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THURSDAY, DECEMBER 8, 2011
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
KANSAS TIPOFF
AT A GLANCE
Despite the very real possibility of a loss in Allen Fieldhouse, Kansas fans should be thankful for this showdown. The Jayhaws have beaten every team they were supposed to beat, and lost to Kentucky and Duke, the only games they entered as underdogs. Eight games into the season, it's hard to tell if the Jayhawks are solid enough for a long run in the NCAA tournament or if they're nothing more than a second tier team. This game will help define Kansas' place in this season's hierarchy of college basketball.
PLAYER TO WATCH
The long awaited matchup is here: Robinson will go head-to-head with Jared Sullinger, one of the top players in the nation. Similar to Robinson, Sullinger has a reputation as a bruiser in the paint who still needs to work on his jump shot. Robinson sunk mid-range shots routinely against Long Beach State. By replicating his performance, Robinson could prove that Tuesday was no fluke and keep Sullinger guessing. Playing against the best, this game will hint at whether Robinson will be a national player of the year candidate or not.
Thomas Robinson, forward
Can Withey do it again?
QUESTION MARK
Withey looks like a soft rebounder one game, then hunts for a triple-double the next. Kansas will need Withey at his best, especially as a rebounder and shot blocker/alterter. Ohio State shoots the ball too well for Kansas to allow second chances. Withey's rebounding can help prevent those chances and lessen the odds of unanswered runs by the Buckeyes.
HERE YE, HERE YE..
"It will be a jailbreak if we turn the ball over against Ohio State."
Coach Bill Self
BABY JAY WILL CHEER IF ...
Kansas minimizes its turnovers and finds ways to score. Robinson outworks Sullinger in the paint and flexes his improved jump shot.
Taking on No. 2 Another top-five challenge for the Jayhawks KANSAS VS. OHIO STATE 2:15 P.M., ALLEN FIELDHOUSE, LAWRENCE
Taylor
KANSAS STARTERS
Johnson
TYSHAWN TAYLOR, GUARD
Taylor has repeated throughout the season that he wants to lead his team by example. If he really wants to make a leadership statement, he could start by decreasing his turnovers. He's tallied five turnovers in each of the past two games and completely agitated his coach. If he can drop that number to two or three, his teammates could possibly follow his caution with the ball and change their own ways, leading to less turnovers. This kind of domino effect would allow Self to praise, instead of blast his team at post-game press conferences.
ELIJAH JOHNSON, GUARD
in row. It's hard to envision a significant turnaround against one of the nation's top teams.
Johnson added to his season's highlight reel on Tuesday with a gorgeous and one layup. On a fast break, he charged toward the hoop, slung the ball behind his back, jumped and absorbed contact, then somehow perfectly placed the ball off the glass. Other than the pretty play, Johnson once again disappointed. He fouled out in just 23 minutes played and watched from the sideline as Teahan replaced him to the tune of 14 points and 5 rebounds. Johnson now has three bad games
TRAVIS RELEFORD, FORWARD
Releford has been on of the more consistent performers on the team- unspectacular on offense, stout on defense. He's continued to anchor a feisty backcourt defense that has helped negate the team's obvious issues
Releford
with turn- overs. Releford had four fouls and turn- overs on Tuesday, but both numbers could easily be lowered. He missed all three of his 3-point attempts, but few are expecting Releford to contribute much as a long range shooter. Expectations save him there, but not in rebounding. He grabs just one board against Long Beach State, and must increase that number to keep
Self happy.
Robinson
THOMAS ROBINSON, FORWARD
Was Tuesday's fine shooting display a sign of things to come each game or an outburst that may happen once every in a white? Regardless, Robinson hit his first eight shots of the game, using his improved jump shot to draw defenders and create an angle to the hoop. The myriad possibilities set up by his improved mid-range shot helped Robinson reach a career high 26 points from all spots on the floor. With most of Long Beach State's attention fou
Robinson amazed onlookers with his new and improved shot, but it was Withey who Self said was the team's best player against Long Beach State. He finished one block shy of a triple-double, spit blood and grabbed rebounds with aggression, all in one game. Withey has proven his talent, now his team is searching for consistency. He played well against Kentucky and Duke, so he's not sly against the big shoes. He may not get as close to a triple-double.
focused on Robinson, his teammates were given more space and took advantage. The duel with fared Sullinger has finally arrived. Will Robinson step up to the challenge?
JEFF WITHEY. CENTER
time around, but if Withey can avoid foul trouble as he did on Tuesday, he has the talent and size to outplay any Jayhawk or Buckeye.
