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KANSAS TIPOFF
BASKETBALL GAMEDAY
BEN CARROLL
@BCarroll91
KANSAS VS. GEORGETOWN DEC. 10, 6 P.M., WASHINGTON, D.C.
AT A GLANCE
Can Kansas restrain Georgetown's center Joshua Smith from having a bir day.
The Kansas Jayhawks are riding a five-game winning streak since their 72-40 drubbing to Kentucky. Last week, the Jayhawks took down the Michigan State Spartans to claim the 2014 Orlando Classic Championship, and also overcame an 18-point second-half deficit to defeat Florida on Friday night. The Jayhawks outscored the Gators by 21 points in the second half and will look to carry that momentum over against the Georgetown Hoyas, who have also defeated the Florida Gators this season.
PLAYER TO WATCH
Cliff Alexander, forward
Alexander is the player to watch for the second-straight game. Alexander continues to gobble up rebounds for the Jayhawks, and coach Bill Self said Monday he is pleased with Alexander's progress. He practices his free-throw shooting every day in practice, and he proved his hard work is paying off by going a perfect 8-for-8 from the free-throw line against Florida. He also tallied his first double-double in college, scoring 12 points and snagging 10 rebounds. He played a huge role in Kansas' second-half comeback Friday.
Joshua Smith is a gargantuan center at 350 pounds. There is no doubt he will pose problems for the Kansas frontcourt, but it's how the Jayhawks handle him that will make the difference. They will need to step up and help when he has the ball on the offensive side and box him out of the paint on the defensive side of the ball. Most of Alexander's evening will be spent trying to minimize his damage. Lucas will need to aid his freshman teammate as well.
QUESTION MARK
40
BY THE NUMBERS
The number of rebounds the Jayhawks average per game, which is good for 45th in the nation.
69.4
The number of points Kansas scores per game. In only one game this season have the Jayhawks allowed the opposing team to score more than that — Kenntucky scored 72.
The number of blocks the lajwhays average per game, which gives them an overall ranking of No. 88.
BABY JAY WILL CHEER IF
Kansas can outplay Georgetown for both halves. Against Florida, Kansas was outplayed in the first half, but surged back to win the game in the second. Against Rider and Rhode Island, Kansas was outscored in the second half. If Kansas plays the full 40 minutes with consistent intensity, it will leave the nation's capitol with a win.
No.10 KANSAS (6-1, Big 12)
PROJECTED STARTERS
+
Wayne Seiden Jr., sophomore, guard
Selden is coming off of his best offensive game of the season. He scored 21 points against Florida on Friday night while shooting .600 from the field. He has played at least 30 minutes in each of the past four games and will look to continue that
Frank Mason III, sophomore, guard
Although Mason hurt his ankle playing against Florida and was limited in practice Monday, he should be ready to suit up in Washington, D.C., against Georgetown. Last game, he scored 12 points for the third time this season. He also added two key steals.
Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk, freshman, guard
Mkyhailiuk will try to improve offensively Wednesday, as he is coming off one of his slower games in a Jayhawk uniform, only scoring three points in Friday night's win against Florida. It was his second-lowest scoring total of the season — he was held scoreless against Rhode Island.
Perry Ellis, junior, forward
Ellis scored 10 points and contributed five rebounds against Florida. Ellis continues to play major minutes for the Jayhawks.
Ellis scored 10 points and contributed five rebounds against Florida. Ellis continues to play major minutes for the Jayhawks, and that should continue as long as he stays out of foul trouble. Ellis will try to tack on another double-digit scoring performance, just like he has done in every game this season with the exception of the Kentucky game.
GEORGETOWN (5-2, Big East)
Landen Lucas, sophomore, forward
Lucas continues to start for Kansas, but still only averages 10.7 minutes per game. He makes every minute worth it, though. He played just nine minutes against the Gators, but grabbed six rebounds and swatted two away Florida shots. He will have a shared responsibility with Cliff Alexander to contain Georgetown's mammoth center, Joshua Smith, who is 6-foot-10 and
PROJECTED STARTERS
D'Vauntes Smith-Rivera, junior, guard
D'Vauntes Smith-Rivera, junior, guard Smith-Rivera is Georgetown's leading scorer (14.4) and leads the team in assists per game (3.3). On Sunday against Towson, Smith-Rivera scored 16 points in 25 minutes of action. He shot a perfect 2-for-2 from behind the arc and 6-for-6 from the free-throw line.
Jabril Trawick, senior, guard
Trawick is one of four seniors on Georgetown's roster.
He averages 7.4 points per game, 3.4 rebounds and 2.3
assists. He was one of five players Sunday to score at least
10 points, and he drilled the only 3-pointer he took.
L.J. Peak, freshman, forward
Peak is still young, but his skill set comes in a complete package. His shooting started out much better in the first four games scoring just over 13 points per game, but has since slowed down, scoring just seven points in three games. He only scored five points Sunday against Towson, but contributed three steals and two assists.
Mikael Hopkins, senior, forward
Hopkins seems to be more of a defensive guy for Georgetown than an offensive player. He averages about 24 minutes per game on the hardwood, but only scores five points and adds 1.1 assists. He flourishes on the defensive side of the ball, though, where he averages 6.9 rebounds per game and two blocks. He has four steals in the past three games.
Joshua Smith, senior, center
Smith is 350 pounds this season, and that's after he dropped about 30 pounds in the off-season. He is big, he is bulky and he is Kansas' biggest threat in the game. Coach Bill Self said Monday it is difficult to prepare to play against a player like Smith because of his size. He averages nearly 13 points per game and seven rebounds, and you can expect a significant amount of bumping down low between Cliff Alexander and Smith all night.
GEORGETOWN TIPOFF
BEN CARROLL
@BCarroll91
AT A GLANCE
The Hoyas are an older, more experienced team than the Jayhawks. They have four upperclassman in the starting lineup. They own a record of 5-2 on the season, but both losses came to top-25 teams in Wisconsin and Butter. They also defeated the then-ranked No. 18 Florida Gators in overtime in the Bahamas. They are a perfect 4-0 at home inside the Verizon Center.
PLAYER TO WATCH
Prediction: Kansas 75, Georgetown 71
D'Vauntes Smith-Rivera, guard
Smith-Rivera is a streaky shooter and if he gets going early, he could raise many eyebrows for Kansas fans. After scoring a combined 15 points in the first two games of the season, Smith-Rivera has scored at least 12 points in every game since, including a 29-point outing against No. 2 Wisconsin. He shot 5-for-6 from 3-point range that game while shooting 11-for-18 from the field.
QUESTION MARK
Which Georgetown offense will show up Wednesday night?
The Hoyas seem to have nights when their offense is clicking on all cylinders, but also seem to have nights when they can't net many shots. Georgetown has scored more than 77 points in four of the seven games it has played so far this season. The Hoyas lost two of three games in which they failed to break the 70-point mark. If Kansas gets Georgetown under that total, it will win.
BY THE NUMBERS
50.1
The percentage the Hoyas are shooting from the field, which is ranked 16th overall in the nation.
72.6
The average number of points the Hovas score per game. That total is higher than Kansas' season total
The number of points Georgetown defeated Towson by Sunday afternoon, the largest gap this season.
BABY JAY WILL CRY IF
Georgetown's bench players have a big scoring day. The Hoyas had 32 bench points Sunday against Towson. The starters only scored 14 more points than that. In a game in which the final score will be much closer than 78-46, 32 bench points is way too many to give up to the opposing home team. If they do score 30-plus points off the bench, the Hoyas could be celebrating an upset against a top-10 team.
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