6B GAME DAY THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2008 KU TIPOFF SHOOTOUT IN STILLWATER Jayhawks need victory to stay in race for conference title KANSAS VS. OKLAHOMA STATE 3 p.m., Gallagher-Iba Arena, CBS AT A GLANCE Oklahoma State is not the team Kansas wants to be playing right now. A matchup earlier in the season would have been much more favorable. Just two weeks ago, the Cowboys were in the midst of a six-game losing streak. Now, they've won three of their last four games, including a big one on the road at Texas A&M. Gallagher-Iba is always a tough place to play, and this year won't be an exception. Kansas has to fight for a victory. WHO TO WATCH down the stretch. Chalmers is tough and has enough confidence that he'll continue to shoot the ball no matter how many times he's missed. That toughness could make a big difference on Saturday. Will Bill Self be coaching for Oklahoma State the next time he's in Stillwater? Chalmers always seems to step up in hostile environments He did at Southern California earlier this year, leading the team in scoring and making a last-second shot. He tried at Texas, attempting several shots Mario Chalmers QUESTION MARK Uh, no. There's been plenty of speculation about Sean Sutton getting fired after this season, and Boone T. Pickens, a major donor for the Cowboys, spending big bucks to lure Self back to his alma mater. According to The Oklahoma's Berry Tramel, there is no chance of that happening. Tramel is good friends with Self. He asked Self about the Oklahoma State job. According to Tramel's column, Self refused to comment. HEARYE, HEARYE "It's a long season. We've had some good moments, some not so good moments, and we've had bad moments where we won the game and it's been camouflaged. Every team goes through the exact same thing. I've never had a team nor has any body coached a team where they go through periods of time where some weeks they're a little better than other weeks. It could be a flu bug hitting your team or a lack of focus for whatever reason." -Kansas coach Bill Self on why a team's level of play can vary at this point in the season Kansas (24-2,9-2) THE PROJECTED STARTING 5 Russell Robinson, 6-foot-1 senior guard A typical Russell Robinson game the last time out against Colorado. Robinson had four points, five assists and just one turnover. He'll have a tough defensive assignment against Byron Eaton on Saturday. Mario Chalmers, 6-foot-1 junior guard The shot is starting to return. Chalmers scored 13 points last Saturday against Colorado, but his stroke is not quite as consistent as it was earlier this season. Brandon Rush, 6-foot-6 junior guard Rush will have his hands full against Marcus Dove. Dove is almost the same player as Rush. He can score, but he's even better at playing defense. ★★★★☆ Darryn Jackson, 6-foot-8 senior forward Jackson could have an easy day going against a front court lacking in skill. The Cowboys' five best scorers are all guards or smaller forwards. Darnell Jackson, 6-foot-8 senior forward Oklahoma State (13-12,4-7) forward forward Arthur hasn't done Darrell Arthur, 6-foot-9 sophomore forward Arthur hasn't done much wrong the past two weeks. He's stayed out of foul trouble and scored consistently. Against Colorado, he had the best defensive performance of his career. Sherron Collins, 5-foot-11 sophomore guard His production hasn't increased like many would have guessed after his stellar game against Baylor. Perhaps he'll be motivated going against fellow big guard Byron Eaton, who is almost a carbon copy of Collins. Phog Allen Will Roll Over In His Grave If.. Byron Eaton continues his run of great games. Eaton has finally lived up to his McDonald's All-American status in leading the team to victories against Baylor and Texas A&M, Kansas has the best defensive backcourt in the country. The Jayhawks need to put an end to Eaton's solid play if they want to have the best opportunity to win. James Anderson, 6-foot-6 freshman guard Anderson, a Freshman McDonald's All-American leads the Cowboys with 14.5 points per game. The Junction City, Ark., native can slash to the basket and shoot from the outside. Obi Muenelo, 6-foot-5 sophomore guard After breaking his leg and missing 18 games during his freshman season, Muenelo has played all 25 games this season and is averaging 9.8 points per game Though Eaton has struggled from the field — shooting 38.5 percent — the Dallas native has been the catalyst in Oklahoma State's recent hot streak. Byron Eaton, 5-foot-11 Junior guard Through Eaton he has survived. Marcus