Asimo bot (seriously, have you seen a thing)? And all those genius gineers can't find a way to create basketball face mask that doesn'tok completely ridiculous?
39 — Baylor's Quincy Acy sheds a baseline dunk to put the ars up 20-15 leading to this change between my friend Trofs 11.
Me: "How much do I owe you?"
Trofs: "Acy said 10 percent."
Me: "Too bad Acy ain't in arge no more."
Sophomore guard Tyrel Reed lunges through a tangle of Baylor defenders under the Jayhawks' basket. The Jayhawks were able to outbreuffle the Bears 36-26 in a game where defense made a big difference for Kansas.
3:48 — My friend Todd: "What opened to Aaron Bruce?" (edi's note: Aaron Bruce, a former vlor guard from Australia, educated last year.) Trofs: Did you say what happed to Aaron Brooks? Todd: "No, but what DID hap to Aaron Brooks? Look it up"
8:55 — Sherron Collins knifes the lane and hits a floater to e Kansas a 30-28 lead at half-ge. How many times has he de that move this year? Now i Kansas hold on for a huge id win?
duh-DAH-DAH)
903 — I have no idea what life does, but I'm buying ah-dah-dah-dah-dah-dah
9:29 — Another three-pointer from Baylor. And Kansas' lead melts to 48-44. Yep, this one's down to the wire.
9:27 - LaceDarius Dunn knocks down a three to draw Baylor within eight at 46-38, and Tyshawn Taylor answers with a jump shot on the other end.
9:41 — Somehow, Cole Aldrich commits his fourth foul with 8:16 left in the second half. We're looking at a four-guard lineup with Markieff Morris at the five spot, and for some reason, I love it. I wish more teams did this. It kind of feels like an intramural game where nobody wants to go inside.
9:43 — Curtis Jerrells unbelievably throws the ball out of bounds. Listen to this line. With seven minutes left, Jerrells is zero for five from the field with one point. Yo Curtis, what's wrong? You been hanging with Michael Phelps or something?
9:54 — After three hacks in a row, and a massive over the back from Markieff Morris, Mario Little finishes a layup and the Jayhawks go up 66-55. If you're Bill Self, you hate to play without Cole Aldrich, but Baylord might be one of the few Big 12 teams where you can get away with a four-guard line-up.
10:01 — Fran Fraschilla nearly got through the entire game without any goofs ... until now. After LaceDarius Dunn flopped the floor trying to draw a foul,
Fraschilla bought the acting job and adamantly claimed a foul should have been called.
10:03 — Say what you want
about Waco, but the Baylor fan with the green construction helmet just got inducted into my Mustache Hall-of-Fame.
10:07 — The Rock Chalk Chant is clearly audible on the television. Great road win for Kansas. The layhawks improve to 18-4 and 7-0 in the Big 12 Conference. So what's the new ceiling for this team? Is a 12-4 Big 12 finish a disappointment now? If Kansas can hold serve at home against Oklahoma State on Saturday, Kansas will be 8-0 in the league. You have to think that 13-3 is a realistic possibility.
Contributing To Student Success
Wait, what? Bill Simmons is on the phone? He thinks we ripped him off? Mmm...about that...
10:15 — Well, we're out of pretzels and we're not sure we'll ever do this again.
Edited by Casey Miles
VIEW FROM PRESS ROW
IT WAS OVER WHEN ...
Sherron Collins swiped the ball away from Baylor with 2.40 remaining. A comeback seemed far-fetched at that point, but Collins destroyed any hopes of it. He missed a layup after the steal, but junior guard Mario Little pulled down the rebound, got fouled and made both free throws. The score became 69-59 and the Bears were doomed.
GAME TO REMEMBER ...
Freshman forward Marcus Morris
Two weeks ago, this would not have seemed possible. Marcus was low on confidence and high on fouls. He struggled not only to play well, but also to figure out his role on the team. That was all a distant memory for Marcus Monday. He finished with 13 points and six rebounds.