Withey
OHIO STATE STARTERS
Buford
WILLIAM BUFORD, GUARD
Buford is the lone senior in Thad Matta's starting lineup, and he's played more than 29 minutes every season at Ohio State. He's the second leading scorer for the Buckeyes with 16 points per game and had a season-high 25 points against Valparaiso last month. He's the least likely to get rattled by the Allen Fieldhouse crowd Saturday afternoon.
Craft
AARON CRAFT. GUARD
Last season as a freshman. Craft was named the Big 10's sixth man of the year after averaging 6.9 points off the bench for the Buckeyes. Ke was named to the Big 10 All-Freshman team as well and this season was selected to the preseason Naismith Award watch list. He has started all eight games this season and is averaging 9.8 points per game.
★★★☆★
LENZELLE SMITH, GUARD
Smith is getting his first real taste of action this season as a sophomore. He played marginally last season but has started all eight games this year. He's not a huge
Smith
threat to score, but he is second on the team with 5 rebounds per game while standing at just 6-foot-4.
DESHAUN THOMAS, FORWARD
Thomas
Thomas has seen a big spike in minutes this season, jumping from just 14 per game last season to 25.1 this season. He had a season-high 18 points in the Buckeyes' win over Duke last month and he tin-
month and has finished with over 15 points on three different occasions this season. He won't get the fanfare of Sullinger or Buford, but he can score as well as any Buckeye at times.
CONNER TEAHAN PHOTO BY MIKE GUNNOE
point speak for themselves. He's a favorite to be named hero or of the Year and will be a top pick in next June's NBA draft
er of the Year and will be a top pick in next June's seven games he's averaging 19.1 points and 10.3 rebounds per outing. Back spasms kept him out of last Saturday's game, but don't expect him to be anywhere but the starting lineup in Allen Fieldhouse on Saturday.
JARED SULLINGER, FOR-WARD His achievements up until this favorite to be named National Play-in next June's NBA draft. Through
Sullinger
4
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Max Rothman
PLAYER TO WATCH.
Jared Sullinger, forward
OHIO STATE TIPOFF
HEAR YE. HEAR YE...
"The combination of Buford and Sullinger is as good as you are going to find in America."
AT A GLANCE
Ohio State comes to Lawrence as the No. 2 team in the nation, just behind Kentucky. The Buckeyes have already played and beaten two top-ten teams this season. They defeated No. 8 Florida, 81-74 on Nov. 15 and knocked off No. 4 Duke on Nov. 29, 85-63. Both games were at home, however, and Saturday will be the team's first road game of the season. They are currently 8-0 and are 12th in the nation in scoring with 82.5 points per game. The Buckeyes won the Big 10 championship last season and were selected by Big 10 media to win the conference this season as well. Coach Thad Matta returns two starters from a team that finished 34-3 a season ago and earned a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament before bowing out in the sweet 16.
- ESPN Analyst Dick Vitale on Wil-
liam Buford and Jared Sullinger
Will the Buckeyes experience home sickness?
QUESTION MARK
82
Sullinger collected a truck load of hardware last season as a freshman. He was a Naismith Award finalist, the Big 10 tournament Most Outstanding Player, and was named national Freshman of the Year by multiple outlets. He was also a near-lock as a top-5 pick in June's NBA draft, but he decided to return to the Buckeyes for his sophomore season. He was picked as the Big 10's pre-season Player of the Year, selected as a pre-season 1st-team All-American by numerous outlets and was chosen by cbssports.com as the pre-season National Player of the Year. In seven games this season he's averaged 19.1 points and 10.3 rebound per game and is the best player on the court almost every, if not every single game he plays. He sat out Saturday's win against Texas Pan American with back spasms but is expected to play on Saturday.
Will the Buckeyes experience home sickness? Ohio State has yet to leave Columbus this season, where they've racked up an 8-0 record with two impressive wins. Allen Fieldhouse hasn't hosted a team of Ohio State's ranking or caliber in quite some time, and the crowd will look to give the Buckeyes fits throughout the game. Not only have the Buckeyes yet to leave the friendly confines of Value City Arena in Columbus, the starting five consists of four underclassmen and just one senior. The inexperience was a detriment in last season's sweet 16 loss to Kentucky when the freshmen couldn't handle the pressure from No. 4 seed Kentucky. The Jayhawks won't be able to match that pressure Saturday, and the Buckeyes have beaten tough teams already this season, but as Ohio State's win over Duke showed, getting a team away from home can make things interesting.
Ohio State jumps out to a quick lead and Kansas continues to surrender turnovers. Despite facing strong on-ball pressure, the Buckeyes shoot a high percentage and keep their lead.
W.
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