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GAME DAY
THE UNIVERSITY OF HAIRY KANSAN
FRIDAY FEBRUARY 9, 2007
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 9, 2007
KU
TIP-OFF
WHAT'S AT STAKE?
It's a grudge match for the Tigers, who would like to give their fans something to cheer about during a rebuilding year. The Jayhawks understand that every game has become a must-win if they still have hopes of winning the Big 12 title. And of course, it's never too early to start talking about seeding in March.
STAR WATCH
Freshman guard Sherron Collins seems to get better every game. When the Jayhawks played Missouri at Alen Fieldhouse,
Collins excelled down the stretch, hitting clutch baskets and finishing with 23 points. Coach Bill Self has said that he'd like to see Collins play for 26-28 minutes every night, and appears to be working to make that happen — Collins scored 11 points in 28 minutes on Wednesday.
QUESTION MARK
WHICH TEAM HAS IMPROVED MORE?
The 80-77 thriller from January was between two teams that were on equal footing that night. Kansas has improved since then, but so has Missouri.
3 REASONS KU WINS
ONE — Brandon Rush is emerging as the go-to guy. It may be too early to say this, but Rush has shown an increased willingness to take the team on his back recently, which will help Kansas better form an identity.
TWO — Foul trouble won't be an issue. With four legitimate big men — Wright, Kaun, Arthur and Jackson — Self doesn't need to fear losing one of them to foul trouble.
THREE — Thirty-two-ish minutes of hell. You've got to respect what coach Mike Anderson is doing at Missouri, but he doesn't have the players to execute his plan just yet.
CROSSING THE BORDER
Jayhawks head to Missouri looking for season sweep
KANSAS VS.MISSOURI 2:30 p.m. Saturday, Mizzou Arena, ABC
Kansas 20-4,7-2 Big 12
OFFENSE
The Kansas offense executed flawlessly on Saturday, creating shots by making several passes and throwing good screens for teammates to run off of. The Jayhawks scored 97 points, as coach Bill Self told guard Jeremy Case to run out the clock in the game's final seconds.
Additionally, two players appear to have stepped up as the "go-to guys" on this year's team. Sophomore guard Brandon Rush and freshman guard Sherron Collins get the ball in pressure situations, and often deliver a big shot for the Jayhawks. Having that kind of identity will help the team out in close game.
DEFENSE
Missouri 14-8,3-6
The Jayhawks out-rebounded the Wildcats 46-24, a huge margin in a conference game. Self said afterward that the Jayhawks are not 22 rebounds better than the Wildcats, but rather they just had a productive night in the paint.
They'll look to keep that momentum rolling against Missouri. The game is likely to have fewer possessions and a slower pace, so getting rebounds and second-chances will be critical to success.
MOMENTUM
OFFENSE
It's tough to keep momentum rolling when you step into an opposing arena, and even more so when the team is your rival. Still, Kansas has a lot of reasons to be confident, and Missouri is running the same style of play that they brought to Allen Fieldhouse in January, so preparation won't be difficult.
At times, the Tigers' offense can be one of the best in the conference. When Stefhon Hannah is penetrating and Matt Lawrence is on fire from the outside, Missouri is good enough to be an NCAA Tournament team. The problem is that neither of those two players has been consistent since conference play started. In a home a loss to Nebraska last Saturday, Lawrence and Hannah combined for two field goals. The next game, Missouri crushed Iowa State in Ames, and Hannah and Lawrence led the team in scoring. Both players did well against Kansas the first time this season and should do so again.
DEFENSE
Everybody knows about Mike Anderson's 40 Minutes of Hell defense and the turnovers it can lead to. But against Kansas a month ago, Missouri only pressed for the first few minutes. The Jayhawks were able to beat them in the running game, and the Tigers switched to a half-court zone defense for part of the game. On paper, Kansas has a better inside game, but Missouri won the rebounding battle 43-42 in the first game. The Tigers will probably make defending the painn emphasis Saturday, especially after the Jayhawks dominated the Wildcats inside Wednesday.
MOMENTUM
This is the only game that matters. Missouri fans can act like it's not a big deal, but they've had this game circled all year long. This attitude spreads to the players, adding extra importance to this game. The Tigers have been plagued by inconsistency since January, but would right the season in the eyes of fans and maybe even the players. Placing too much value on this game in the past has crippled Mizou against teams not named Kansas. Why can't they play with the same fire against everyone else? But this game is against the Jayhawks, and the Tigers will be ready to compete. Expect a close one.
MU
TIP-OFF
WHAT'S AT STAKE?
A real rivalry. Kansas and Missouri games have hotly contested lately, but the Jayhawks usually come out on top. The series hasn't been nearly as lopsided as the one with Kansas State, but Missouri hasn't won many. First year coach Mike Anderson got his team to play well in Allen Fieldhouse, but he needs to win Saturday to prove he can coach better in this rivalry than Quin Snyder.
