8B GAME DAY THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN ONDAY JANUARY 29, 2007 KU TIP-OFF WHAT'S AT STAKE The Jayhawks once again find themselves in the national TV spotlight, something the 'Huskers are not accustomed to. It's another opportunity to show off to the country - and the NCAA selection committee. With five teams fighting for the Big 12 title this year, it's going to be crucial for Kansas to win games like this one. STAR WATCH Junior center Sasha Kaun Kaun will patrol the paint tonight for the Jayhawks, and Nebraska's four-guard of defense means he'll have to do it alone. That could give Kaun the opportunity to rack up gaudy numbers in the rebounds and blocks categories. QUESTION MARK WHICH JULIAN WRIGHT WILL COME TO PLAY? Against Baylor, Wright was as good as he can be, turning in a complete performance on both sides of the court. That wasn't the case Saturday against Colorado, when he tried too hard to make spectacular plays. He's one of the best players in the Big 12. He just has to recognize that and quit trying to prove it every night. The numbers will come if he plays good fundamental basketball. 3 REASONS KU WINS ONE — Sasha Kaun is a beast inside. The only way to get him out of the game is by hitting him in the unmentionables, and even that only sidelined him for five minutes. TWO — The Jayhawk guards are on fire. They made over 50 percent of their three-pointers on Saturday, and while that is too much to expect on a nightly basis, it's still encouraging to know that they can make the shot. **THREE** — Nobody in Nebraska cares. It's almost spring football time, and the second-string offensive linemen are getting more attention than the new basketball coach. It's hard enough to build a winning Big 12 team with fan support — it's even harder when youre also trying to let people know your team exists. BIG GAME, BIG MONDAY 'Hawks face crucial game against'Huskers KANSAS VS. NEBRASKA 8 Tonight. Devaney Center. ESPN Kansas 18-3,5-1 Big 12 Offense Nobody expects Kansas to put up 97 points, although last year it did score 96 against Nebraska at home. Expect a patient game of ball control as coach Bill Self continues to train the team to run his offense. If the 'Huskers fall into a zone defenJe, expect Brandon Rush to take a couple of steps back and start hitting from three-point range. The Jayhawks will also continue their season-long quest for consistency. Some nights it's the guards carrying the big men, and sometimes it's the other way around. In an ideal world, all five starters would finish with about 12 points. That's wishful thinking, but getting both a forward and a guard in double-figures would be a step in the right direction. Defense Colorado's Richard Roby was the only matchup problem on Saturday, but he is an NBA talent and was rarely double-teamed by the Kansas defense. The feature matchup tonight will be on the inside as center Sasha Kaun takes on Nebraska's Aleks Maric. If Kaun can establish a rebounding presence early, Nebraska will have to bring guards inside to help crash the boards. Offense The Jayhawk guards should be prepared for a long night of running, but with Mario Chalmers, Russell Robinson, Brandon Rush and Sherron Collins all playing terrific defense recently, this side of the court won't keep Self awake at night. Nebraska's offense is best described as efficient. The Cornhuskers don't run up and down the court and score 100 points every night, but they make the best of everyone of their possessions with good shooting. Only Texas A&M has a better field goal percentage than Nebraska. Depth also aids the Husker offense; six players score seven or more points per game and all of them shoot 42 percent or better from the field. Nebraska 12-7,1-4 Momentum The Jayhawks went a perfect 3-0 last season against the Huskers, including a victory at the Big 12 Tournament in Dallas. Nebraska will be ready for Kansas – a Big Monday game at home is the perfect time to pull off an upset victory – but the Jayhawks have the talent to withstand the Huskers' best punch. Look for the game to be close at halftime, Lut lopsided when the final whistle blows. Defense Take a look at Nebraska's defense in terms of forcing turnovers and rebounding well and it doesn't look good. Actually, it looks awful. But somehow the 'Huskers, who rank dead last in rebounding and ninth in steals, allow their opponents to score only about 61 points per game. Their most impressive defensive effort came last week when they held the high-scoring Texas Longhorns to 62 points. Nebraska will have trouble doing the same against a hot