Dove, 6-foot-9 senior forward Dove will be counted on to guard Darrell Arthur and Darmell Jackson — a tough task for the Cowboy senior. ibrahma Thomas, 6-foot-11 freshman center Thomas starts in the front court but plays only 16.5 minutes per game and averages 5.9 points per game. THE SIXTH MAN Terrel Harris, 6-foot-5 junior guard Harris, Oklahoma State's second leading scorer at 10.6 points per game, has been coming off the bench, but he plays starter's minutes. The Dallas native plays 30.8 minutes per game. Jeremy Case Gallagher-Iba Will Be Movie Theater Silent If.. Kansas gets off to a good start. The Cowboys are playing with a lot of momentum right now. They'll be jacked up and so will the fans. The Jayhawks need to start strong if they want to dash Oklahoma State's hopes of a fourth victory in its last five games. Two years ago, Kansas jumped early, and the Cowboys never responded. The Jayhawks need to do the same on Saturday or they'll be in for a tough 40 minutes. OSU TIPOFF AT A GLANCE Sean Sutton's critics were busy pointing out the failings of Oklahoma State's second year coach ever since he replaced his father, Eddie, as the Cowboys coach last season. But right when it looked like the Sean Sutton-era was destined to be a failure, Oklahoma State started winning. The Cowboys have won three of their last four games, including victories against Baylor and Texas A&M—and Sutton won his first Big 12 road game. Oklahoma State has the talent to compete in the conference. Junior Byron Eaton and freshman James Anderson are both McDonald's All-Americans, but consistency has been the Cowboys biggest obstacle. WHO TO WATCH James Anderson, freshman guard Kansas recruited the Junction City, Ark., native, but Anderson chose Oklahoma State. In his first season in Stillwater, Anderson is averaging 14.5 points per game and shooting 38.9 percent Anderson from the three-point line. But with a great crop of freshmen in the Big 12, Anderson has mostly been forgotten. Playing against Kansas on CBS might change that. He'll be matched up with junior guard Brandon Rush, and if he can outplay Rush, Anderson will definitely grab some headlines. QUESTION MARK Will Gallagher-Iba Arena make a difference? It's been a Jekyll and Hyde kind of season for Oklahoma State. The Cowboys are Jekyll at home and Hyde on the road. Oklahoma's victory at Texas A&M Saturday snapped a 19-game road losing streak. But Gallagher-Iba Arena is still one of the toughest places to play in the Big 12. The Cowboys are 11-2 at home this season. The Jayhawks are 5-1 at GallagherIba Arena since 1996 — but they did lose 80-60 to the Cowboys in 2004. HEARYE. HEARYE "I've been positive with them and stayed really upbeat. I told them I believed in them, and we could still win a lot of games. If we just correct a few things and step up and make a play here or there, we'll win some games." Oklahoma State coach Sean Sutton on the Cowboys' slow start JAYHAWK STATS Player Mins FG-FGA 3FG-3FGA Rebs Pts 00 Arthur, Darrell 23.3 149-279 2-12 6.0 13.8 32 Jackson, Darnell 24.7 126-196 2-5 6.7 12.4 15 Chalmers, Mario 29.2 98-188 41-91 2.9 12.2 25 Rush, Brandon 27.7 103-239 46-114 5.2 12.1 04 Collins, Sherron 23.0 70-152 24-68 2.1 9.2 24 Kaun, Sasha 17.5 73-116 0-0 3.8 7.5 03 Robinson, Russell 27.5 52-129 24-75 2.7 7.2 05 Stewart, Rodrick 13.0 32-65 3-14 2.5 3.2 45 Aldrich, Cole 8.6 29-57 0-0 3.3 3.0 02 Teahan, Conner 3.5 15-26 11-19 0.6 2.7 14 Reed, Tyrel 7.3 17-33 11-24 0.5 2.5 10 Case, Jeremy 4.9 12-36 6-20 0.3 1.4 11 Bechard, Brennan 1.7 4-8 2-5 0.3 1.1 54 Kleinmann, Matt 2.3 2-6 0-0 0.6 0.3 22 Buford, Chase 1.7 1-9 0-6 0.5 0.2 40 Witherspoon, Brad 1.6 0-3 0-2 0.2 0.0 PREDICTION 71-62 Kansas The Cowboys will keep it close until the final minutes, when Mario Chalmers takes over down the stretch. A road victory here won't be as sweet as it would have been in Austin, Texas or Manhattan, but the Jayhawks will have to settle. Witherspoon Meter Will senior walk-on Brad Witherspoon get the opportunity to play tonight? This meter tells all. COWBOYS STATS
PlayerMinsFG-FGA3FG-3FGARebsPts
23 Anderson, James31.6120-27056-1443.414.5
01 Harris, Terrel30.889-21121-824.610.6
00 Eaton, Byron27.869-17923-643.210.6
02 Muonelo, Obi24.984-19941-1163.49.8
05 Dove, Marcus33.687-19618-595.69.6
21 Thomas, Ibrahima16.558-1149-244.05.9
13 Adams, Martavius12.124-570-02.23.0
04 Brown, Anthony12.924-531-73.04.5
15 Sidorakis, Nick8.114-354-140.71.6
33 Moses, Marshall6.413-262-60.91.7
10 Hatch, Tyler7.25-114-101.01.0
32 Garrett, Brad6.02-71-51.52.5
55 Warner, Scott2.01-10-00.02.0