8B
GAMEDAY
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
ERIDAY DECEMBER 1 2006
KU
TIP-OFF
AT A GLANCE
Kansas enters Saturday with a 6-1 record and a No. 5 ranking in the national polls. Kansas has never lost to DePaul and coach Bill Self has never faced the Blue Demons, but Self did coach against DePaul coach Jerry Wainright in the 2003-04 season when Wainright was coach of the Richmond Spiders. Wainright's club upset the Self's club in Allen Fieldhouse, 69-68.
5 QUICK FACTS
0 - The number of non-neutral site road games Kansas has played this season; Saturday will be its first.
2 - The number of awards Wright earned last week: ESPN.com and Big 12 Player of the Week.
4 - the number of Chicago natives who will be playing Saturday; Kansas freshman guard Sherron Collins and DePaul senior forward Lorenzo Thompson were teammates at Crane High School.
12. 7 - The average margin of victory for Kansas in seven all-time victories against DePaul.
75 - The number of victories Self has in 100 career games at Kansas; good for fifth all-time at Kansas, four victories behind Larry Brown and only one behind Roy Williams.
PLAYER TO WATCH
Rush
Sopho more guard Brandon Rush could cause matchup headaches for De Paul. At 6-6, he's nearly as
tall as any player on the Blue Demons' roster and even against Florida's frontcourt he pulled down seven boards. He should be able to use his height advantage to break out of his recent shooting funk.
QUESTION MARK
How will Sasha Kaun's knee hold up?
He has struggled since his season debut against Tennessee State. Self has said that Kaun's knee is still very sore and has limited his mobility. Fans will see Saturday if three days of rest
WINDY CITY SHOWDOWN Jayhawks look to build momentum
1 p.m., Saturday, Allstate Arena, Rosemont, Ill., ESPNU
Kansas
have helped his knee after playing four games in eight days.
Offense
Kansas is averaging 81 points per game and has surpassed its per-game average in five of its seven games. Freshman forward Darrell Arthur continues to lead the team in scoring, averaging 15.9 per game, and is second on the team in rebounds, averaging 6.6 per contest. Sophomore guard Brandon Rush is second on the team in scoring but is shooting just 35 percent from the field in his last three games. Arthur and Rush, along with sophomore forward Julian Wright should be able to take advantage of DePaul's frontcourt that is very small, with the exception of 7-1 center Keith Butler. Even if DePaul should find a way to contain all three, Kansas' role players are more than capable of scoring. Against Dartmouth on Tuesday, 12 Kansas players got in the game and 11 scored. Kansas proved it can dominate the boards on offense against smaller teams that game, too, grabbing 23 offensive rebounds while Dartmouth had 23 total rebounds. Junior guard Russell Robinson has been a ball-control fiend this season with 37 assists to just 11 turnovers.
Kansas has played inspired defense as of late, holding two of its last three opponents under 50 points. The Jayhawks have also held two other opponents under 60 points. For the season, opponents are shooting just 37 percent against Kansas. Without junior center Sasha Kaun fully healthy, Arthur and Wright have provided a surprisingly inexorable defensive presence in the paint. They are the top shot-blockers on the team with a combined 29 blocks of the team's 46 and even have 19 combined steals. When it comes to picking pockets, though, Robinson and sophomore guard Mario Chalmers are the best, having combined for 29 of the team's 63 steals. Wright has been putting on a rebounding clinic for the Jayhawks this season. He is by far the team's best rebounder, averaging 9.1 a game, but has an astounding 42 defensive rebounds. Rush is next in line with 29 defensive rebounds.
Defense
DePaul
Kansas could have easily overlooked Dartmouth on Tuesday, following the program's biggest victory in years and with a road trip to Chicago coming up. However, the Jayhawks kept their focus and took care of business, winning by 51 points. The Dartmouth game wasn't so much impressive because it was a blowout, but rather because it proved that Kansas isn't going to underestimate another opponent as it did Oral Roberts. The Jayhawks are riding a five-game winning streak and if they can maintain the same mentality they've played with the last two games, they will prove to be a formidable opponent, at home, on the road, regardless of the venue.
Offense
DePaul's offense, averaging 69 points per game, will revolve around forward Wilson Chandler. He is leading the team in scoring, averaging 15 points per game. He's led the team in scoring in four of DePaul's six games and three of the last four. His season high was 23 points against Chaminade in the Maui Invitational. Although 6-foot-8, 230 pounds, Chandler is a threat from beyond the arc, having made 11 of 21 three-point attempts. He also leads the team in rebounds, averaging 6.3 a game, and has nine of DePaul's 19 team blocks. He can be careless with the ball, though, with only five assists to 11 turnovers. Guard Sammy Meija has led the Blue Demons in scoring twice this season, with a season high 18 points against Bradley. He's second on the team in rebounds and fourth on the team in assists. He needs to take better shots, however. He's shot just as many three-pointers as Chandler, but has only made four.
