KANSAN
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
MONDAY, JANUARY 28, 2013
INIA OFF
NCE
lantown with a Virginia in the the moment, seventh place have here have some difficult rigins' program attempt to save ia can pull off defense and will have looks grim for
VATCH
cairns remains deeding scorer and mountain and really of the only threats to be consistent- has carlss has risen in score in he last three games in shooting 46.3 jig just fewer four match-
ARK
illy pull off
played is yes, **never know**
a new road
teams enjoy
virginia beat
U I Coluiseon
feb. 10
ut task with
ne offensive
ERS
or Bob Hug-
h legendary
head coach
KANSAS 67,OKLAHOMA 54
word of the
uggins when
er.
percentage of s when an ame.
WITHEY REBOUNDS AGAINST SOONERS' OSBY
GEOFFREY CALVERT
EP IF...
gcalvert@kansan.com
nense gets
noeer over
t he Vernon
Satur-
Journal,
aged 62.2
sings, the
stretch
Kansas.
ve-game
2 season
Kansas'
game in
For the second straight game, Kansas' defense goaded the opponent's leading scorer into a poor shooting performance, helping the No. 3 Jayhawks defeat the Oklahoma Sooners 67-54 Saturday to extend its nation-leading winning streak to 17 games.
Oklahoma senior forward Romero Osby entered the contest averaging a team-best 14.5 points per game and shooting 53 percent from the field. He scored a career-high 29 points in the Sooners' last outing against Texas and led Oklahoma in scoring in its previous five games.
But he hadn't played against Jeff Withey yet this season.
"He has good timing. You try to get him off the floor with your pump fakes and he just stays down," Osby said. "He always bothers people, but I think I kind of let
it get in my head a little bit that I had missed a couple of shots."
Obsy tied for Oklahoma's scoring lead with 12 points, but he shot only four of 16 from the floor. He made only his fourth 3-pointer of the year against Kansas and tried taking long jumpers to get Withey away from the basket.
When those didn't work, Osby resorted to taking the ball back down low. But Withey refused to bite on Osby's pump fakes, leaving the Sooner with few options.
"It is frustrating because that's what our coaches teach us. That's what we work on every day in practice is getting people in the air with pump fakes." Osby said. "When you get down there and the guy does it and he just stands his ground, stands his ground and he's standing on top of you its kind of frustrating."
Withey finished with 13 points and nine rebounds. More importantly, he was one of Kansas' best
defenders, swatting four shots and nabbing three steals to tie senior forward Kevin Young for the team lead in steals. It was Withey's highest block total since conference play began.
In Kansas' outing in Manhattan last Tuesday, the Jayhawks held Kansas State's star guard Rodney McGruder to 13 points four of 12 in shooting.
All four of his blocks came in the first half, and one of them was against Osby. He said he noticed Osby became more passive offensively after his block.
"I think he was a little hesitant to shoot the ball," Withey said. "I might have blocked him in the first half kind of early and might have got to his head, but I'm not sure."
Although McGruder plays on the perimeter while Osby plays in the paint, Sooners coach Lon Kruger said Withey's value comes from his ability to affect the offense of players he isn't even assigned to
guard.
"He erases any mistakes on the perimeter plus he guards his own guy inside and not only blocks a lot of shots but changes a lot of shots and does that to a lot of people," Kruger said.
And in a game that featured another drowsy performance from Kansas in its hallcourt offense, Withey's defensive effort helped Kansas create a transition offense. The Jayhawks scored five points from Withey's blocks and seven points from his steals.
"The mistakes we made in the first half, he erased a lot of them, which led to points," Kansas coach Bill Self said. "We didn't really do much offensively at all but we got easy baskets off of his defense when we did get out and run."
Edited by Brian Sisk
TYLER ROSTF/KANSAN
Senior guard Elijah Johnson laying up the ball through a few Sooner defenders. Johnson had a total of 12 points in Saturdays win over Oklahoma.
ASHLEIGH LEE/KANSAN
Senior guard Travis Releford pushes away his opponent as he makes his way down the court during the game against Oklahoma. Releford had one personal foul.
