10A / SPORTS / FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 2011 / THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN / KANSAN.COM
KU
TIPOFF
AT A GLANCE
The last time the Jayhawks lost a game, they followed it up by going on the road and beating Colorado. Now they get to come home and play that same Colorado team. Oh, boy. The Buffaloes are very talented offensively — Bill Self said "everybody missed except Colorado"in recruiting Buffaloes star Alec Burks — but they don't have the defense or the physicality to follow the game plan that beat Kansas twice already this year. That game plan attack the Morris twins to draw foul trouble and, in turn, stifle that potent Jayhawk in offense — has been executed brilliantly in both Jayhawk losses, but not many teams have the players to pull it off.
PLAYER TO WATCH
Freshman guard, Josh Selby
man guard, Josh Selby
Coach Bill Self said yesterday that Selby is 80 to 85 percent and wouldn't see a reduction in playing time unless he reinjured
his leg. Selby's drawn a lot of criticism lately for mucking up the offensive flow that seems so evident when he's not in the game. Fair or not, the
criticism is out there — Yahoo! Sports national columnist Jason King wrote this week that Selby should be a distant fourth guard option. Selby will have to come out playing well to disseminate that chatter. He was playing well in the three games before his injury, averaging an efficient 14.3 points per game.The fact remains, though,that his two highest scoring games were his first two games as a Jayhawk,and he came off the bench in both of them.
Nill the Jayhawks guard?
QUESTION MARK
Colorado is kind of an awkward game for Bill Self to teach his lessons in, and the Jayhawks have got the Buffaloes after both of their losses. Self needs his team to buy into his defensive scheme
their losses. Self needs his team to buy into his defensive scheme — something they have clearly not done yet — but they're struggling to do so because they still believed, as of a week ago, that they could outscore any opponent they came across. While Kansas State and Texas should be enough to disprove that theory, Colorado could serve to only enforce it. The Buffaloes are one of the best offensive teams in the conference, but the Jayhawks, still, are the best offense in the conference. And Colorado's defense opens the gate for Kansas to revert back to its offensive barrage.
HEARYE, HEARYE
"I don't think unfair is right at all. I think they're getting a reputation. I don't think it's unfair."
— Bill Self on the Morris twins' growing reputation as dirty players
Chance for redemption
Kansas looks to make up for big loss
Taylor
KANSAS 24-2,(9-2) STARTERS
KANSAS VS. COLORADO 1 p.m., ALLEN FIELDHOUSE, Lawrence
Tyshawn Taylor,guard
yshawn taylor, guard
Despite Taylor's atrocious performance Monday, there's no reason to think he'll be anywhere but solidly entrenched in his usual spot running the point for Kansas. One bad night does not make a season, and the Jayhawks lack a true point guard who could adequately replace him. Playing Colorado, which lacks anything resembling a top-tier defense, should help him return to form.
Reed
Tyrel Reed,guard
Tyrel Reed, guard
Reed was just about the only Jayhawk to play a solid game in Manhattan. As is his wont, Reed kept a cooler head while the game grumbled around him. Reed isn't Kansas' best player, but he's the most evenkeeled and the most consistent. He finished with 14 points, five rebounds and three assists the last time Kansas played Colorado.
Morningstar
Brady Morningstar, guard
Brady Morningstar got a morningstar will probably get the nod one more time over the not-fully-healthy Josh Selby. He was his typical solid but unspectacular self Monday against the Wildcats, regressing just a little from the lights-out form he's shown since the Jayhawks' last game against Colorado. In Boulder, Morningstar broke out of a season-long scoring slump and scored 14 points on 4-of-5 shooting.
Mc. Morris
Marcel Morris, founder
Self joked in his Thursday presser about running Marcus in practice this week and Marcus saying "Coach, I didn't do it," about Markieff's intentional foul on Monday.
Self didn't care, because the referees don't care. The twins are stuck with a reputation as dirty players (a reputation which both have fostered this season), and regardless of which it is, you can be sure that anything close will get a second look.
Marcus Morris, foward
Mk. Morris
Markieff the one who actually did commit the intentional foul — a loose elbow on a moving screen that maliciously caught Jacob Pullen in the head — so it's a safe bet that he did plenty of running for it as well. Markieff really struggled Monday. He finished with just three points in 20 minutes and had zero rebounds, which is especially remarkable considering that he's still the leading rebounder in the Big 12.
Markieff Morris, forward
COLORADO
16-10,(5-6)
STARTERS
Levi Knutson, guard
Knutson is starting in place of junior guard Nate Tomlinson, who was injured in a loss to Missouri on Feb. 5. When the Buffaloes last saw the Jayhawks, kenpom.com had Knutson rated as the most efficient player in college basketball this season. Since the Jan. 25 tilt, Knutson is now rated fifth. In his Colorado's last game, a 58-56 victory against Kansas State, Knutson had 16 points on 5-8 shooting in 36 minutes.
Knutson
Higgins
15. Higgins, guard
In the 82-78 loss to Kansas, Higgins had 19 points on 8-15 shooting. Earlier this season, Kansas coach Bill Self said Higgins should be a pro when the season is finished. He led all scorers with 17 points in Colorado game against Kansas State on Feb. 12. Higgins is averaging 16.3 points per game, eighth in the Big 12.