Morris
GAMETO FORGET ...
Sophomore guard Tvrel Reed
Reed
This isn't an indictment of Reed as much as praise for his teammates. Out of the eight Jayhawks who played significant minutes against Baylor, Reed was the only one without a signature moment. He did his part — tried to get open behind the three-point line and added three points and an assist. The rest of the Jayhawks simply played so well that they didn't need Reed.
STAT OF THE NIGHT ...
17. That's the combined points scored by Baylor guards Curtis Jerrells and LaceDarius Dunn. Coming into the game, Jerrells averaged 17 points and Dunn averaged 16. Holding the two to nearly half their usual output was the most notable accomplishment by the Jayhawk defense so far this season. Baylor can't win without Dunn and Jerrells. Kansas proved it.
- Case Keefer
FIRST HALF
PRIME PLAYS
8:58 — In a play sure to make the season lowlights, Markieff Morris was swatted twice on one possession. Morris failed to keep the ball above his head and the Bears picked up two of their four first half blocks in a single play.
0:01 — Kansas now has a first half buzzer-beater in three of its last four games. This time Collins capped a 9-2 Jayhawk run with a floater on the lane.
6:54 — Fresh out of a media timeout, Quincy Acy — the only Baylor starter who averages fewer than 10 points — slammed a putback dunk to force a Kansas timeout.
6:40 — Still feeling the funk from Saturday's game, it took Sherron Collins almost 14 minutes to score his first points in Waco. He snapped the streak with a layup out of a Kansas timeout.
SECOND HALF
12:29 — Already hot from beyond the three-point line, Tweedy Carter buried his third treewet half and fourth of the game. It brought Baylor within 48-47.
18:20 — Following Collins' missed layup, Marcus Morris grabbed a rebound and layed it in. It was Morris's sixth point of the second half and it sparked Kansas' second 9-2 run.
8:16 — Curtis Jerrells — Baylor's leading scorer — scored his first point of the game at the free throw line. Jerrells drew the fourth foul on Cole Aldrich and his free throw made the score 56-52. However, the Bears would never get closer.
3:37 — The ball bounced off of almost every player on the court before ending up in Mario Little's hands for a wide-open layup. Baylor fans were irate that no foul was called while Kansas cruised with its 11-point lead.
Taylor Bern
GAMENOTES
RECRUITING UPDATE
Baylor didn't beat Kansas Monday night, but the two schools are still battling for Rivals.com's top-ranked recruit in the nation.
John Wall — a 6-foot-4 point guard from Raleigh, N.C. — is deciding between seven schools, according to Rivals. Joining Kansas and Baylor are Memphis, Duke, North Carolina State, Oregon and Miami. Wall will not decide until after his after high school season at Word of God Christian Academy is completed.
KANSAS RANKED AGAIN
3. 400 g/m² 600 g/m² 900 g/m²
For the first time since December, Kansas is ranked in both the Associated Press and ESPN/USA Today Coaches' Poll.
The Jayhawks are ranked No.21 in the AP Poll, while the coaches slotted them at No.24. The rankings are released weekly on Monday and three Big 12 Conference teams were included in the latest set.
Oklahoma was the highest in the Big 12 at No. 2 in both polls. Texas ranked No. 16 in the AP, while the coaches dropped it to No. 17 after an overtime defeat to Kansas State Saturday.
BRACKET PROJECTIONS
The tournament might be more than a month away, but it's never too early for experts to start predicting the NCAA Tournament field.
ESPN's "Bracketology," released Monday, projects Kansas as a No. 4 seed in the Midwest Regional. ESPN has the Jayhawks playing the 13th-seeded Northern Iowa Panthers in Boise, Idaho, in the first round.
Meanwhile, Bracketography. com gives Kansas a projected No. 6 seed in the East Regional. Strangely, the Web site's projections also feature Northern Iowa as its first round opponent.
Case Keefer