Jayhawks look for season sweep
After defeating Missouri in Allen Fieldhouse earlier this season, Kansas heads east to Columbia, Mo., to try and make it two against in this bitter rivalry.
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 9, 2007 WWW.KANSAN.COM
8B
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
SPORTS
KANSAS V5. MISSOURI 2:30 P.M. SATURDAY, ABC
PAGE 1B
Border War: Take Two
Jayhawks psyched for rematch with Tigers in Columbia
Both teams come into the game after blowout victories. The Jayhawks defeated the Wildcats 97-70 Wednesday night and Missouri defeated Iowa State 77-55 in Ames on Tuesday.
building is going to be juiced."
The Tigers and coach Mike Anderson play the "40 Minutes of Hell" style, in which all five play
BILL SELF Kansas coach
ers run full-speed throughout the entire game.
The last time these teams met was a breakout game for freshman guard Sherron Collins, who put up a team-high 23 points against the Tigers.
"We know what kind of team they are," sophomore guard Brandon Rush said. "I think in practice were going to do a lot of running to get ready."
Recently, Self rewarded him with more playing times during games. Self's new target for Collins is between 26 and 28 minutes a game, up from the low 20s in January.
He's getting better all the time." Self said. "Your performance is a direct reflection of your attitude and he's had a fabulous attitude. He's really reaping the benefits of being a sponge, wanting to be coached and understanding the big picture."
Collins is also getting more plays drawn up for him. His ability to run off screens makes it easier for the forwards to pass the ball to him on the perimeter.
He'll be given a big test on defense. The Tigers are averaging 8.2 three pointers per game and sophomore guard Matt Lawrence is connecting on 46 percent of his shots from behind the arc.
Lawrence said after the Iowa State game that his hesitance was a reason the Tigers lost to Nebraska at home last Saturday.
"Coach Anderson has told me repeatedly that when I don't score and don't shoot the ball and when I'm open, I'm actually hurting the team," he told reporters. "That's what I did at home. I didn't shoot the ball, and I had a couple looks that I passed up. I played with a little fear in
that game."
at I passed up. I played with a little fear in that name"
If Lawrence stumbles on Saturday, he'll have the Mizzou Arena crowd behind him, ready to prop him back up.
Collins is ready for the match up and is already preparing himself for a hostile venue.
"We've got to stay on the same page and not get rattled by the crowd," he said. "We've got to stick together."
Kansan senior sportswriter Michael Phillips can be contacted at mphillips@kansan.com.
— tarea by neny lamigan
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Senior leadership key to win Javhawks look to build on first Big 12 victory of season
BY CASE KEEFER
That win finally came Tuesday night against Colorado. After dropping their first nine conference games, the Jayhawks beat the Buffaloes 70-68.
All season long the talk surrounding the Kansas women's basketball team has been about getting its first Big 12 Conference victory and building upon it.
"Everyday these players come in thinking they can win the next game," said coach Bonnie Henrickson. "From a confidence standpoint, it's a huge step forwards for us."
Kansas will try to take another step in the right direction when it travels to Austin, Texas, to face the Lonehorns on Saturday.
With the newly discovered senior leadership being deployed, there's a good chance that Kansas could give
Smith has led the team on defense with her ability to put opponents in vulnerable situations. Mosley has transformed a dismal offense by averaging 13 points in Big 12 play and recording three double-doubles.
That's what seniors do," Henrickson said, "Shaq has led us all year and Sharita is a great lesson to these young kids."
Texas a scare. In the last three games the Jayhawks' only two seniors, guards Shaquina Mosley and Sharita Smith, have been nearly flawless.
The only problem is much of Saturday's game may be out of their hands. Texas doesn't win and lose games in the backcourt; it relies on post play.
National Player of the Year candidate Tiffany Jackson has been unstoppable this season. The forward is fourth in the Big 12 in both scoring and rebounding.
The big question is which Jayhawk will have to guard Jackson. Junior forward Taylor McIntosh has been Kansas' best backcourt defender, but at 6-foot-3 Jackson would have a major height advantage.
Size wise, sophomore forward Marija Zimic seems to be the best fit. She returned Tuesday after being injured for most of last month but was ineffective defensively.
"Tiffany Jackson is one of the best players in this league," Henrickson said. "We've got our hands full again."
She gave up nine points in nine minutes to Colorado's best option in the post and Henrickson described her performance as "soft."
She'll have to fix that problem for the Jayhawks to have a chance Saturday.
SEE WOMEN'S BASKETBALL ON PAGE 3B
Kansan file photo
Senior guards Shaquina Mosley and Sharita Smith have emerged as team leaders for the women's basketball team. The Jayhawks beat the Colorado Buffaloes in overtime 70-68.
》 BORDER SHOWDOWN
BY DREW DAVISON
Collins takes lead gets more play time
BY DREW DAVISON
KANSAN SPORTS COLUMNIST
DDAVISON@KANSAN.COM
It's time for Kansas to play its real rival: Missouri. Wednesday night's thrashing of Kansas State
was nice to see, especially when you see sophomore center Matt Kleinmann's name in Kansas' stat line. Whenever that happens, you know one of the following happened: 1) A Kansas player got injured or 2) Kansas laid the smack down on the opposing team. The latter happened as the laywhaws sent the Wildcats back to the armpit of Kansas, commonly referred to as Manhattan.
And now, just three days later, the Jayhawks will face their real rival in Columbia. The Tigers gave it all they had in their first meeting, losing by three points in Allen Fieldhouse.
The sole reason Kansas came out on top against Missouri was because freshman guard Sherron Collins scored 23 points in 26 minutes. In Saturday's loss to Texas A&M, Collins was the only KU player who showed up, scoring a team-high 18 points.
On a team with no senior leadership, it seems like Collins is filling the roll.
One, the lavwhacks are rebounding the ball better. Ever since Self called KU's big guys "soft" after the Colorado game, they have come out strong the last three games. Kansas has out-rebounded the last three opponents by staggering margins: K-State 46 to 24, Texas A&M 40 to 29 and Nebraska 47 to 21. If the post players show up tomorrow, Kansas should dominate the paint all day long.
Two, it's Missouri. Rush may not have been motivated to play Detroit earlier this season, but he has averaged nearly 15 points in all three of his games against Missouri, where his brother Kareem went to college.
I have no problem if a team, including Kansas, relies on a freshman to lead it like Texas and Ohio State are doing this year. But Collins did make two costly turnovers late in the game, which showed his inexperience in the clutch. Furthermore, on a team with Brandon Rush, Julian Wright and Mario Chaliners, you're telling me not one of them can, or will, step up?
Sure, coach Bill Self put the ball in sophomore guard Mario Chalmers' hands in the final second of the A&M game, but after the game, self said Collins would get more playing time.
There are still question marks about tomorrow's game, especially after Saturday's late meltdown. Yes, beating K-State was great, but going on the road in the big 12 is tough — especially at Missouri. The Jayhawks haven't won there in two years. The Tigers are coming off a 22-point win on the road against Iowa State, where the Jayhawks needed an overtime to win a month ago. A lot has changed in that month, though.
And three, Collins. He has become the man to ignite lavayk scoring runs. He has proven himself as a big time player, especially after Saturday's game.
I expect MU coach Mike Anderson to come at KU with the same game-play he had earlier in the year — slow the game down and limit the number of possessions. It nearly worked in Allen Fieldhouse, and it will nearly work again in the Mizzou Arena.The Jayhawks win by five, 79-74.
Davison is an Overland Park senior in journalism.
Edited by Will McCullough
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