10A
GAME DAY
COUNTDOWN TO TIPOFF
KU TIPOFF
THE UNIVERSITY OF DAILY KANSAS
FRIDAY, JANUARY 23, 2009
AT A GLANCE
It's all coming together at the perfect time for the Jayhawks. Or so it seems.With a win in Ames this weekend, Kansas will be off to its second consecutive 4-0 start in Big 12 Conference play.That would make a 20th-straight NCAA Tournament appearance in two months look like a safe bet barring disaster. But enough about streaks and numbers. These Jayhawks are rising because of individual improvements.Among the most notable are junior guard Mario Little's emergence as he recovers from injuries and freshman guard Tyshawn Taylor's rise to the top of the Big 12 freshman class.
Freshman forward Marcus Morris
PLAYER TO WATCH
Like a quarterback with running ability, in foot
ability in football, a big man with three-point range is a nuisance to opposing defenses in basketball. Marcus can be that nuisance for Kansas. He hit two consecutive
Morris
LEAVING CYCLONES DIZZY
three-pointers in the 73-53 victory against Texas A&M and practices the shot before and after practice every day, Iowa State might be undeterred by one successful long-range performance and give Marcus room on the perimeter to shoot. Question is whether Marcus can make the Cyclones regret it.
QUESTION MARK
Kansas is 1-2 away from Allen Fieldhouse this season and clearly doesn't play with the same energy. Although its only away victory came in its last road game — a 73-56 triumph against Colorado last Saturday — Kansas still played sloppily at the Coors Events Center during stretches. Iowa State might be just dangerous enough to hang around if Kansas has similar dry spells Saturday. The Jayhawks have traditionally struggled at Hilton Coliseum: Their record is 19-18 in the building.
Are the Jayhawks over their road woes?
HEARYE HEARYE
"I really believe we're getting better."
Kansas defends its winning streak as it moves through conference play
Kansas coach Bill Self
"I shoot at least 200 threes and 200 pull-up jump shots before and after practice. Coach Dooley and Coach Manning have been staying in the gym with me to help me become a better shooter."
Freshman forward Marcus Morris
KANSAS VS. IOWA STATE 1 p.m., HILTON COLISEUM, Ames, Iowa, ESPN
KANSAS
Collins
(14-4)
STARTERS
Sherron Collins. 5-foot-11 junior guard
Collins is averaging 19 points and six assists through three games of conference play. That's dominance.
Taylor
Tyshawn Taylor, 6-foot-3 freshman guard
A rare talent and the fastest player on Kansas' roster, but Taylor has committed more turnovers, eight, than assists, six, since conference play began.
Morningstar
Brady Morningstar, 6-foot-3 sophomore guard
Morningstar has gone two games without making a three-pointer. That's uncharacteristic and needs to change Saturday.
Perhaps Self has settled with Marcus as his starting power forward. Or maybe not, as Marcus has only three rebounds in the past two games.
Marcus Morris, 6-foot-8 freshman forward
Morris
(12-6)
STARTERS
Mark Aldrich down for at least 15 points and eight rebounds now. He's as automatic as a washing machine.
Cole Aldrich, 6-foot-11 sophomore center
Diante Garrett, 6-foot-4 sophomore guard
Garrett
IOWA STATE
Aldrich
A sizable point guard, Garrett leads the team in assists and has the ability to erupt for points (he had 26 against Hawaii). Garrett's father, Dick, won an NIT title at Southern Illinois with Walt "Clvde" Frazier.
★★★★
Peterson
Lucca Staiger, 6-foot-5 sophomore guard
Petersen is a decent three-point shooter (35 percent) and he's money at the free-throw line. Problem is he rarely attacks the rim, instead opting to jack up threes and long-distance twos.
Staiger
A native German, Staiger was named the MVP of the Dirk Nowitzki All-Star camp at age 15. He averages 9.1 points per game and leads the Cyclones in three-point shooting.
Bryan Petersen, 6-foot-1 senior guard
Craig Brackins, 6-foot-10 sophomore forward
iowa State's best player is a constant double-double threat. Brackins averages 18.1 points and 8.8 rebounds per game. The sophomore has scored 20 points nine times this season.
Case Keefer
★★★★
Brackins
SIXTH MAN
Mario Little, 6-foot-5 junior guard
Sure, Mario's 15 points and four rebounds against Texas A&M was only one glimpse. But it was a pretty glimpse.
Little
Mario Little
Justin Hamilton, 6-foot-11 freshman center
The center battle between Cole Aldrich and Justin Hamilton is like a heavyweight fighter in the ring with a featherweight. It will get ugly. Fast. Hamilton's best hope is to avoid a first-round KO.