TYLER ROSTE/KANSAN
TYLER ROSTE/KANSAN Guards Travis Releford and Ben McLemore fight for a loose ball in the second half of the Jayhawks game against the Sooners.
ASHLEIGH LEE/KANSAN
Sophomore guard Nadir Tharpe jumps to get over his opponents during Saturday's game against Oklahoma at Allen Fieldhouse, where the Jayhawks won 67-54. Tharpe had eight points and was 1-5 in field goal attempts.
ASHLEIGH LEE/KANSAN
< 1
ASHLEIGH LEE/KANSAN
Freshman forward Jamiri Traylor attempts to block his opponent's shot. Traylon had one block during the game.
PRIME PLAYS
PAGE 5B
FIRST HALF (SCORE AFTER PLAY)
16:37- Ben Mclemore spins into the paint and goes up for two off the backboard.
(6-5, KU)
7. 22- A Kevin Young steal and slam dunk on a fast break brings Allen Fieldhouse to life. (20-12, KU)
1:20- Withey blocks an OU shot and leads to Travis Releford fast break and dunk.
(29-18, KU)
SECOND HALF
16:34- A Withey steal leads to another Releford layup on the fast break. (33-23 KU)
8. 38- McLemore's 3-pointer leads to an Oklahoma timeout as the Jayhawks start to pull away. (49-35, KU)
6:54- Withey glides through the paint for a one-handed slam after a Releford block and rebound. (52-37, KU)
Kansas 67 | 29 — 38
Oklahoma 54 | 21 — 33
JAYHAWK STAT LEADERS
Points
Rebounds
McLemore 18
Withey
Assists
9
Releford
KANSAS
Relefori 5
KansasAS
Player Pts FG-FGA Rebs A TO's
Kevin Young 6 3-7 5 0 2
Jeff Withey 13 6-11 9 1 1
Elijah Johnson 8 3-8 1 2 4
Ben McLemore 18 5-10 7 1 2
Travis Releford 10 4-10 5 5 3
Naadir Tharpe 8 1-5 0 4 2
Jamari Traylor 2 1-1 3 0 0
Perry Ellis 2 1-2 5 2 0
Totals 67 24-55 41 15 14
OPPONENT
Player Pts FG-FGA Rebs A TO's
Amath M'Baye 12 4-11 7 0 1
Romero Osby 12 4-16 6 2 1
Steven Pledger 10 4-8 1 0 1
Buddy Hield 9 4-11 2 2 0
Je'lon Hornbeak 1 0-1 4 2 3
Sam Grooms 2 1-2 1 1 1
Andrew Fitzgerald 4 2-4 8 1 1
Cameron Clark 4 2-3 2 0 2
Totals 54 21-59 31 10 11
ASHLEIGH Lee/KANSAN
Senior center Jif Withey high fives his teammate senior guard Elijah Johnson after
Saturday, Jan. 26's game against Oklahoma at Allen Fieldhouse where the Jayhawks
won 67-54.
ASHLEIGH LEE/KANSAN
GAME TO REMEMBER
Jeff Withey, Senior Center
The senior center had a complete game on Saturday, making 6 of his 11 shots, grabbing nine rebounds, blocking four shots and even running the fast break a few times with his three steals. Withey took advantage of a size discrepancy with dunks and blocks throughout the game.
Withey
GAME TO FORGET
Eliiah Johnson, Senior Guard
The senior guard continues to struggle on both ends of the floor. Johnson shot three of eight from the field, but managed to knock down two three pointers. Players and coaches alike have talked about Johnson's struggles with shooting, but he's hoping to break out of the funk soon.
Johnson
QUOTE OF THE GAME
"I can tink of better options than him leading the break, but the way we played today he may have been as good as our guards out there leading the break."
— Coach Bill Self on Withe leading two fast breaks
Self
KEY STATS
15/14
54.5
Kansas' assists and turnovers. Although the numbers are nearly identical, it's the first time since the conference opener against Iowa State that Kansas finished a game with more assists than turnovers.
The layawhaws shot a dismal one of six from beyond the arc in the first half, but shot six for 11 from the 3-point line in the second half.
17
Kansas extended its winning streak to 17 games, the nation's longest active streak.