Thursday, March 14, 2013
Volume 125 Issue 89
kansan.com
COMMENTARY Momentum needed for Big 12 Tournament
In a strange season where top-25 teams have been dropping like footballs thrown at Kansas City Chiefs receivers, teams are looking for anything to set them apart from their competition.
For the lajhawys, one thing that could set them apart is momentum
However, that momentum currently does not exist. This is why this Big 12 tournament is one of the most important in recent memory.
The lajahawks have many of the pieces to win a national championship. They have a go-to player in Ben McLemore, an outstanding perimeter defender in Travis Releford, and an outstanding post defender in Jeff Withey, who is now developing a turn-around jump shot.
They are also missing several pieces. They are inconsistent, turn the ball over too often, and struggle against teams whose offense primarily consists of the 3-point shot.
However, this year, these weaknesses will not prevent Kansas from cutting down the nets. The Jayhawks just need a little boost. That boost could come from winning a winnable Big 12 tournament.
Any loss in the Big 12 tournament is a bad loss. In previous years, Kansas would lose in the Big 12 tournament, but it wouldn't be a concern because that was its wake-up call. This year, Kansas has already had its wake-up call. The Oklahoma State loss was the birds chirping outside, the TCU loss was the alarm blaring, and the Oklahoma loss was the entire Kansas marching band breaking into your bedroom with its rendition of the Beastie Bros' Sabatage.
The Jayhawks thought they had righted the ship completely, but then the Baylor debacle showed that there was still work to be done
Kansas had learned its lesson with its four previous Big 12 losses. A loss in the Big 12 tournament does not have the same silver lining it has had in years past. Self could try to parlay it into yet another learning experience, but maybe a loss would simply mean the Jayhawks just aren't championship material.
This tournament is Kansas' for the taking. Texas is suffering from a bad case of Rick Barnes, and all other teams seem to have fatal flaws. Kansas is playing in the nearby Sprint Center with superior talent and a coach who has won nine straight regular season titles.
That's not to say Kansas should underestimate the Big 12 field. To do so would be a worse decision than that time you decided to reheat your leftover Taco Bell. Instead of underestimating the field, Kansas should underestimate itself. It should come out with the notion that if it doesn't have its foot on the accelerator at all times, it could lose.
Not winning would be inexcusable. Meanwhile, winning would give the team much needed momentum and confidence going into a tournament that is seemingly a crapshoot. Kansas could use any intangible it can get to separate itself.
However, Kansas could also win the national championship.
It just needs a step in the right direction.
Edited by Tyler Conover
KANSAS JAYHAWKS
The Jayhawks clinched their ninth straight Big 12 regular season championship on Saturday, despite losing to Baylor. Kansas has an NCAA-best 56 conference regular season crowns and has won 13 of the last 17 league titles since entering the Big 12.
Kansas leads the NCAA Division I field goal percentage defense at 35.8 percent and is third nationally in blocked shots at 6.7 per game.
Freshman guard Josh Gray has dished out five or more assists in his last seven outings. He is third among all Big 12 freshman with 92 assists while ranking second in steals with 57.
Kansas has a 17-4 record in the Sprint Center including 2008, 2010 and 2011 Big 12 conference tournament championships.
In nine of the last 13 games, sophomore Jordan Tolbert scored in double figures. He is the only Red Raider averaging double-digits in conference play with 10.4 points per game.
TEXAS TECH RED RAIDERS
Texas Tech has committed less than 15 turnovers in each of its last eight contests.
BAYLOR BEARS
Pierre Jackson is averaging 23.5 points and
7.7 assists in his last Big 12 contests.
Cory Jefferson played one of his better games of the season against Kansas on Saturday making 11-of-13 shots and tallying up 25 points. He now has 40 games this season.
For the sixth straight season, Baylor recorded at least 18 victories. The Bears also have victories over AP top 25 teams in each of the last six seasons.
IOWA STATE
The Cyclones lost seven games in conference play, but three of those losses were in overtime and two more were by fewer than five points in regulation.
lowa State averages 80.1 points per game, which is fourth nationally.
Five players average in double figures scoring.
TEXAS LONGHORNS
Texas played six overtime games, going 3-3. All three wins came in the last month of Big 12 play.
The Longhorns lead the Big 12 in 3-point field goal percentage defense at. 288.
After serving a 23-game suspension, sophomore Myck Kabongo led Texas with 15.8 points per game in the final eight games of the season.
OKLAHOMA SOONERS
For the 27th time in school history, Oklahoma posted a 20-win season, which it hadn't done since 2008-2009.
Senior forward Romero Osby is averaging 22.0 points and 58.3 percent shooting in the past seven contests. In his last four outings, Osby has scored 98 points. He's shot 50 percent in 19 of the last 23 games.
In the last six games, the Sooners averaged 83 points, surpassing the 80-point mark in five of their last six games.
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KANSAS STATE
Kansas State ended the regular season by winning six of its final seven games.
By clinching a share of the Big 12 title, the Wildcats earned their first conference title since 1977.
The Wildcats allow only 60.5 points per game, tops in the Big 12.
WEST VIRGINIA
In its inaugural season in the Big 12, West Virginia endured its first losing season since 2002-2003.
The Mountaineers don't have anyone who averages in double figures scoring, but they do have six players who average at least 7.5 points per game.
West Virginia is the league's best offensive rebounding team at 13.52 offensive rebounds per game.
TCU HORNED FROGS
The Horned Frogs shot 50 percent or better in each of its last two contests, including 51.9 percent beyond the arc.
Sophomore guard Kyan Anderson has scored in double figures in nine straight games, the longest streak by a TCU player since 2009-2010. In three of the last four games, he's shot 50 percent or better.
Senior forward Garlon Green is one of 20 players in school history with at least 1,000 points and 400 rebounds. He's played in 128 career games for TCU, including 109 straight games.
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OKLAHOMA STATE
Marcus Smart's 2.97 steals per game lead the conference by a full steal. Texas Tech's Josh Gray is second with 1.97 steals per game.
Smart is also one of only three players to be Big 12 Player of the Year and Freshman of the Year in the same season. He joins Tony Allen and James Anderson as Cowboys who earned the Big 12 Player of the Year award.
Oklahoma State will finish the season ranked for the first time since 2005.
C.