Hamilton
SIXTH MAN
Wes Eikmeier, 6-foot-3 freshman guard
Eikmeier is a legend in Nebraska prep
Nebraska Player of the Year in 2007 and 2008, Elkmeier scored 2,193 points — the eighth-most in state history.
★★☆★★
Taylor Bern
Eikmeier
ISU TIPOFF AT A GLANCE
It's almost February and the Cyclones are still an unknown. Iowa State suffered bad losses to South Dakota State and to Iowa, yet it hung with No. 7 Texas in Austin and beat Nebraska by 12. Most recently, the Cyclones dropped an embarrassing 77-46 decision in Columbia, but the Tigers are undefeated at home this season. Coach Greg McDermott starts four underclassmen and as a result he must put up with youthful schizophrenia until they get comfortable playing together.
PLAYER TO WATCH
Sophomore guard Diante Garrett
Ten pennies make a dime and Garrett is an expert at dishing them out. He ranks fifth in the Big 12 with 5.3 assists per game. The 6-foot-4 Milwaukee native also chips in 10.6 points and 4.1 rebounds per game. Garrett isn't the quickest cat, but he's got solid court vision and a decent 2.1 assist-to-turnover ratio. If he can penetrate the lane and force Kansas to collapse often, then Garrett could finish with 15 points and eight assists.
Garrett
QUESTION MARK
Can Iowa State make at least 12 three-pointers?
The Cyclones love to chuck up long-distance shots, which is feast or famine depending on how the ball bounces, Iowa State averages 7.7 made three-pointers per game, the fourth most in the Big 12. In a November victory against UW-Milwaukee, Iowa State hit a schoolrecord 15 threes. The Cyclones also hit 13 in a loss to Drake. They're going to take the shots, so the only question is just how many they can hit. Less than 10 and it won't be much of a game.
HEARYE, HEARYE
"If we make two threes on the road in conference and (Brackins) doesn't score 40 points, we're in trouble."
- ISU guard Bryan Peterson on the Cyclones' 2-of-13 three-point shooting in Saturday's 77-46 loss at Missouri
"They are guys who are really difficult to guard one-on-one, especially when we're doing it with freshmen and sophomores. We tried to get it out of their hands some and, to Missouri's credit, they made us pay for it."
— Iowa State coach Greg McDermott on his team's efforts to guard Missouri's Lee Lyons and DeMarre Carroll
BIG 12 SCHEDULE
Game
Time (CT) Channel
Texas Tech at Missouri 12:30 p.m. Big 12 Network
Baylor at Oklahoma 3:00 p.m. ESPNU
Oklahoma State at Nebraska 3:00 p.m. Big 12 Network
Kansas State at Colorado 4:00 p.m. Big 12 Network
Texas A&M at Texas 7:00 p.m. ESPNU
PHOG ALLEN WILL ROLL OVER IN HIS GRAVE IF...
COMING SCHEDULE
HILTON COLISEUM WILL BE SILENT IF...
Cyclone center Justin Hamilton tries to score on Cole Aldrich. Because it won't work. Hamilton, averaging five points and three rebounds, is Iowa State's flimsy big man. Aldrich, averaging 15 points and nine rebounds, is Kansas' hulking counterpart. The contrast sets up a situation in the low post that could be as unfair as Takeru Kobayashi against a plate of hot dogs. Hamilton's size could slow Aldrich a bit offensively, but defensively Kansas' big man will still be unstoppable.
Kansas commits dumb turnovers. More immediately, Bill Self will shake his head and rub his eyes. That's what he did at Colorado last Saturday when the Jayhawks opened the second half with five lazy turnovers. Brady Morningstar and Tyshawn Taylor practically handed the ball to the Buffaloes. The Jayhawks finished with 18 turnovers that day — four more than their season average. Kansas turns the ball over more easily on the road. That’s a trend Self would like to see stop Saturday.
Prediction:
KANSAS 73, IOWA STATE 68
Date Opponent TV Time
Jan. 24 at Iowa State ESPN 1 p.m.
Jan. 28 at Nebraska ESPN2 6:30 p.m.
Jan. 31 COLORADO ESPNU 3 p.m.
Feb. 2 at Baylor ESPN 8 p.m.
Feb. 7 OKLAHOMA STATE ABC 2:30 p.m.
Feb. 9 at Missouri ESPN 8 p.m.
Feb. 14 at Kansas State ABC 2:30 p.m.
Feb. 18 IOWA STATE Big 12 Network 7:00 p.m.
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