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WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 2013
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
KANSAS TIPOFF
AT A GLANCI
Kansas travels to Stillwater tied for the Big 12 lead with the Cowboys at 9-3. The players want to make sure that they stay focused throughout the game and not let the mental lapses that happened last time affect them in this go around. The Jayhawks will need this win in order to put them in position for another Big 12 regular season title, especially with a big game against Iowa State coming up.
PLAYER TO WATCH
Naadir Tharpe, guard
Marcus smart made some massive plays down the stretch in the Cowboys' upset victory against the Jayhawks. Tharpe will draw added defenders, and might
Tharpe
bring enough energy to the floor to give Reletford and Johnson a break offensively. Tharpe's ability to control the pace and make open shots will be crucial for the Jayhawks, but his contributions on the defensive end might be just as important.
QUESTION MARK
Can the Jayhawks stop Marcus Smart?
With athletic guards like McLemore and Releford switching off against Smart, it's a definite possibility to slow this talented freshman down. If Releford plays like he did at Kansas State earlier this year, he should be an effective force in leading the Jayhawks to a victory over the Cowboys.
BIG JAY WILL CHEER IF...
They can limit the turnovers against the Cowboys. In the last meeting, Kansas turned the ball over 16 times and Oklahoma State finished with 19 offensive rebounds. If both of those numbers go down then, Kansas will have a much easier time getting a lead against Oklahoma State.
11-8----Bill Self's all-time record against his alma mater, Oklahoma State.
NUMBERS
32-31 — Kansas' record at GallagherIba Arena.
398 The number of games in a row since Kansas gave up 100 points.
NOTES
If Kansas wins, this will be the 24th consecutive season with 22 wins and 30 of the last 31 seasons.
Jeff Withey recorded his ninth double-double of the season and 15th of his career against Texas on Saturday.
Kansas leads the nation in field goal percentage defense at 35.6 percent.
Ben McLemore's 87.1 percent from the free throw line is first on the Kansas freshman list.
Kansas has won 12 of the 16 Big 12 regular-season titles, including the last eight.
ASHLEIGH LEE/KANSAN
Baby Jay hides his face during the introduction of Kansas State's players on the Feb. 11 game against Kansas State in Allen Fieldhouse, where Kansas won 83-62.
Revenge in Stillwater Kansas looks to take back the Big 12 from Cowboys
NO. 9 KANSAS VS. NO. 14 OKLAHOMA STATE 8 P.M., GALLAGHER-IBA ARENA, STILLWATER, OKLA.
McLemore
KANSAS
(21-4,9-3)
STARTERS
I
1
BEN MCLEMORE. GUARD
Releford
What else is there to say about McLemore? The impressive freshman pulloff off a 360 dunk to perfection against Texas. He wore a chicken head in the 'Harlem Shake' video. And now he's a contender for Big 12 Player of the Year. The only place for improvement is for the him to be more aggressive and learn to dribble a little better. At the moment, McLemore is staying ahead of Danny Manning's pace for freshman record with his 16.7 ppg.
Johnson
TRAVIS RELEFORD, GUARD
Releford's defense fueled an incredible defensive performance by the Jayhawks, holding the Longhorns to 21 percent shooting from the field. Releford remains one of the staple players for this team, and his ability to knock down open threes at the moment contributes to his overall success. He scored a team-high 15 points against Texas. Releford has shot 56.8 percent during the last six games.
Young
ELIJAH JOHNSON, GUARD
For the first time in weeks, Johnson appeared comfortable on the court. There were three or four buckets where he went to the rim and finished with an easy layup and attacked the glass. That's the Elijah Johnson that everyone knows and loves from last year's NCAA tournament. Hopefully, Johnson can continue that trend for the many weeks to come, especially because of Naadir Tharpe's emergence.
