8B
THE UNIVERSITY DAIRY KANSAN
GAMEDAY
FRIDAY, JANUARY 19, 2007
WHAT'S AT STAKE
Kansas comes into the game as the best team in the Big 12, and the matchup is one that fans won't be lining up out the door to watch. As is usually the case for a top team, there's much less to gain then there is to lose. Kansas cannot move up in the rankings by winning, only down by losing.
STAR WATCH
Freshman guard Sherron Collins had a breakout
game against Missouri. Afterward, coach Bill Self said that he'd never seen a player dominate a rivalry game
the way that Collins did down the stretch. The key for him is to build off of a big outing without letting it get to his head – he's just a freshman, and inconsistency comes with the territory.
QUESTION MARK
Can Kansas overcome "The DePaul Factor?" The Jayhawks have a bad tendency to come out flat in games that don't matter. It hasn't happened since playing DePaul, and a spirited effort in Ames may be proof that the Jayhawks have moved past that, but fans will get nervous if the Red Raiders can take a lead in the second half.
3 REASONS KUWINS
ONE: Foul trouble doesn't hurt the Jayhawks like it used to. Now that Sasha Kaun has fully recovered from injury and Darnell Jackson has developed into a solid presence off the bench, the Jayhawks can afford to lose one of their big men without major harm.
TWO: Sherron Collins is hot right now. Mario Chalmers doesn't need to lose sleep over his starting spot, instead he should be thrilled that the Jayhawks have a sixth man like Collins – a luxury even some championship teams don't have.
**THREE:** No distractions in Lubbock. Forget the bright lights of Las Vegas or the exciting nightlife in Austin. Lubbock sits in a dry county, meaning the players won't even be able to get a six pack the night before the game. The bar scene makes studying game tape look like an attractive option.
RED STORM BREWING? Jayhawks look to avoid first Big 12 loss
KANSAS VS TEXAS TECH 3 p.m., Saturday, United Spirit Arena, Lubbock, Texas, ESPN
Kansas 16-2,3-0 Big 12
Offense
Being exposed to several types of defenses has helped Kansas perfect its various offenses. The Jayhawks right now are performing best against zone defenses. The play is for Julian Wright to get the ball inside and feed it to a Kansas three-point shooter. When the shots are falling, defenses second-guess their strategy very quickly. Against man-to-man defenses, the Jayhawks will rely on their big men to play a smart game and stay out of foul trouble. It helps that Darnell Jackson has emerged as a viable bench player over the past month. Jackson isn't expected to do anything flashy when he enters, but provides the rebounding presence that the Jayhawks need.
Texas Tech 13-5,2-1
Offense
Texas Tech has three players who can consistently score in Jarrius Jackson, Charlie Burgess and Martin Zeno, and the team shoots nearly 44 percent from behind the arc. The only problem is that the Red Raiders don't shoot enough three-pointers — they attempt less trets than anyone in the conference. Outside of the big three of Burgess, Zeno and Jackson, Tech has few scoring options. Knight seems to have a revolving door rotation for frontcourt players Damir Suljagic, Michael Prince, Jon Plefka, Darryl Dora and Esmir Rizivz have all started the this year. The common thread for all of them — all are mediocre offensive players.
Defense
At this point, Kansas' defense has to be considered the best in the Big 12. The anchor is Brandon Rush, who gets assigned to the opposing team's best shooter in the final minutes of games. Because of his size, he can play almost every position on the floor. He also gets some helpful advice from his mom, who calls him on game days and tells him to attack the basket. The only problem the Jayhawks had against Missouri is that early in the game the Tigers were able to get back on offense before the Jayhawks, allowing them transition points. But toward the end of the half, Kansas adjusted and stopped the fast break for the remainder of the game.
The Jayhawks have an undefeated Big 12 record and have already won a game in a tough road enviroment — winning in overtime against Iowa State in Ames. Still, coach Bill Self knows that when teams play Kansas, they bring their best game — it's the bullseye that comes with being a highly touted team. That means the team can't overlook Texas Tech, because the Red Raiders will likely play their best game of the season on their home court. It's unfair to expect a blowout in a game like this, but fans should certainly expect Kansas to leave Lubbock with a victory.
