8B THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
GAMEDAY
---
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 2006
First place on line against Longhorns
KU Tip-off
ALA GLANCE
Saturday night's game is arguably the biggest game of the season for Kansas. A victory would put the Jayhawks solely in first place in the conference. Kansas comes in as one of the hottest teams in the country, riding a 10-game winning streak.
LAST TIME OUT
PLAYER TO WATCH
- Kansas got past Baylor in Allen Fieldhouse Tuesday night, 76-61. The victory set up Saturday's game for first place in the Big 12 Conference. Freshman forward Julian Wright scored a career-high 20 points on just 10 of 11 shooting from the field. The victory was Kansas' 10th straight. Sophomore center CJ Giles scored in double figures for the first time in more than a month, with 10 points.
Rush. He will likely spend most of the night on Texas' leading scorer, junior forward P.J. Tucker. Rush needs stay out of foul trouble so that he can contribute and be more aggressive on the offensive end. This will be Rush's most difficult defensive assignment of the season, and if he gets the job done, Kansas will have an easier road to victory.
8-0 The record Kansas has with three of their freshmen in the starting lineup: Rush, Wright and freshman guard Mario Chalmers.
14. 2 Rush's scoring average
16 — The average amount of KU turnovers per game.
36. 3. — The field goal percentage allowed by Kansas, which leads the Big 12 Conference.
No.16 Kansas vs. No.7 Texas,ESPN 8 p.m., Saturday, Frank Erwin Center
LOOKING AHEAD
2. 62 — Steals per game for Chalmers; it ties him for first in the conference.
A victory would give Kansas a leg up in the conference leading into its final two regular season games. The Jayhawks would need to win just one more game to have at least a share of the regular season title.The victory would also give them the top seed in the Big 12 conference tournament and enhance their seed in the NCAA tournament.
KEY TO VICTORY
Limit turnovers. Kansas averages 16 turnovers per game. Against a team like Texas, if Kansas struggles handling the basketball, it may be an easy night for the Longhorns. The Jayhawks have turned the ball over mainly in the first half. The Longhorns will build a large lead by halftime if this trend continues. If Kansas limits its turnovers and doesn't limit its possessions, it would be more feasible to pull off the upset.
Kansas
Offense
Texas
Kansas is going to have to learn how to take care of the basketball if it hopes to have any chance against Texas in Austin. The Jayhawks have been averaging 16 turnovers a game. Many of those turnovers have occurred in the first half, and if Kansas has the same problem on Saturday, the game might be over by half-time. Freshman guard Mario Chalmers and sophomore guard Russell Robinson will need to make sure that the ball is not passed inefficiently. If Kansas can minimize turnovers, it will have a good chance of pulling out the victory.
Defense
Coaching
Texas will come into Saturday's game with one of the most potent offenses in the conference. On any given night, any player in the starting five could lead the team in scoring. Junior forward P.J.Tucker is the team's leading scorer, averaging 16.3 points per game. Tucker missed last year's Kansas-Texas game because he was academically ineligible. Besides Tucker, Texas features one of the best inside-outside combinations in sophomore guard Daniel Gibson and sophomore forward LaMarcus Aldridge. Gibson had the best game out of anyone last year against Kansas, pouring in 19 points and dishing out five assists.
There's been no bigger surprise on this Kansas team than its defensive play. The Jayhawks lead the conference in field goal percentage allowed with a mere 36.3 percent per game. This trend will need to be continued against the Longhorns, who are averaging nearly 78 points per game. Freshman guard Brandon Rush will play a large role in limiting the Texas scoring opportunities. Rush, who is Kansas' best scoring option, will need to aggressively defend junior forward P.J. Tucker while staying out of foul trouble. With all the offensive weapons Texas has, if Rush can shut down one of them then Kansas should be in good shape.
- Ryan Colaianni
Kansas coach Bill Self has led his team to victory in 17 of the past 19 games. This run is why many national media pundits are talking about Self for National Coach of the Year. He has been able to develop his young talent at the right time. Saturday's game will likely determine which team will come out on top in the Big 12 Conference. Expect Self to have his team prepared for a Texas zone defense. With a victory against Texas, Self will lock up Big 12 Coach of the Year and will increase his argument for National Coach of the Year.
Defense
Offensively, Texas is good. Defensively, Texas might be even better. Texas is ranked No. 1 in the conference in scoring defense right ahead of Kansas, allowing just 59.8 points per game. Texas' biggest strength on defense might be its rebounding ability. Aldridge and Tucker are first and second in rebounding in the conference averaging 9.3 and 9.2 rebounds per game respectively. Aldridge's defensive abilities do not stop at
bundling. He also leads the cowference in blocked shots with 53.Texas showed a lot of zone defense against Kansas State Wednesday night and might do that again against Kansas, forcing the team to take outside shots.