Kansas team, but it should be able to keep the Jayhawks under 75. Momentum Nebraska is a solid all-around team, but it hasn't proven to be a winner yet. Saturday night, Nebraska got drilled by Kansas State in Manhattan 61-45 and looked lifeless, just as the 'Huskers have nearly all conference season. Except for the close game against the Longhorns, the Huskers have been sleepwalking. Doc Sadler is known as a good coach and an even better recruiter, but he hasn't won any marquee games since an early victory against Creighton. Winning a Big Monday game against Kansas with only one day to prepare after Saturday's loss will probably be too much to ask for. Mark Dent Brady Morningstar NU TIP-OFF WHAT'S AT STAKE? Nebraska is in the same boat as Baylor and Colorado right now as big 12 teams with only one victory, if the Huskers are able to upset the Jayhawks, they will be back in the chase for finishing in the top half of the conference. A victory is crucial, because Nebraska has a rough schedule ahead with road games at Missouri and Texas Tech before a home game against Texas ARM STAR WATCH **Aleks Maric** is the best player in the league besides Texas' Kevin Durant. He is the main reason Nebraska is so efficient. The Australian shoots better than anyone else in the Big 12 and he defends well, too. Maric averages 7.9 rebounds per game and can stop some of the game's best low-post players. Last year he held Louisiana's Paul Maric Millsap, who is now in the NBA, to eight points while forcing six turnovers. QUESTION MARK DOES NEBRASKA HAVE ENOUGH EXPERIENCE? Only two starters return from last season, and eight of the Huskers' 12 players are freshmen or sophomores. So far in the Big 12 season, they have shown this inexperience by stumbling in winnable games such as ones against Iowa State and Kansas State. 3 REASONS NU WINS ONE — The Devaney Center. Nebraska is a tough team to defeat at home. It just lost its first home game of the year last week against Texas. Kansas won easily in Lincoln last season, but the Jayhawks routinely play close games there and lost as recently as 2004. TWO — A mismatch. Most of the time, Nebraska plays a four-guard lineup, meaning someone for Kansas will have to guard a smaller, quicker opponent. Missouri was the last team the Jayhawks played that did something similar to this, and the Tigers scored 77 points. **THREE** — Desperation. Right now, the Huskers need a victory any way possible. They only lost by one against Texas, but it still counts as a loss. Nebraska has only one victory in the Big 12 and that was against Colorado. A real victory is needed as soon as possible. JAYHAWK STATS | Player | Avg. min. | FG-FGA | 3FG Pct. | FT-FTA | PTS Avg. | | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | | Brandon Rush | 32.4 | 104-244 | .402 | 48-72 | 14.0 | | Mario Chalmers | 28.4 | 89-181 | .381 | 40-51 | 11.9 | | Julian Wright | 27.2 | 97-180 | .222 | 37-60 | 11.1 | | Darrell Arthur | 21.0 | 94-179 | .000 | 43-63 | 11.0 | | Sherron Collins | 20.0 | 69-134 | .455 | 20-27 | 9.0 | | Sasha Kaun | 18.6 | 53-93 | .000 | 16-30 | 6.8 | | Russell Robinson | 28.9 | 39-99 | .333 | 47-69 | 6.6 | | Darnell Jackson | 14.4 | 39-70 | .000 | 40-56 | 5.6 | | Brady Morningstar | 6.8 | 9-19 | .400 | 2-2 | 2.4 | | Jermey Case | 6.5 | 6-18 | .313 | 0-0 | 1.5 | | Matt Kleinmann | 5.3 | 3-5 | .000 | 1-2 | 0.8 | | Rodrick Stewart | 6.1 | 4-15 | .429 | 0-5 | 0.6 | | Brad Witherspoon | 1.3 | 0-3 | .000 | 0-0 | 0.0 | | Brennan Bechard | 1.5 | 0-0 | .000 | 0-0 | 0.0 | KEY MATCH-UP Sasha Kaun 6'11"245 vs. Aleks Maric 6'11"270 Maric The last time Kaun played against this good of an opposing center he had his best game of the season in an 87-57 thrashing of Oklahoma State. That game, Kaun scored 16 points against Mario Boggan on a variety of dunks and turnarounds near the basket. More importantly, Kaun and Kansas' other post players held Boggan to 4 of 16 shooting. If Kaun does well against Maric tonight, he will establish himself as one of the top centers in the conference. CORNHUSKER STATS
PlayerAvg. min.FG-FGA3FG Pct.FT-FTAPTS Avg
Aleks Maric27.0120-194.14375-10817.6
Ryan Anderson25.168-136.46422-2710.8
Jamel White25.762-136.34048-5710.5
Marcus Perry22.143-93.4518-88.7
Charles Richardson34.950-116.35131-367.9
Sek Henry25.552-112.27530-497.8
Paul Velander12.115-35.42913-163.9
Jay-R Stowbridge16.120-50.4679-123.7
Jim Ledsome10.613-22.0008-132.4
Kyle Marks7.810-15.0001-41.9
Mike Smith5.84-14.3334-101.3
Kris Douse8.53-101.0000-00.9
Chris Balham5.52-3.0002-70.4
Choul Laam1.80-0.0002-20.4
Nick Krenk3.90-2.0000-00.0
Ben Nelson3.00-1.0000-00.0
1