Withey
Young continued to show hustle plays throughout the game against Texas. He's an important spark plug for the Jayhawks when the team struggles to find consistency on offense. He'll have some difficult matchups today with Le Bryan Nash and Michael Cobbins, but he should be able to hold his own on both ends of the floor. Look for Young to continue playing as long as he plays through the system.
KEVIN YOUNG, FORWARD
With his two blocks on Saturday against Texas, Withey broke the Big 12 career blocks record previously held by former Texas center Chris Mihm. At the moment Withey appears to be firing on all cylinders as he moves closer to a potential All-American senior season. Look for him to have another impressive performance against Oklahoma State in one of the marquee games left in the conference season. Withey leads the Big 12 and is ranked third nationally with 4.0 blocked shots per game.
JEFF WITHEY, CENTER
★★★★
OKLAHOMA STATE
(19-5, 9-3)
STARTERS
MARCUS SMART. POINT GUARD
It's getting harder to argue there's a better point guard in the Big 12 than Marcus Smart. The freshman has been toying with opponents, averaging 16.5 points, 3.83 assists and 3.25 steals per game. The last time Kansas saw him, Smart was doing back flips down James Naismith Court after scoring 25 points in the Oklahoma State victory.
Smart
MARKEL BROWN, SHOOTING GUARD
No team had a tougher time stopping Brown this year than the Jayhawks. In the first half at Kansas, Brown hit seven of 10 shots from the field for 22 points and two assists. He would finish with 28 points, his highest total of the year. His ability to heat up from three adds another dynamic to the Cowboy's backcourt.
Brown
LE'BRYAN NASH, FORWARD
Nash's play has been a bit inconsistent lately. He scored only seven points against Kansas in Oklahoma State's victory, then reached double figures in consecutive games before registering six points at Texas Tech. Yet against Oklahoma, Nash went off for 26 points and five assists. It's only a matter of which Nash shows up on Wednesday.
Nash
Cobbins is another Cowboy that has been shaky as of late. He recorded a double-double at Texas Tech, and came one point away from another against Baylor. It's hard to argue with the play of a team on a seven game winning streak.
MICHAEL COBBINS, FORWARD
Cobbins
PHILIP JURICK, CENTER
He might not be the most dominating offensive force on Oklahoma State, but on a team loaded with shooters, Jurick is the perfect complement. The big man is averaging 6.7 rebounds per game this season, but he too has found himself in a rut, collecting six boards total in the Cowboys' last two games.
Jurick
Oklahoma State 74, Kansas 77
PREDICTION:
OSU TIPOFF
AT A GLANCE
They haven't all been easy wins, but Oklahoma State is rolling through conference play and gaining momentum every day. The Cowboys came close to falling at home twice, going to overtime against Baylor and Oklahoma. They have looked dominant against teams like Texas, Texas Tech and West Virginia, where the Cowboys won each game by at least 13.
PLAYER TO WATCH
Markel Brown, guard
Markel Brown played a first half for the ages in Allen Fieldhouse shooting 7 of 10 from the field (5 of 7 from 3-point range) and scoring 22 points.
The layhawks found a way to hold him from scoring 30, but not until late in the second half. He's always a threat to heat up.
QUESTION MARK
Will Oklahoma State's offense crack the Kansas defense again?
After shooting 38 percent in the first half of the Cowboys' victory in Lawrence, Oklahoma State found a way to get more shots off in the second half, connecting on 48 percent. A repeat performance would likely bring about the same result.
BABY JAY WILL WEEP IF..
Kansas tries to do too much on offense. The Jayhawks are at their best when they allow their defense to control the pace of the game. Bill Self likes the team to play fast, but getting stops against a high-powered Oklahoma State offense will be the key to the game.
NUMBERS
12. 5 —Phil Forte's 3-point field goal percentage against Kansas this year. He's averaging 36 percent for the season.
70 — Marcus Smart leads the Big 12 in steals with 79, 23 steals ahead of second place.
74. 2 — Oklahoma State's team free throw percentage, which leads the Big 12.
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