Cory Higgins, guard
Burks leads the team in scoring (19.5 points per game) and is second behind Baylor's Lace-Darius Dunn (20.8 points per game). He only had eight points against Kansas State, but he has scored 20-plus points in three of five games since the loss to Kansas in Boulder. In that loss, Burks went off for 25, but it wasn't enough to pull off the upset.
Burks
Alec Burks, forward
Austin Dufault, forward
For being 6-foot-9, 230 pounds, Dufault plays small. His rebounds are up from a season ago by 1.4 a game, but he is only averaging 4.5 this season. Since the loss to Kansas on Jan. 25, Dufault has rebounding outputs of five, two, six, four and three. It helps not having to worry about Thomas Robinson tomorrow, but he will need to step up, especially on the offensive glass. Against Kansas State, Dufault had four points in 28 minutes.
Dufault
Marcus Relphorde, forward
Tim Dwyer
Like Dufault, Relphorde plays small. He is averaging 4.3 rebounds a game, but he did have a 12-rebound effort against Missouri on Feb. 5. Relphorde had four points against Kansas State, but scored 15 against Kansas. The Jayhawks will want to watch his perimeter shooting, where he went 3-5 from in the loss on Jan. 25. He is shooting better than 42 percent from deep on the season.
Relphorde
-Mike Lavieri
CU
TIPOFF
AT A GLANCE
Brady Morningstar Photo by Jerry Wang/KANSAN
Colorado was lucky against Kansas State on Feb. 12. Wildcat guard Rodney McGruder sank a long three-pointer that looked to have given K-State the 59-58 victory, but officials determined that the shot was after the clock reached zero. The victory was a good bounce back for the Buffaloes after losing at home 73-70 in overtime to Texas &M on Feb. 9. The last time Colorado saw Kansas, it was coming off its first home loss since 2007. When these two teams meet again tomorrow, Kansas will be coming off a loss to Kansas State on Monday. The two times the Buffaloes saw the Jayhawks in 2008 was after the Jayhawks lost the previous game.
PLAYER TO WATCH
Sophomore guard, Alec Burks Burks is one of four Big 12 players to be named to the Midseason Naismith Award Top 30 list, as was Kansas forward Marcus Morris.
Both were named to the Midseason Wooden Award Top 30 list as well.What makes Burks so deadly is his
Burks
ability to get to the free-throw line and knock down the 15-foot freebies. He is 84.5 percent this year, which is third in the Big 12. Burks has been to the line 193 times.
QUESTION MARK
How will Colorado fare in its final matchup with Kansas as a member of the Big 12?
The Buffaloes are catching the Jayhawks after a loss for the second time this season. They were fortunate to be at home the first time, but this time should be different. Colorado played Kansas to a four-point game, but something is telling me this won't be close. Yes, Kansas is without Thomas Robinson, but Colorado doesn't really have anybody to bang bodies down low. If Burks, Higgins and Knutson can score efficiently, it will keep Colorado in the game later. If that happens, the Buffaloes will believe they could win this game and the upset might be on. Look for the fans to be juiced after the disappointment from Monday's loss. Coach Tad Boyle would like to leave Lawrence with a 1-0 record until he and the team head west to the Pac-12 in 2011. Kansas does not "let one become two."Kansas wins by 11.
HEARYE, HEARYE
"Obviously, Bill is going to have their attention. They've lost two games, and we've caught them on the back end of both of them. I don't read a lot into that stuff."
Colorado coach and Kansas graduate Tad Boyle to the media after Tuesday's practice
BIG 12 SCHEDULE
Game
Time (CT)
Sat., Feb. 19 Time (C)
Texas at Nebraska 12:30 p.m.
Missouri at Iowa State 12:30 p.m.
Oklahoma at Kansas State 3:00 p.m.
Texas Tech at Baylor 7:00 p.m.
SCHEDULE
ALLEN FIELDHOUSE WILL ROCK IF...
The Jayhawks defend like they can, not like they have been. There are enough solid defenders on the team — I'm looking at you. Brady Morningstar, and you in particular, Tyshawn Taylor — that the Jayhawks could be a lockdown defensive squad. Colorado's got the offense to beat Kansas if the defense plays like it did at Kansas State.
THE BUFFALOES WILL STAMPEDE IF...
THE BUFFALOES WILL STAMPE LEBEN
Alec Burks and Cory Higgins get some freaking help. The pair of NBA-prospect guards did everything they could to keep the Buffs in it in Boulder — Burks finished with 25, Higgins 19 — but outscored the other seven guys that played 44-34. Levi Knutson is the best three-point shooter in the conference, and he could be the guy that makes the difference. He had just eight last time these teams met.
Prediction Kansas 86, Colorado 70
Date Opponent TV Channel Time
Date Opponent TV Channel Time
Feb. 21 Oklahoma State ESPN 8 p.m.
Feb. 26 Oklahoma ESPN 3 p.m.
March 2 Texas A&M ESPN or ESPN2 8 p.m.
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