THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
THURSDAY, JANUARY 22, 2009
SPORTS
9A
BIG 12 BASKETBALL
Associated Press
Baylor guard Curtis Jerrells, left, drives past Oklahoma State's James Anderson, right, in overtime of a NCAA college basketball game on Saturday in Waco, Texas. Jerrells had a game high 31-points to help defeat Oklahoma State 98-92 in overtime.
Notebook: View around the Big 12
A glance behind and ahead at everything that occurs in the world of Big 12 basketball
BY TAYLOR BERN
tbern@kansan.com
HIGH/LOW
Big 12 basketball writer Taylor Bern scours the conference for news and notes to inform and entertain.
HIGH - Baylor guard Curtis Jerrells 31 points and 10 assists in an overtime win over Oklahoma State. Sure, he needed 20 shots and 42 minutes to accomplish the feat, but it's hard to ignore a guy who finishes two assists shy of the entire Cowboy roster.
LOW - Worst state line of the week: seven turnovers, three fouls, two rebounds, one assist and zero points in 33 minutes. That embarrassment to basketball belongs to Colorado guard Nate Tomlinson in Saturday's 73-56 loss to Kansas.
HIGH - The hype around
O k l a h o m a senior guard Austin Johnson. Following an impressive two-game stretch (34 points, 11 assists and six rebounds) in wins against Texas and Texas
Johnson
A&M, Johnson was named the Big
12 Player of the Week.
LOW - The chance Johnson continues to perform well. In the five games before his recent outburst, Johnson accumulated 18 points and 17 rebounds. Total. Like a turtle, Johnson peeks his head out only briefly then goes back into hiding.
HIGH - Missouri's margin of victory. In their last three victories the Tigers won by an average of 36.3 points per game. Now if only coach Mike Anderson's squad could play the likes of Coppin State, Colorado and Iowa State for the entire season.
LOW - Productivity on Saturday.
Here's the notable Big 12 lineup on
Jan. 24: Texas Tech at Missouri,
Oklahoma St. at Nebraska, Baylor
at Oklahoma and Texas A&M at
Texas. Oyah, Kansas is playing
at Iowa State. With a basketball
buffet like that, good luck getting
anything else done that day.
Searching for a signature road victory, Oklahoma State had Baylor down seven at the half in Waco. The Cowboys didn't play terribly in the second half, but they did forget to check Bear guard Curtis Jerrells. Jerrells carried his team
BEST GAME OF THE WEEK:
with 21 second-half points, then tossed in five more in overtime.
FINAL: BAYLOR 98,
OKLAHOMA STATE 92
POWER RANKINGS
(Rankings are averaged between the votes of sports editor Andrew Wiebe and basketball writers Case Keefer and Taylor Bern. For the full version, check "Blog" Allen on Kansan.com.)
1. Oklahoma - There are only two things we know for certain about the Big 12 right now: Oklahoma is amazing and Colorado stinks. Since conference play began, Blake Griffin is averaging 21.7 points and 10.3 rebounds per game. Oklahoma has a tough one in Norman against Baylor on Saturday, but never bet against the Sooners at home.
2. Texas - The Longhorns barely edged out the lays for the second spot. My reasoning was an impressive 71-49 victory at Texas Tech last Saturday. If Kansas wins at Iowa State this weekend then Bill's boys will likely pass the 'Horns.
3. Kansas - Top field goal percentage in playoff game
Not surprisingly, Kansas also leads team field goal percentage.
Player FG-FGA Pct.
1. Cole Aldrich 19-25 .760
2. Tyshawn Taylor 15-20 .750
3. C. Elonu 21-35 .600
LOOKING AHEAD
Game to Watch: Texas at Baylor When: Tuesday, Jan. 27 at 8 p.m.
Hitting 57 percent, the layhawks are the only team shooting above 500 in conference play.
Why: The Longhorns were embarrassed in Norman. They took one step toward recovery with a win at Texas Tech, but a victory in Waco would solidify Texas as the No. 2 team in the Big 12 South.
