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THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 15,2012
COUNTDOWN TO TIPOFF
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
KANSAS VS. CHATTANOOGA 7 p.m., Lawrence, Kan.
KU
TIPOFF
AT A GLANCE
Kansas (1-1) is facing a quick turnaround after its tough three-point loss to Michigan State in the Champions Classic on Tuesday night in Atlanta. The Jayhawks will be anxious to take the court in order to wash the bad taste out of their mouths.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Freshman forward Jamari Traylor
Top Ten plays. With
Traylor showed how much of an athletic freak he is by having two of his plays from the Michigan State game make it on Sportscenter's
Kansas facing another smaller lineup, which center Jeff Withey has a history of struggling against, Traylor's energy and athleticism will be a big boost coming off the bench for Kansas.
Which Kansas shooting team will show up?
QUESTION MARK
In their season opener, the Jayhawks only made two 3-point shots all game despite getting many open looks on 21 attempts. They shot much better, four-of-nine, against Michigan State although they took less than half the amount of shots.
HEAR YE, HEAR YE
"Whenever you got the shot clock all the way down to 10, for them to score is kind of frustrating, so we need to work, definitely, on that."
—Jeff Withey on allowing Michigan State to score late in the shot clock.
BIG JAY WILL CHEER IF...
Kansas' defense uses its length and athletic ability to force early turnovers, allowing them to run the court and cruise to an easy victory.
KANSAS 1-1, (0-O BIG 12) STARTERS
Withev
Jeff Withey, Senior Center
By his own admission, Withey doesn't like playing against smaller lineups such as the one he will face tonight in Chattanooga. Unfortunately for him, not every team he plays against will line up another seven-footer for him to go against, and he'll have to learn to get in better positions to defend smaller forwards.
Ellis
Perry Ellis, Freshman Forward
Ellis disappeared against Michigan State, partly because he couldn't hang with its physical style of play. The freshman should have an easier time using his finesse moves down low against Channaooga and get back to scoring in the double ooga.
Releford
Travis Releford, Senior Guard
Teleford didn't crash the boards against Michigan State with the same enthusiasm he did in the Jayhawks' season opener. The hustleplayer still has yet to find his stroke from beyond the arc, missing all six of his attempts on the season, but he should have an easier going against a less-physical Chattanooga team.
McLemore
Ben McLemore,Freshman Guard
McLemore still shows his youth at times, but he is always one of the most athletic players on the court. He should play a key role in the Jay-hawks' offense, as well as using his impressive jumping ability to grab rebounds on both ends of the floor.
Johnson
Johnson is still trying to find a happy medium between running the Jayhawks offense and taking control of the game when he needs to. At the start of the second half against Michigan State, Johnson looked like he was about to take control of the game before suddenly taking a more passive role in the offense.
Elijah Johnson, Senior Guard
CHATTANOOGA 1-0, (0-0 BIG 12) STARTERS
The Serbian native has made his presence felt in Chattanooga, Tenn.
Last season he averaged 10.2 points per game and led the Mocs with
Drazen Zlovaric, RS Senior forward
6. 4 rebounds and a field goal percentage of 54.9 percent per game. Zloviar played in all 32 games for the Mocs a season ago and was able to produce 19 double-digit scoring games, with a career high of 22 points against the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. He's off to a similar start as he grabbed eight rebounds and put up 11 points in the Mocs' opening game victory against Tennessee Temple. Zloviar has shown a knack for playing strong against tough
Zlovario
opponents. When the Mocs squared off against Kentucky, Tennessee, Indiana and Butter, Zlovic averaged 10.3 points and 8.3 rebounds in those games with his best game coming against Kentucky, where he put up 15 points and nine rebounds.
Z. Mason, RS Junior Forward
Mason is a former tight end, the No. 2 ranked tight end coming out of high school in 2009, for Ole Miss before transferring to Chattanooga where he needs to become a good low presence. Last season, Mason averaged 5.6 points and 5.6 rebounds per game. Despite suffering a knee injury that cost him seven games, Mason was still second on the team in rebounding. In the Mocs' opening game, Mason had a team-high 16 points on seven-of-12 shooting and also pulled down five rebounds. $ \triangle $ $ \triangle $ $ \triangle $
Mason
Ronrico White, sophomore guard
White is a combo guard who has the ability to play with or without the ball. Last season, White was a reserve player who played 13.8 minutes per game. In the limited minutes White played, he was trigger happy from behind the arc. He did lead the Mocs with a 40.4 percentage from behind the arc a season ago. In the Mocs' opening game, he couldn't get many shots to fall but was able to get to the free throw line, where he recorded seven of his nine points.
White
Gee McGhee, freshman guard
Coming out of high school in Baton Rouge, McGhee was the No. 3 ranked shooting guard according to Scout.com. While in high school, McGhee averaged 29.2 points per game as a senior. McGhee's scoring impact wasn't felt in the Mocs' opening victory, as he managed just six points on two-of-eight shooting and one-of-seven from three-point range.
Jones was McGhee's high school teammate in Baton Rouge but wasn't as highly regarded as his teammate. Jones averaged 18.8 points and 8.4 rebounds per game as a senior. Like McGhee, Jones' impact in the Mocs' opening game was minimal as he posted four points on one-of-five shooting and fouled out of the game in the second half.
Casey Jones, freshman guard
McGhee
Jones
CHATT TIPOFF
AT A GLANCE
The Mocs are coming off a year when they posted a 11-21 record and going 5-13 in the Southern Conference. Head coach John Sulman is in his eighth year at Chattanooga, where he has compiled a 132-127 record with two NCAA tournament appearances. The Mocs return one lone starter from a season ago in Drazen Zlovaric, a senior from Serbia. The Mocs opened their season on Monday Nov. 12 against Tennessee Temple, who the Mocs defeated 88-53 with junior Z. Mason leading the way with 16 points. This will be the third meeting against the Jayhawks, with Kansas winning the two previous meetings.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Jared Bryant, sophomore forward
Despite only playing in 19 minutes in the Mocs' opening victory, Bryant went three-of-three from the field for eight points. He also added seven rebounds for the Mocs. Bryant is
Bryant
part of a bench that is relied on heavily as the bench scored 42 of the 88 points.
QUESTION MARK
Will the Mocs be able to knock off a ranked opponent on the road?
The Mocs haven't had much success against ranked opponents in the past. They are just 3-47 against top 25 teams with their last victory coming in the 1997 NCAA tournament, when they defeated No. 19 Illinois 75-63 to advance to the Sweet 16. The Mocs are also 0-23 against top 25 teams on the road.
HEAR YE. HEAR YE
"Let's go out there and play our guts out, and go out and learn. Let's go out and play against one of the best teams in the country and get better. What an opportunity. Win or lose or whatever, let's get better."
Head coach John Shulman on gomocs.com
BABY JAY WILL CRY IF.
Prediction:
The Jayhawks commit careless turnovers on offense, allowing Chattanooga to keep the score low and keep the upset vibe alive into the second half.
Kansas 88, Chattanooga 55
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