Momentum
Michael Phillips
Russell Robinson
Defense
Maybe Bob Knight has gotten soft in his old age, because this team doesn't have the toughness characteristic of his past squads. Texas Tech is dead last in the conference in rebounding margin and second-to-last in field goal defense. But despite the apparent shortcomings, the Red Raiders have only allowed seven of their 18 opponents to score 70 points or more. To have a chance in this game, Texas Tech's big men Damir Suljagic and Michael Prince will have their hands full with Sasha Kaun and Julian Wright. Neither is tall enough for Kaun, or athletic enough to successfully guard Wright.
Momentum
When Bob Knight won his 800th game on New Year's Day, the victory did more than seal Knight's place in history. It lifted a tremendous burden off Knight's and the players' shoulders. They had been distracted when media dissected the present team and Knight's teams of the past for two weeks. Now the Red Raiders are ready to roll and have already won two conference games against Oklahoma and Kansas State. The only thing keeping Tech down is a close loss to Baylor last Saturday.
Mark Dent
TT TIP-OFF
WHAT'S AT STAKE
For this basketball season to be really great, Texas Tech needs to make the NCAA Tournament. A victory against Kansas would certainly increase the team's chances to make the field of 65.The Red Raiders only have two victories against possible tournament teams, Arkansas and New Mexico, and those teams are far from guaranteed to make it.
STAR WATCH
Junior guard Martin Zeno is taller, more versatile and much more impor
tant to the team than Jarius Jackson. He is second in scoring and leads the team in rebounds and assists. As Zero posts, he d
Zeno goes, so do
Zeno
the Red Raiders. In four out of five of their losses, Zeno has scored less than his average.
QUESTION MARK
Can Bob Knight beat the Jayhawks? Knight has more career victories than any coach in NCAA Division 1 history, but he turns into a whiter-haired Kiss Woolridge against Kansas. His Indiana and Texas Tech teams have gone 2-10 against the Jayhawks since 1990. That record includes a 40 point undressing in the 2002 Big 12 tournament and a 34 point teasting last year.
3 REASONSTTWINS
ONE! Home Cookin' United Spirt Arena isn't the toughest place to play, but the Red Raiders only lost twice in Lubbock two years ago. The Red Raiders have only lost one game at home this season.
**TWO:** Charlie Burgess — The junior is due for a big game after posting sub-par shooting efforts against Baylor and Kansas State. Burgess also rebounds extremely well for a 6'1" guard. He's grabbed six or more rebounds six times this season.
THREE. 2005 Redux — It was Valentine's Day heartbreak for Kansas two years ago. The Red Raiders went toe to toe with the Jayhawks on Feb. 14 for 40 minutes and two overtime periods, finally winning 80-79 after a controversial traveling call.