Coaching
Sasha Kaun
UT Tip-off
ALA GLANCI
Texas comes into Saturday night's game as the best team Kansas has faced all season. Texas is ranked seventh in both polls and sits at 11-2 in conference play, tied with Kansas for first place. Texas has quality victories against West Virginia, tow, Memphis and Villanova. The team's only losses are to No. 1 Duke, No. 11 Tennessee, No. 20 Oklahoma and Oklahoma State.
LAST TIME OUT
- Texas might have overlooked Kansas State in preparing for Kansas. The Longhorns escaped from Manhattan Wednesday night with a one-point victory against the Wildcats. Senior guard Kenton Paulino was a perfect 4-4 from the free-throw line in the final 16 seconds to secure the victory for Texas. Sophomore forward LaMarcus Aldridge had 16 points and junior forward P.J. Tucker had a double-double with 14 points and 12 rebounds.
- Tucker. It will be one of the more intriguing match-ups of the season when Tucker faces off against freshman guard Brandon Rush. Rush hasn't had to guard anyone as physical as Tucker in his college career and Tucker has guarded plenty of players as good as Rush. If experience is any sign, the advantage goes to Tucker. Tucker will be a tough player to keep off the boards and Rush will have to know where he is at all times.
PLAYER TO WATCH
5 QUICK FACTS
4-23 Texas' numbers from three-point land last season against Kansas. With Aldridge and Tucker back in the mix, look for the three-point attempts to decrease and for Texas to try to pound the ball inside more.
1,139 — Texas outscores its opponents 1,139 to 868 in the second half
14-1 — Texas' record at home this season. Texas' only loss came to Tennessee after its loss to Duke.
59. 7 — Aldridge is shooting nearly 60 percent from the field this season. That is a product of easy baskets. Kansas will have to have a body on him at all times and contest every shot he takes.
1 — This is the first time ESPN's College Gameday has traveled to Austin to do a show.
*A loss would all but guarantee Texas a second-place finish in the conference. After Kansas, Texas still has two very tough games: At Texas A&M and at home against Oklahoma. If the Longhorns lose, it would be their third conference loss of the season. If Texas can beat Kansas, it's in a great position to capture the conference championship, but a victory does not guarantee it.
LOOKING AHEAD
KEY TO VICTORY
The inside game. The most physical team Kansas has faced all year before this game was Oklahoma. Kansas struggled to control Oklahoma's big men for 32 minutes before rallying to come back. If Aldridge, Tucker and senior forward Brad Buckman play well for 32 minutes, it will get ugly. Kansas has enough bodies to throw at Texas so those three must stay out of foul trouble. But if they're on the floor and productive, look for Texas to come away with a victory.
Around the Big 12
BY DANIEL BERK
SENIOR SPORTS WRITER
Nebraska at Texas A&M
When: 3 p.m. Saturday
Where: College Station, Texas
The winner of this game will have an inside track at making the NCAA Basketball Tournament. Both teams are 7-6 in conference and have been playing solid ball lately. Texas A&M has won four in a row and is above .500 in conference play for just the second time in school history. Nebraska is paced by senior Wes Wilkinson. Wilkinson had 17 points and 13 rebounds in Nebraska's 93-7 victory against Colorado Wednesday night.
Kansas State at Oklahoma
When: 3 p.m. Saturday
Where: Norman, Okla.
Both teams will meet after playing in one-point games. Oklahoma beat Texas Tech on the road Monday night 71-70. Senior forward Kevin Bookout had a tip-in with just seconds remaining to secure the victory for the Sooners. Kansas State is coming off a one-point loss to Texas at home. The Wildcats had their chances to pull of a big upset, but could not pull it off. Kansas State will have another opportunity for an upset Saturday.
Missouri at Colorado
When: 11:30 a.m. Saturday
Where: Boulder, Colo.
Colorado desperately needs a victory to keep its chances at an NCAA tournament bid alive. Colorado's loss at Nebraska lowered its conference record to 7-6 and put the team in a three-way tie for fourth place in the conference.
Missouri is just looking to avoid the cellar in the Big 12. Missouri is 4-9 in conference play and play a late lead against Texas A&M at home Tuesday night. Missouri guard Thomas Gardner did score 21 points, giving him his 14th game with 20 or more points.
.
.