STAR WATCH
J. T. Tiller, Tiller had one of his best games of the season against Kansas, scoring 11 points. The freshman
Tiller
only averages 4.5 points per game, but unheralded players tend to have good games against Kansas — Jermaine Maybank, anyone?
QUESTION MARK
The first time out, the Tigers didn't have a chance of out-running the Jayhawks. Sherron Collins, Russell Robinson and Mario Chalmers raced down the court and scored five seconds into the shot clock. Missouri can slow it down, but it needs to stop Kansas' transition offense to be successful.
CAN MISSOURI'S FULL COURT PRESSURE BE EFFECTIVE?
TWO — Team meeting. After the bad loss against Nebraska last week, Missouri's players held a meeting and discussed their season. It gave them enough motivation to win against Iowa State and could do the same Saturday.
3 REASONS MUWNS
ONE — They care more. It's that simple. Every time the Tigers play the Jayhawks, it's as big as Ali vs. Frazier to the players. Kansas gets pumped up for the rivalry but not like Missouri does.
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THREE — Spotlights. Mizzou Arena has more light fixtures than an NBA arena. Perhaps the brightness will blind the Kansas players and render them helpless.
JAYHAWK STATS
| Player | Avg. Min | FG-FGA | 3FG-3FGA | Avg. Reb. | Avg. Pts |
| :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- |
| Brandon Rush | 32.4 | 120-281 | 47-115 | 5.8 | 14.3 |
| Mario Chalmers | 28.7 | 99-207 | 35-94 | 3.0 | 11.6 |
| Julian Wright | 26.9 | 109-207 | 3-10 | 8.0 | 11.3 |
| Darrell Arthur | 20.4 | 108-201 | 0-3 | 4.8 | 10.9 |
| Sherron Collins | 20.7 | 83-160 | 34-75 | 2.3 | 9.4 |
| Russell Robinson | 28.8 | 49-115 | 15-47 | 3.3 | 6.8 |
| Sasha Kaun | 18.0 | 58-107 | 0-0 | 3.7 | 6.3 |
| Darnell Jackson | 14.8 | 45-80 | 0-0 | 4.9 | 5.7 |
| Brady Morningstar | 6.1 | 9-20 | 2-6 | 1.0 | 2.2 |
| Jeremy Case | 5.9 | 7-20 | 5-17 | 0.7 | 1.5 |
| Matt Kleinmann | 4.8 | 4-7 | 0-0 | 1.0 | 0.8 |
| Rodrick Stewart | 5.8 | 4-17 | 3-8 | 0.7 | 0.6 |
| Brad Witherspoon | 1.3 | 0-4 | 0-1 | 0.1 | 0.0 |
| Brennan Bechard | 1.5 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0.4 | 0.0 |
KEY MATCH-UP
Collins
Sherron Collins 5'11"200 vs. Stefhon Hannah 6'1"175
Hannah
These former high school rivals both played well in the January game. Collins had a breakout game, scoring most of his season-high 23 points down the stretch. He said after that game that his rivalry with Hannah gave him extra energy before the game started. Hannah was the main reason Missouri kept it close. He scored 15 points and made key shots whenever Kansas started to pull away. Collins has improved every game since the Missouri game and is now Kansas' go-to guy. He should have no problem shredding Hannah and the Tiger defense again.
TIGERS STATS
| Player | Avg. Min | FG-FGA | 3FG-3FGA | Avg. Reb. | Avg. Pts. |
| :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- |
| Stefhon Hannah | 30.4 | 123-265 | 43-107 | 3.3 | 15.4 |
| Matt Lawrence | 27.0 | 83-168 | 58-126 | 3.4 | 11.2 |
| Marshall Brown | 21.8 | 83-168 | 17-51 | 3.8 | 11.0 |
| Keon Lawrence | 20.0 | 65-163 | 23-66 | 2.2 | 8.1 |
| Kalen Grimes | 16.8 | 75-144 | 0-1 | 6.0 | 7.6 |
| Leo Lyons | 18.1 | 56-107 | 4-17 | 4.6 | 7.0 |
| J.T. Tiller | 14.1 | 37-82 | 9-24 | 1.5 | 4.5 |
| Jason Horton | 24.5 | 31-81 | 16-43 | 2.0 | 4.4 |
| Darryl Butterfield | 13.5 | 32-75 | 4-12 | 3.0 | 3.9 |
| Vaidotas Volkus | 6.9 | 12-25 | 0-0 | 2.0 | 2.2 |
| Marcus Watkins | 5.7 | 14-24 | 1-3 | 0.8 | 1.8 |
| Glen Dandridge | 6.1 | 5-20 | 3-14 | 0.9 | 1.6 |
| Nick Berardini | 1.1 | 1-3 | 1-3 | 0.1 | 0.5 |
| Michael Anderson | 1.9 | 1-3 | 1-1 | 0.3 | 0.3 |