THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
THURSDAY, JANUARY 31. 2013
PAGE 3B
KANSAS TIPOFF
AT A GLANCE
Kansas and Oklahoma State have a deep and interwoven history. Cowboys alum Bill Self played in Stillwater from 1981-1985. He also was an assistant coach in Lawrence and Stillwater. For reasons yet to be explained games against the Cowboys can always be weird. Still Kansas needs a statement win to put itself in a position for a No. 1 seed when Selection Sunday comes around. The Big 12 conference is down and Kansas needs to keep winning to impress the committee.
PLAYER TO WATCH
Elijah Johnson, guard
Everyone is hoping Johnson can turn into the point guard, but at the moment it's the burning question. Johnson or Naadir Tharpe must step up and give Kansas
Johnson
good point guard play down the stretch. If Johnson starts to develop this, Kansas could become an unstoppable force in the Big 12. If he does not then concerns will continue to grow.
Will the free throw woes continue for more than one game?
QUESTION MARK
BIG JAY WILL CHEER IF.
With 16 missed free throws, there was grave concern about the team's concentration down the stretch. After being fairly consistent throughout the year it appeared the Jayhawks could not make free throws down the stretch against the Mountainers. I would expect the friendly confines of Allen Fieldhouse to help Kansas get back on track from the free throw line and get back to its 67.6 percent for the season.
The Jayhawks' offense finds some sort of rhythm. It was difficult to find many good plays for Kansas in the second half of its game against West Virginia. If the Jayhawks can start to put together remnants of their game against Colorado earlier in the year then the fans will start to breathe a little easier.
BY THE NUMBERS
33 - The number of consecutive home wins that Kansas at the moment. Only Syracuse has more with 35 victories at the Carrier Dome.
34. 9 - Kansas' field goal percentage defense number, which is still the best in the nation.
18 - The Jayhawks' current winning streak, which began after a November loss to Michigan State.
TYLER ROSTE/KANSAN
Senior Center Jeff Withey
fights to get to the hoop.
Withey had 15 points in
the first ever match be-
tween these two teams,
which ended with a
Jayhawk victory.
Cowboys come north to Kansas Kansas tries to stay perfect in Big 12 play NO. 2 KANSAS VS. OKLAHOMA STATE 3 P.M., ALLEN FIELDHOUSE, LAWRENCE
KANSAS
(19-1, 7-0)
STARTERS
Withey
Johnson
JEFF WITHEY, CENTER
Withey continued to be the backbone of the Kansas defense blocking another four shots against West Virginia on Monday. He also had a solid first half with 13 points on five of six shooting. Currently Withey is third in the country with 4.32 blocks per game. He's behind St. John's Chris Obekba and Kentucky's Nerlens Noel. The Withey block party will have to continue for Kansas to extend its winning streak.
Releford
★★★★
KEVIN YOUNG. FORWARD
The curious case of Elijah Johnson continues to develop and everyone is asking the same question: can he play point guard? At this point it's hard to tell with Johnson who has struggled transitioning from his natural position at shooting guard. Johnson remains the main question on the Jayhawks offense. His shooting appears to be getting better but Kansas needs a floor general in order for the wins to keep rolling in.
Young has made a few plays here and there in the past few games, but not with the same consistency. Still having him in the starting lineup remains the best rotation for Kansas to have going forward. He's crafty and has a great motor on defense. If Young can stay controlled around the rim look for his scoring numbers to go up along with his confidence.
ELIJAH JOHNSON, GUARD
★★★☆☆
★★☆☆
TRAVIS RELEFORD. GUARD
The fifth year senior has continued to be the most balanced player on the team the past few weeks and it has not really been close. Releford has made several clutch shots and continues to have lockdown on-ball defense. He's an important piece to the Jayhawks puzzle, and without his leadership the Jayhawks might have lost a few of the closer games this season.
Although foul trouble has been a problem of late McLemore continues to get into double figures whether it's from the free throw line or from three-point range. His 13-points against West Virginia was not very impressive, but he's continuing to become more aggressive. McLemore continues to grow as a complete player while working to cement himself as the No. 1 NBA draft pick. McLemore's a special player. Enjoy him over the next few weeks.
BEN MCLEMORE, GUARD
McLemore
★★★★☆
OKLAHOMA STATE
(13-5, 3-3)
STARTERS
PHILIP JURICK, CENTER
Jurick has been a monster on the glass with five games of more than 10 rebounds, yet the points haven't been coming as easy. Against Baylor and Kansas State he came up empty. Like Cobbins, Ford just wants his center to play physical and let his presence be known.
Jurick
★★☆☆☆
LE'BRYAN NASH, FORWARD-GUARD
Nash was on his way to a stellar freshman year (13.3 ppg) before a hand injury caused him to sit out the tail end of the conference schedule, including a match-up at Allen Fieldhouse. Not so amazingly Nash has continued to average 13.3 points per game in 2012-13 with a season high of 27 against Missouri. He'll be key to any success the Cowboys have.
Nash
★★★☆
MICHAEL COBBINS, FORWARD
Cobbins
The buckets have been hard to come by for the OSU sophomore, not the rebounds. In his last two games against West Virginia and Baylor Cobbins pulled down a combined 13 rebounds while in foul trouble. Cowboys' coach Travis Ford has challenged Cobbins to get more aggressive, in the last three games he's certainly stepped up.
★★★☆☆
Brown
MARKEL BROWN, GUARD
Brown makes up half of OSU's deadly backcourt and is a lock to score 20 points most nights. Coach Ford uses Brown to guard the opposition's best perimeter player and for the most part he's been able to shut them down while playing 34 minutes per game.
MARCUS SMART, GUARD
There's no question that Oklahoma State runs off its freshman point guard. Since breaking out against NC State in November, Smart has been a staple of the Big 12. He's averaging 13 points per game while dishing out 4.5 assists. Yet like with most freshman, turnovers have been the one thing slowing him down.
Smart
OSU TIPOFF
ATA-GLANCE
Phil Forte, guard
The Cowboys are clearly one of the better teams in the Big 12 yet a few losses have knocked them to the middle of the pack. It doesn't help their odds on Saturday that all but one of their five losses came on the road. When Nash, Smart and Brown are at their best they can do things like beat NC State by 20. When they're not, they can do things like lose to Virginia Tech.
Forte
PLAYER TO WATCH
It used to be Keiton Page killing Kansas from behind the arc; now it's Phil Forte. The freshman sees 26 minutes per game off the bench and is currently second in
the big 12 from three (46 made). Look for OSU to use him early and often.
QUESTION MARK
Why Doesn't The Talent Match The Record?
Five losses aren't the problem, but with as much talent as Oklahoma State boasts why are the Cowboys dropping to Virginia Tech, Baylor, Oklahoma and Kansas State? Is it a coaching problem or has this team just not reached it's potential yet?
BY THE NUMBERS
BABY JAY WILL WEEP IF.
The Jayhawks can't disrupt the Cowboys offense. OSU is averaging 70 points per game and Kansas hasn't scored that much since its overtime bout with Iowa State. The Jayhawks have been relying on defense since conference play started that shouldn't change on Saturday.
3 - The Cowboys have three players averaging more than 30 minutes per game (Nash, Brown, Smart)
49 - Marcus Smart leads the Big 12 with 49 steals
75. 5 - Oklahoma State's free throw percentage, also best in the Big 12
★★★☆
PREDICTION Kansas 72, OSU 61