THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 2013
PAGE 7
KANSAS TIPOFF
AT A GLANCI
Coming off a bitter loss to Oklahoma State at Allen Fieldhouse, only the eighth home loss for coach Bill Self during his Kansas career, the Jayhawks face a putrid TCU squad that might not win a conference game this season. The Horned Frogs only average 54.1 points per game. Although TCU only surrenders 58.5 points per game, Kansas will look to take out its frustrations on the offensive end and may have no problem scoring at least 70 points for the second consecutive game.
PLAYER TO WATCH
ELIJAH JOHNSON, GUARD
Critics bound the senior point guard after he dribbled the ball off his foot to an Oklahoma State player with Kansas trailing by three points on its final possession. Johnson
Johnson
said he didn't immediately realize it but he needed a pep talk after costing his team a shot at tying the game, and Self gave it to him. Playing against an overmatched TCU squad may be the perfect scenario for Johnson to take command of the game again without fear of getting benched if he makes a mistake.
Did Bill Self make the right decision?
QUESTION MARK
After the Oklahoma State loss, the immediate popular sentiment was to bench Johnson for the TCU game in favor of sophomore Naadir Tharpe, a true point guard. Self's response was that Kansas is 19-2 with Johnson at the helm, a better indication of his job as the team's leader than his shooting percentage. Although a team's record doesn't matter in the heat of tournament play, Johnson's offensive numbers are similar to what they were at this time last year before he made clutch shots in the NCAA Tournament. Self seems to be the only one in Lawrence not overreacting, which may pay huge dividends for Johnson's confidence later in the season.
BY THE NUMBERS
4-0 - Kansas' all-time record against TCU, with the last victory being 93-74 at Alen Fieldhouse in December 2004.
264 The Jayhawks have played 264 games without suffering consecutive losses, the longest active streak in Division I. The last time Kansas lost consecutive games was Jan. 14 and 16, 2006, at home against Kansas State and on the road against Missouri.
24 - if Kansas wins tonight it would give the team 20 wins for the 24th consecutive seasons starting with the 1983-1984 season.
Johnson
KANSAS
(19-2,7-1)
STARTERS
McLemore
Releford
ELIJAH JOHNSON, GUARD
Coach Bill Self gave Johnson a vote of confidence after Johnson's turnover on Kansas' final possession cost the Jayhawks an opportunity to attempt a game-tying shot. Self said he only needs to look at Kansas' 19-2 record to know Johnson is still the right player to start at the point. It's clear that Johnson's low-volume scoring but high-volume turnovers frustrate them both. Playing against a team that has never seen him play in person before may help Johnson break out of his scoring slump.
BEN MCLEMORE, GUARD
Although Oklahoma State's Markel Brown and Marcus Smart stole the headlines for scoring 28 and 25 points, respectfully, McLemore played his best offensive game since the Big 12 opponent against Iowa State. He picked up two fouls in the first 13 minutes on Saturday, but he didn't let foul trouble affect his game for probably the first time this season. McLemore's 17 field goal attempts were his second-most this season. During a 13-4 Kansas run early in the second half in which McLemore scored 11 points, he showed the killer offensive instinct Self has been hoping to see
TRAVIS RELEFORD, GUARD
Releford had an unusually quiet offensive performance Saturday, attempting only five field goals and failing to get a transition bucket. He hasn't scored more than 15 points during a Big 12 game, but it was the first time he failed to reach double figures. However, his ability to stay involved in the game's flow benefits Kansas if Ben McLemore picks up two quick fouls.
Young
Withey
Kansas takes on the Frogs Jayhawks make debut at TCU NO.5 KANSAS VS. TEXAS CHRISTIAN 8 P.M., DANIEL-MEYER COLISEUM, FORT WORTH, TEXAS
Young benefited from a higher-scoring game Saturday, scoring 12 points and grabbing four steals in only 24 minutes of action. Young got to the free throw line eight times against Oklahoma State. If he can match that feat tonight, TCU doesn't have enough talented forwards to battle Kansas' big men.
KEVIN YOUNG, FORWARD
JEFF WITHEY, CENTER
Withey is the Jayhawks' leading rebounder with 8.3 rebounds per game, and is the team's most consistent player. However, Withey and Kevin Young's inability to keep Oklahoma State from grabbing offensive rebounds hurt Kansas down the stretch in its loss Saturday. He'll face a TCU team that starts three players that are either 6-feet-7 inches or 6-feet-8 inches, but none of them average more than 6.9 rebounds per game.
Blake Schuster
TCU
(9-12,0-8)
STARTERS
KYAN ANDERSON, GUARD
TCU's point guard is one of only two Horned Frogs averaging more than 10 points per game. But averaging as many assists per game as turnovers per game (3) isn't going to break the losing streak anytime soon. His knack to turn the ball over has gotten worse since conference play began.
Anderson
GARLON GREEN,GUARD
Green has also fallen on hard times in the scoring department. While he averages 10 points per game he has reached that plateau just once in the last six games. Although, he did score 20 points on the road against the same Oklahoma State team that just handed Kansas a loss at home.
Green
CONNELL CROSSLAND. FORWARD
The Horned Frogs frontcourt does have size but that hasn't counted for much. Crossland comes in at 6-foot-7 inches, 190 pounds and has only been a factor on the boards. He grabbed 12 last game against Texas.
★★☆☆★
Crossland
ADRICK MCKINNEY. FORWARD
Where Abron's numbers have fallen, McKinney's have picked up. At 6-foot-8 inches, 250 pounds, McKinney is the same size as Abron but since conference play began, he's averaged 10 points per game with at least five boards. McKinney has been one of the bright spots during TCU's eight-game losing streak.
★★★☆☆
McKinney
DEVONTA ABRON, FORWARD
It hasn't been easy for TCU's sophomore forward. After starting the season with a streak of scoring in double figures, Abron has seen his production tank and hasn't been able to score more than 10 points since the conference opener against Texas Tech.
PREDICTION:
Abron
KANSAS 85,TCU 56
TCU
TIPOFF
AT A GLANCE
When TCU joined the Big 12, it wasn't because of its history of basketball dominance. That lack of tradition has certainly carried over. The Horned Frogs have yet to win a conference game this season, and the closest they came was an 11-point loss at home to Texas Tech.
PLAYER TO WATCH
McKinney
ADRICK MCKINNEY, FORWARD
McKinney has been one of the few TCU players to stay competitive against tough Big 12 competition. He's
had at least five boards and eight points in his last five games.
QUESTION MARK
When will TCU pick up its first conference win?
The Horned Frogs haven't come close to winning since playing Texas Tech at home and will have yet to face the Red Raiders in Lubbock, Texas. Could TCU go winless in its first year in the Big 12?
BY THE NUMBERS
4 TCU is 0-4against the Jayhawks.
76 The most points TCU has scored in a game this season.
59. 1 TCU's team free throw percentage.
BABY JAY WILL CRY
If TCU scores more than 60 points. At the beginning of the season, Northwestern held the Horned Frogs to 33 points. In Big 12 play, TCU has yet to top 56.
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