8B GAME DAY THE UNIVERSITY HARLY KANSAN WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 24.2007 KU TIP-OFF WHAT'S AT STAKE A loss would likely bring back out the naysayers who went into hiding after a string of big victories to open the month. The Jayhawks are also playing to protect their position at the top of the Big 12. Right now, Texas A&M is the only team that is undefeated in conference play, and Kansas doesn't want to fall two games back. STAR WATCH Junior center Sasha Kaun will be at the heart of the Jay- hawk offense tonight, and will probably have the opportunity to score in the double-digits by the time the first half has ended. "We have to understand what our strengths are and take advantage of them," coach Bill Self said Monday. Translations Sasha needs the ball more. QUESTION MARK CAN THE JAYHAWKS MAKE THEIR LAYUPS? Coach Bill Self expressed frustration at the 11 laysups that the team missed in Lubbock. "We work too hard to get them to not take advantage of them," he said. Look for the forwards to correct the problem with more dunks than usual. 3 REASONS KUWINS ONE — The defense is too good not to, Kansas' defense has been playing tremendously over the past month, and no matter how few points the Jayhawks score, it's likely the Bears will score fewer. TWO — Julian Wright will re-emerge as an offensive threat. His shot selection has been confusing recently, but against a Baylor team that is strong on guards he will play more of a true forward position. **THREE** — It's not really a road game. Baylor will have a tame atmosphere compared to the last two arenas Kansas has played in. BEARING DOWN Jayhawks look to get back on winning track KANSAS VS. BAYLOR 7 p.m.Tonight, Ferrell Center, Waco, Texas, Channel 15 Kansas 16-3,3-1 Big 12 Offense The Jayhawks will try to slow down the tempo on offense after rushing shots throughout Saturday's game. An emphasis will be getting junior center Sasha Kaun plenty of opportunities to use his size advantage under the basket The team is also struggling to find its identity in crunch time. The Jayhawks have seven players who each share their load of the work. Coach Bill Self said that having balance was a huge blessing, but it could also be a curse. Toward the end of the game, he'll draw up the plays for whomever has the hot hand that day. Defense To improve the defense's performance, more also needs to happen under the net on offense. Self may ask more players to try for offensive rebounds, which will cut down on the number of players back to set up defensively. You have to nitpick to find things that are wrong with the Jayhawk defense. Shredding apart Texas Tech's motion offense was the latest in a long line of accomplishments for the unit. Baylor 11-7, 1-4 Big 12 Offense The Bears have one of the conference's best backcourts with Curtis Jerrells, Aaron Bruce and Henry Dugat. Freshman Tweetie Carter comes off the bench to further strengthen this group of guards. The four guards are a big reason Baylor is second in three-pointers made in the Big 12. Inside, sophomore Kevin Rogers teams up with this group to make it a formidable offensive unit. The only problem is the offense underachieves against good teams. Baylor scored 90 points or more against teams such as Angelo State and Prairie View A&M, but against conference opponents, the Bears are putting up less than 63 points per game. Ninety-one. That's all anyone needs to know about this sorry defensive bunch. The Bears gave up 91 points to Oklahoma, which hadn't scored more than 80 points in more than a month, and lost by 40 points last Saturday. Baylor has one of the worst defenses in the Big 12 mainly because it can't force turnovers. The Bears average only 6.2 steals per game and are 11th in turnover margin. For an underdog to have a chance, it needs to produce turnovers. Momentum Saturday was the Jayhawks first conference loss, so there's no way of knowing exactly how the team will react. The Jayhawks will be favored to win, and as long as they can execute their offense, they shouldn't have much of a problem with the Bears. Going on the road also won't be as much of a problem at Baylor. The first two conference road games were against Iowa State and Texas Tech, schools that have a loud and large fan base. Baylor doesn't have the same level of support, and its proximity to Dallas will allow a large number of Kansas alumni will make the trek in for the game. Defense Michael Phillips long Baylor more than a zero