JAYHAWK STATS
| Player | Avg.min. FG-FGA | FG Pct | 3FFG-FA | 3FG Pct | FT Pct | Reb avg | PTS Avg |
| :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- |
| Rush, Brandon | 32.3 | 85-204 | .417 | 32-82 | .390 | .657 | 5.7 | 13.7 |
| Chalmers, Mario | 28.4 | 77-159 | .484 | 26-75 | .347 | .795 | 2.8 | 11.9 |
| Arthur, Darrell | 20.8 | 84-157 | .535 | 0-3 | .000 | .695 | 4.9 | 11.6 |
| Wright, Julian | 28.3 | 83-151 | .550 | 2-6 | .333 | .585 | 8.2 | 11.1 |
| Collins, Sherron | 19.4 | 57-115 | .496 | 24-56 | .429 | .727 | 2.5 | 8.6 |
| Kaun, Sasha | 17.5 | 43-74 | .581 | 0-0 | .000 | .552 | 4.0 | 6.8 |
| Robinson, Russell | 28.8 | 29-80 | .363 | 10-34 | .294 | .677 | 3.1 | 6.1 |
| Jackson, Damell | 15.3 | 38-65 | .585 | 0-0 | .000 | .680 | 4.8 | 6.1 |
| Morningstar, Brady | 7.7 | 6-15 | .400 | 1-4 | .250 | .000 | 1.3 | 1.9 |
| Case, Jeremy | 7.8 | 5-15 | .333 | 4-13 | .308 | .000 | 0.9 | 1.8 |
| Kleinmann, Matt | 6.3 | 3-5 | .600 | 0-0 | .000 | .500 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
| Stewart, Rodnick | 6.7 | 4-14 | .286 | 3-7 | .429 | .000 | 0.8 | 0.8 |
| Beard, Brennan | 1.8 | 0-0 | .000 | 0-0 | .000 | .000 | 0.3 | 0.0 |
| Witherspoon, Brad | 1.5 | 0-3 | .000 | 0-1 | .000 | .000 | 0.3 | 0.0 |
KEY MATCH-UP
Rush
Brandon Rush
6' 6" 210
vs.
Martin Zeno
6' 5" 208
Zeno
Rush had no trouble shredding the Red Raider defense last year on his way to a career-high 24 points. Zeno is the player that needs to hold Rush in check for Texas Tech to have any chance. Rush's best bet is to drive against the slightly less athletic Zeno. A major part of Zeno's offensive game is free throws. He averages almost seven attempts per game. If Rush guards Zeno (there's a chance he'll guard Jarrius Jackson part of the time), he should be quick enough to prevent him from getting to the basket and drawing fouls.
RED RAIDER STATS
| Player | Avg. min, FG-FGA | FG Pct | 3F-GFGA | 3F GPct | FT Pct | Reb avg | PTS Avg |
| :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- |
| Jackson, Jarrius | 36.1 | 123-274 | .449 | 46-91 | .505 | .837 | 3.9 | 20.8 |
| Zeno, Martin | 33.4 | 96-188 | .511 | 3-7 | .429 | .752 | 4.9 | 16.4 |
| Burgess, Charlie | 30.8 | 62-134 | .463 | 18-36 | .500 | .690 | 4.1 | 10.1 |
| Dora, Darryl | 18.0 | 37-80 | .463 | 9-22 | .409 | .833 | 2.8 | 5.2 |
| Plefka, Jon | 13.4 | 27-53 | .509 | 4-11 | .364 | .643 | 2.3 | 4.8 |
| White, Deccensae | 12.4 | 27-52 | .519 | 1-3 | .333 | .421 | 2.7 | 3.9 |
| Rivine, Esmir | 14.8 | 24-52 | .462 | 0-0 | .000 | .500 | 2.6 | 3.8 |
| Valentine, Benny | 13.4 | 23-59 | .390 | 10-31 | .323 | .400 | 1.2 | 4.0 |
| Voskull, Alan | 10.9 | 18-40 | .450 | 8-25 | .320 | .875 | 1.3 | 3.2 |
| Prince, Michael | 13.7 | 14-29 | .483 | 0-0 | .000 | .667 | 2.3 | 2.2 |
| Suljagic, Damir | 9.5 | 11-22 | .500 | 0-1 | .000 | .400 | 1.9 | 1.9 |
| Ogden, Tanner | 6.2 | 4-8 | .500 | 3-5 | .600 | 1.00 | 0.6 | 2.6 |
| White, LucQuente | 4.4 | 3-5 | .600 | 1-1 | 1.00 | .750 | 0.3 | 1.1 |
| Wilkerson, Justin | 4.0 | 2-4 | .500 | 1-2 | .500 | .000 | 0.5 | 2.5 |
| Mitchell, Jay | 4.8 | 1-2 | .500 | 0-0 | .000 | .000 | 1.8 | 0.5 |
| Hoffmeister, Tyler | 4.0 | 1-1 | 1.000 | 0-0 | .000 | .000 | 0.0 | 1.0 |