— Shawn Shrover
Defense
DePaul has also held two opponents under 50 points this season, but those opponents were Northwestern and Eastern Illinois and the Blue Demons lost to the Wildcats. With only two players taller than 6-6 who play significant minutes, it's surprising that the Blue Demons have out-rebounded opponents 197-179 this season. Still, DePaul doesn't exactly play lockdown defense. Opponents are shooting 47 percent against the Blue Demons. Opponents also have 93 assists to 70 turnovers on the season. DePaul's 19 stacks and 38 steals in six games are pretty modest totals, but still better than its opponents. Chandler leads the team in blocks and forward Marcus Heard is the team's only other real shot-blocking threat with six this season. The Blue Demons should receive a lift on defense by 7-1, 255-pound, senior center Keith Butler, who was just reinstated to the team this week.
Mario Chalmers
Momentum
DePaul is 2-4 this season, but has a few more moral victories. In the Maui Invitational, DePaul was able to keep up with then-No. 22 Kentucky before losing 87-81. Two days later, DePaul gave now 5-1 Purdue a good game before losing 81-73. The Blue Demons have also played well in their only home game when they won by 30 points, albeit against Eastern Illinois. Although DePaul is 0-7 all-time against Kansas, the last time the two schools met, DePaul played Kansas close. The game was played at DePaul in 2001, where Kansas escaped with a six-point victory. DePaul coach Jerry Wainwright knows how to defeat a Bill Self-coached team. He was coach of the Richmond Spiders in the 2003-04 season when Richmond upset Kansas 69-68 in Lawrence. Finally, on Thursday, Wainwright
reinstated to the team. As far as records go, not much is going DePaul's way, but the Blue Demons can be on the verge of breaking out of their funk.
- Shawn Shroyer
DEPAUL TIP-OFF
AT A GLANCE
M
Coming off a 12-15 season, the Blue Demons aren't off to a much better start this season. However, DePaul seems to play better at home. Last year the Blue Demons went 7-7 at home and they are 1-0 at home this season. DePaul won its last game on Nov. 21, giving Jerry Wainright 200 career victories as a head coach. To have any success Saturday, DePaul will depend on sophomore forward Wilson Chandler, who is a legitimate NBA prospect.
5'OUICK FACTS
0 - The number of victories DePaul has against Kansas in seven meetings.
1 - The number of victories DePaul had in three games in the Maui Invitational.
20 - The number of points DePaul lost by in its season-opener against Bradley.
PA
5 - The number of total points DePaul has outscored opponents by in the second half of games this season, 223-218 Sophomore forward Wilson Chandler is the only chance De-
192 The number of total points DePaul has scored in the first half of games this season, which is the same number of total points the Blue Demons have surrendered in the first half of games this season.
PLAYER TO WATCH
Paul has on Saturday. He's averaging a team-high 15 points per contest and has gone off for as many as 23 points once this season. He's the team's best three-point shooter, connecting on 52 percent of his three-pointers. He's also the Blue
Chandler
How will the return of Keith Butler affect DePaul's inside
Demons' leading rebounder with 38 on the season.
QUESTION MARK
game?
In 92 career games, Butter has averaged 4.2 points, 5.2 rebounds and 1.6 blocks. If he can control the paint and hold Arthur and Wright to around 20 combined points, he will force other Jayhawks to step up and score.
NATIONAL GAMES OF INTEREST
Kentucky (4-2) at No. 6 North Carolina (5-1) 11 a.m., Saturday, CBS
Fresh off their victory against No. 1 Ohio State, the Tar Heels take on the traditional power Kentucky. With North Carolina's speed and All-American center Tyler Hansbrough, this game shouldn't be close.
Kentucky has slipped in the last few seasons under coach Tubby Smith and they've continued that trend this season. The Wildcats haven't been to a Final Four since the 1998 in Smith's first season. If Kentucky barely sneaks into the NCAA Tournament again this season, it could be Smith's last year in Lexington.
Half of the Wildcats roster is freshmen and that doesn't bode well against a Tar Heel team that likes to push the ball in transition and force turnovers. Carolina coach Roy Williams has said he wanted his team to have at least 100 possessions a game. If they can get that many possessions, this game should be over by halftime.
BY RYAN SCHNEIDER
No. 21 Gonzaga (6-1) at No. 25 Texas (5-1)
1 p.m., Saturday, ESPN
The Bulldogs and Longhorns meet in the Basketball Hall of Fame Challenge in Phoenix. Both teams are extremely young. The Longhorns have seven freshman, including highly-touted forward Kevin Durant. Through six games this season Durant is averaging 22 points and nine rebounds a game.
Countering Durant in the paint will be Gonzaga's Josh Heytvelt, who is averaging 17 points and eight rebounds a game. Earlier this season in the Presseason NIT, Heytvelt and the Bulldogs beat then-No. 2 North Carolina, holding All-American Tyler Hansbrough to just nine points. If the Bulldogs can continue to defend the paint, look for Gonzaga to knock off another ranked team.
No.22 Wichita State (5-0) at No.14 Syracuse 6 p.m., Saturday
The Shockers continue their non-conference road trip this time traveling to northern New York to take on the Orange. Last weekend, Wichita State upset then-No.6 LSU in Baton Rouge. This is likely to be the Shockers last game against a ranked team before beginning conference play in the Missouri Valley.
Mainly because they've played weak opponents at home in the Carrier Dome, Syracuse is undefeated. The Orange don't play a game outside of New York until January. Syracuse has four scores averaging double-figures.
Wichita State returns a majority of its team that advanced to the Sweet 16 a year ago. Don't be shocked if the Shockers pull off the upset. Although at this point, a mid-major winning on the home court of a major team is no longer a shock.
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