/ GAME DAY / THURSDAY, MARCH 11, 2010 / THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN / KANSAN.COM
KU
TIPOFF
AT A GLANCE
Kansas finished the regular season 29-2 overall and had its second-best Big 12 record going 15-1. With a No. 1-seed locked up, Kansas will try to be the third team behind Kentucky and North Carolina to attain the 2,000-win mark. Kansas just needs to defeat Texas Tech, which toppled Colorado Wednesday. The Jayhawks already beat Texas Tech 89-63 at home this season and are hoping to not repeat their first-round exit to Baylor last season.
COUNTDOWN TO TIPOFF
QUESTION MARK
Is the 2,000th victory enough to get Kansas motivated?
Every player has a sense of pride. All teams want to be No. 1 and if they can't be at the top, then they want to beat the top team. Kansas is the top team in the NCAA as it stands right now and doesn't have much to gain from the tournament as far as seeding goes. But the Jayhawks have the history to get to win 2,000, revenge to exact from losing to Baylor last season and the desire to keep improving. All those should be enough to avoid a first-round upset.
Collins
Taylor
Morris
Henry
KANSAS
29-2(15-1)
STARTERS
Aldrich
NO.1 KANSAS VS TEXAS TECH 11:30 a.m., SPRINT CENTER, Kansas City, Mo., ESPN2
Sherron Collins, senior guard
Thinking back to last year's first-round loss to Baylor, Collins said he was still sick about that game after air-balling the potential game-winning three. But it's a new year, and he has a cast around him that can keep him from having to make those tough shots, though he is more than capable of doing so.
Tyshawn Taylor, sophomore guard
He had one of his more productive games of the season against Missouri with 13 points, five rebounds, six assists and three steals. He is starting to come alive offensively, averaging 12 points in his last five games, shooting 58.3 percent in the process. That just gives opponents another player to worry about with the ball.
Jayhawks ease into postseason play against Red Raiders
Anyone who watched the Mizzou game remembers the crash Morris took, but he still came back out finishing with 12 points and 10 rebounds. He said he cut his wrist and blacked out for a few seconds from bashing his head into a table, but those injuries won't hinder his game with five days to recover. He was named to the All-Big 12 second team this week.
Marcus Morris, sophomore forward
TOURNAMENT TUNEUP
Xavier Henry
Cole Aldrich, junior center
Xavier Henry, freshman guard
His streak of seven consecutive double-figure scoring games came to an end Saturday at Missouri. Henry took only six shots, so it's not something to read deep into, but keep an eye on his shot attempts in his first game of the tournament. He's the type of player to defer to the veterans in a high-stakes atmosphere, but he should be the second or third option for the Jayhawks.
The Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year is coming off one of his more quiet games with 10 points, seven rebounds and one block against the Tigers. That doesn't mean he doesn't affect the game because just his mere presence was a factor. Mizzou was held to 35 percent shooting, and teams that don't attack Aldrich will suffer the same fate.
Corey Thibodeaux
TEXAS TECH
17-14(4-12)
STARTERS
John Roberson, junior guard
Roberson is the glue guy on this Texas Tech team. He leads the team with 5.4 assists per game and also ranks second in points with 14.4 per contest. If Collins and company contain Roberson to single-digit points and fewer than five assists, the Jayhawks should walk all over the Raiders.
Roberson
Nick Okorie, senior guard
Okorie and center Darko Cohadarevic are the two seniors in a junior-heavy lineup. Okorie didn't start when the Jayhawks handled the Red Raiders by 26 in January, but he was Tech's second leading minute-getter with 28. He tallied five points, three rebounds and six steals in the loss. Okorie hit 11-of-16 shots for 34 points in the regular season finale against Colorado.
Okorie
Mike Singletary, junior forward
Singletary is built like a house. A brick house. He's listed at 6-foot-6 and 217 pounds, but he's the type of guy who seems much bigger in person. After being completely silenced in 20 minutes of play in Lawrence — he finished with zero points, his only scoreless performance of the season — bet on him to come out for blood Thursday. Singletary leads the Red Raiders with 14.9 points per game.
D'walyn Roberts, junior forward
Singletary
Roberts isn't a huge numbers guy, averaging 6.5 points and 5.4 rebounds per game, but he gets a lot of little things done for the Red Raiders. And occasionally he can post double-double numbers if coach Pat Knight needs him to. He had a respectable six points and 10 rebounds in the Raiders' first-round victory against Colorado.
Darko Cohadarevic, senior forward
Cohadarevic is impossible to miss on the floor — he's 6-foot-9, 242 pounds and looks like the villain in a Die Hard movie — but if you don't watch closely, it's easy to miss his production. He averages 6.8 points and five rebounds, but Cohadarevic hasn't scored a point in more than a week and has pulled down just three rebounds in his last three games.
Roberts
Cohadarevic
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TTU
TIPOFF
AT A GLANCE
Kansas is stronger at all five positions on the floor and in the bench as well. Texas Tech isn't a bad group of players, but there's just not enough talent to stage an upset. If the No. 1 Jayhawks come out with any fire, they should quickly put away Texas Tech, which limped to the finish line on a seven-game skid before knocking off Colorado in the first round. Barring a colossal set back, this one should be well in hand for Kansas by the first-half buzzer.
Can something to play for make up for talent?
QUESTION MARK
The Jayhawks easily have enough talent and depth to lay another hurting on the Red Raiders. This time around, though, Pat Knight's crew has a lot more on the line. With a victory, the Red Raiders lock up an NIT bid. With three more victories, they steal a spot in the NCAA tournament. All the Jayhawks have to do is show up, and they're a 1-seed on Selection Sunday. Basically, Kansas has nothing but pride on the line. Can the Red Raiders take advantage?
LAST MEETING
NO. 3 KANSAS VS. TEXAS TECH at Allen Fieldhouse
KU 89,.TTU 63
Leading scorers:
KU: Marcus Morris - 20 pts
TTU: John Roberson - 16 pts
KANSAS WILL SUFFER
ANOTHER FIRST-ROUND
TOURNAMENT LOSS IF...
...it gets distracted. That was all the talk before practice on Monday — staying focused. The tournament games are a different beast, and with a young team, the Jayhawks need to play as many games as possible to be better prepared for the NCAA Tournament. In the two losses against Tennessee and Oklahoma State, the players seemed like they weren't into the game but were instead more involved in the hype. This is a big stage, and the Jayhawks choked last year. They don't want a repeat of last year by any means.
THE SPRINT CENTER WILL
WAVE THE WHEAT IF...
...the Jayhawks bring some of Allen Fieldhouse with them. The best part about playing in the Sprint Center for Kansas of course is the home-court advantage. It won't have to play against local teams Missouri or Kansas State yet, so the crowd should be covered in blue. The Jayhawks beat LaSalle 90-65 in the Sprint Center earlier this year, and the Jayhawks have a 58-game victory streak in Allen Fieldhouse. That certainly puts Kansas at an even higher advantage not just in this game, but in the Big 12 tournament.
Prediction:
Kansas 79,
Texas Tech 66