POSSIBLE STORYLINES
1. Trailing Kansas by 15 at home, Iowa State coach Greg McDermott calls a play with a foot stomp, but does it so hard that he requires surgery.
2. In losing 79-69, Texas Tech becomes the first team to lose by less than 31 points at Missouri since Murray State's 11-point defeat on Dec. 13.
3. Oklahoma's Austin Johnson scores fewer than 15 total points in his team's next three games.
4. Kansas State misses its flight to Colorado and the game is called off. No one seems to notice.
Edited by Chris Horn
BIG 12 FOOTBALL
Holt to participate in senior showcase
BY STEPHEN MONTEMAYOR
montemayor@kansan.com
Senior linebacker James Holt's college playing days aren't through after all.
Holt
- who led Kansas with 105 tackles and 10 sacks in 2008 - will play in a collegiate all star game Jan. 31 in El Paso, Texas.
The third annual Western Refining Texas vs. The Nation All-Star Challenge will take place at Sun Bowl Stadium and will pit college seniors from Texas against players from around the nation. Holt is from Altus, Okla., but he will be suiting up for the Texas team.
"I am glad that I get to play one more game with a Kansas helmet on and hopefully do well and represent the school well," Holt said in a statement.
Holt finished his college career by being named All-Big 12 Second Team by the league's coaches and First Team by the Associated Press. In his final game, the Dec. 31 Insight Bowl victory against Minnesota. Holt registered eight tackles — including three sacks — to earn Defensive Most Valuable Player honors.
Holt leaves for El Paso on Sunday. Players will undergo NFL testing and interview with scouts
The game is set to kick off at 2 p.m. and will be broadcast on CBS College Sports Television.
AWARD CEREMONY TO WRAP UP 2008 SEASON
"You want to take advantage of every opportunity that you can," Holt said. "The scouts will get to see us running drills, practicing and then playing in the game."
The 2008 highlight video will be shown followed by comments from Chancellor Robert Hemenway, Athletics Director Lew Perkins and coach Mark Mangino.
Kansas will hold its 2008 postseason awards ceremony at the Lied Center on Saturday, Jan. 31 at 7:30 p.m. The public is encouraged to attend, and there is no cost associated with the event.
Of course, no awards ceremony would be complete without the hardware. Kansas has amassed 20 victories over the last two seasons, and there is likely plenty of hardware to go around following the program's second-consecutive bowl victory.
At season's end, ten Jayhawks were named All Big 12 including junior safety Darrrell Stuckey (first team), sophomore wide receiver Dezmon Briscoe (second team) and senior backer James Holt (second team).
while practicing all week. They will also visit local schools.
Edited by Andrew Wiebe
NFL
NFL Cunningham joins Lions as defensive coordinator
ALLEN PARK, Mich. — New Detroit Lions coach Jim Schwartz made his first major staff hire Wednesday,bringing in veteran assistant Gunther Cunningham as defensive coordinator.
The two previously worked together as assistants on Jeff Fisher's staff in Tennessee. Schwartz was defensive coordinator under Fisher this past season, when the Titans posted an NFL-best 13-3 record with a defense that ranked second in points allowed.
Cunningham, a 40-year coaching veteran on the college and pro levels, was Kansas
He'll set about trying to fix one of the league's worst defenses, one of the big reasons Detroit didn't win a game last season.
Cunningham also has served as an assistant with the Raiders, Chargers and Colts in the NFL and California, Stanford, Arkansas and Oregon in the college ranks.
City's head coach from 1999-2000 and the Chiefs' defensive coordinator from 1995-98 and from 2004 through this past season.
Terms of his contract were not disclosed.
Associated Press
*Watch the movie
Appleseed
*Play Anime
Themed DDR
*Vote on shows to
watch this semester
*Monday 1/26, 6:30 p.m.
*Smith Hall 100
Anime Club
For more info go to ku.edu/~kuanime or contact us at kuanine.ku.edu
FREAKY FAST DELIVERY!