for category would be a crime. the way the Bears got handled by the Sooners last weekend is unforgivable. Before the season started, Baylor was a darkhorse pick to finish in the top half of the league and now only Missouri has less Big 12 victories. If Baylor wants to be a contender in this conference or even stay out of the cellar, it can't get stomped by an average Oklahoma team. That result and the loss to Kansas State in which Baylor gave up an 11-point second half lead have sapped any momentum this team gained after defeating Texas Tech on Jan. 13. BU TIP-OFF WHAT'S AT STAKE? Legitimacy. Baylor at the very least needs to play competitively tonight against Kansas. After losing by 40 to Oklahoma, Baylor has to show that it isn't the same group that was laughed at for much of the Big 12 existence. A strong showing or a victory gives Baylor a chance to turn around its so-far disappointing season. STAR WATCH Freshman guard Tweety Carter has the potential to be a big time scorer. He's only averaging 9.5 points per game, but he can put up points in a hurry. The Reserve Christian School (La.) product scored 5.748 points in Carter four years, good for second on the all-time high school scoring list. He should also be inspired after a 2-for-10 shooting performance against Oklahoma. **THREE** — Sophomore Curtis Jerrells had a big game against Kansas last year, scoring 17 points. Jerrells is a dangerous three-point shooter, and the Jayhawks have had a tendency to give up too many shots from long range this season — only two Big 12 teams have allowed more attempts. HOW BIG OF AN IMPACT WILL AARON BRUCE HAVE? Bruce, Baylor's third-leading scorer, has been in a shooting slump more than a year. He averaged about 18 points per game on 47 percent shooting his freshman season but hasn't been the same. Now, Bruce is averaging only 11.4 points per game on 41 percent shooting. If Bruce is on, as he was when he lit up Texas Tech for 24 points in a victory, Baylor has a chance to beat anyone in this conference. **TWO** — Unlike its opponent, Kansas is under a lot of pressure. Losing two straight conference games would be considered blasphemy by Jayhawk fans. If Baylor jumps out on Kansas early, Kansas' burden could get even heavier, opening the door for an upset. QUESTION MARK ONE — Baylor has no pressure.Even the NIT appears to be a long shot. Baylor can come out relaxed against Kansas and simply hope for the best. 3 REASONS BUWINS JAYHAWK STATS Arthur | Player | Avg. min. | FG-FGA | 3FG Pct. | FT-FTA | PTS Avg. | | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | | Brandon Rush | 32.5 | 89-218 | .386 | 44-67 | 13.5 | | Darrell Arthur | 21.1 | 90-170 | .000 | 41-61 | 11.6 | | Mario Chalmers | 28.7 | 79-165 | .351 | 35-44 | 11.6 | | Julian Wright | 27.7 | 89-163 | .250 | 31-53 | 11.1 | | Sherron Collins | 19.9 | 61-121 | .441 | 16-22 | 8.6 | | Sasha Kaun | 17.9 | 46-78 | .000 | 16-29 | 6.8 | | Russell Robinson | 28.7 | 32-85 | .306 | 44-64 | 6.8 | | Darnell Jackson | 14.7 | 38-67 | .000 | 34-50 | 5.8 | | Brady Morningstar | 7.7 | 6-15 | .250 | 0-0 | 1.9 | | Jeremy Case | 7.0 | 5-15 | .308 | 0-0 | 1.6 | | Matt Kleinmann | 6.3 | 3-5 | .000 | 1-2 | 1.0 | | Rodrick Stewart | 6.4 | 4-14 | .429 | 0-3 | 0.7 | | Brennan Bechard | 1.8 | 0-0 | .000 | 0-0 | 0.0 | | Brad Witherspoon | 1.5 | 0-3 | .000 | 0-0 | 0.0 | KEY MATCH-UP Darrell Arthur 6'9" 230 vs. Kevin Rogers 6'9" 235 Rogers These two high school teammates could easily be on the same college team. Arthur nearly went to Baylor, and Rogers was recruited by Kansas. Rogers, a sophomore, has had an extra year to hone his game in college, but Arthur is probably the better player. Arthur has more polished low post moves and is a better shot blocker, with 37 swats compared to 20 for Rogers. That said, Arthur could have the jitters since he will be playing close to his Dallas home, giving Rogers the opportunity to shine in this duel. BEAR STATS
PlayerAvg. min.FG-FGA3FG Pct.FT-FTAPTS Avg
Kevin Rogers28.390-160.00043-5512.4
Curtis Jerrells31.272-171.33349-7312.2
Aaron Bruce29.671-172.35327-3311.4
Henry Dugat27.369-143.39232-4111.1
Tweety Carter23.360-147.36314-189.5
Tim Rush22.643-83.36432-437.2
Mamadou Diene19.231-54.00020-405.5
Josh Lomers12.430-47.00018-384.3
Patrick Fields11.710-23.2508-163.3
Penny Thiam7.03-8.3330-01.8
Mark Shepherd3.72-4.0005-71.3
Carl Sims1.51-2.0000-01.0
Jari Vanttaia5.12-12.0912-51.0
Richard Hurd2.7.125.1670-00.4
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