KANSAN.COM / THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN / MONDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2011 / SPORTS /
MEN'S BASKETBALL REWIND
BY MIKE LAVIERI
mlavieri@kansan.com
Howard Ting/KANSAN
Self said sitting Selby was due to precautionary reasons. He said he thought Morningstar did a good job of stepping up in the starting roll.
LINCOLN, Neb. — Kansas and Nebraska played at Bob Devany Sports Center for the last time as members of the Big 12 Conference. Kansas defeated Nebraska 86-66, but were not led by the Morris twins.
"I really don't expect much of a drop off even though I know our best players have to play," Self said. "I think we have a bunch of best players."
Self said it would be difficult to lose Marcus and Markieff.
He attributed the missed freethrows to the ball. He said the Adidas ball is smaller and harder to grip than the Wilson ball Kansas uses. He said it was harder to put the ball in the basket even though he went 5-7, Markieff went 6-6 and Morningstar went 5-7.
Self said the two are the best passers and that when they pass well, the rest of the team does as well.
Marcus agreed with coach Bill Self, who said this was some of the best offensive play from the team. Morris said the team could do better offensively with freshman guard Josh Selby, who sat with a stress reaction in his right foot.
Edited by Samantha Collins
The two combined for 33 points on 11-13 shooting. Both misses were three-pointers by junior forward Marcus Morris. The Morris' success came in large part from the shooting and passing of senior guard Brady Morningstar, who had his best statistical game of the season.
"I got to get back to work shooting on my free-throws," Marcus said.
Confidence is the reason Marcus and Markieff have been successful this season. The two are averaging 16.7 points per game and 60.1 percent from the field, and 13.1 points per game and 58.7 percent from the field, respectively.
Junior forward Markieff Morris puts up a basket against the Huskers on Saturday afternoon in Bob Devaney Sports Center at Lincoln, Neb. Morris shot a perfect 6-6 and 3-3 from the arch scoring a total of 17 points against the Huskers.
The biggest downfall for the two is their free-throw numbers. The two are a combined 66.5 percent from the line. Success in the postseason could be 'make or break' depending on the free-throw shooting, especially from these two because of how many touches they have down low.
"He's shooting with a lot of confidence." Marcus said.
"I think they demand a lot of attention, which opens up things for everybody else," junior guard Tyshawn Taylor said.
Game to Remember
Morningstar
In two of the last three games, a Jayhawk has had the best performance of his career and made this part of my job really easy. Thomas Robinson's 19-point, seven-rebound effort against Kansas State, with everything going on in his personal life, was the first one. Morningstar's 19-point, six-assist, zero-turnover performance Saturday was the second. Morningstar has scored more one other time in his career, but that was against Coppi State, who doesn't defend quite
Brady Morningstar
With Josh Selby out of the lineup, Johnson got a chance to fight his way back into the rotation as a one-game fill-in. Johnson went 1-for-4 from the field for two points and an assist to go along with three boards in 14 minutes. It looks like he'll have one more opportunity to find a rhythm against Missouri Monday, but if he doesn't produce,he'll be reduced to a spot minutes role.
Johnson
Elijah Johnson
Game to Forget
was against Coppin State, who doesn't defend quite like Nebraska.
Nebraska 34 | 32 - 66
Points
Jayhawk Stat Leaders
Brady Morningstar 19
Rebounds
Marcus Morris 7
Assists
Brady Morningstar 6
Player FG-FGA 3FG-3FGA Rebs A Pts
Marcus Morris 5-7 1-3 7 1 16
Markieff Morris 6-6 3-3 1 0 17
Tyshawn Taylor 2-8 0-1 3 5 6
Brady Morningstar 5-7 5-7 2 6 19
Tyrel Need 4-8 3-6 3 0 14
Thomas Robinson 1-2 0-0 6 1 8
Elijah Johnson 1-4 0-2 3 1 2
Mario Little 1-2 1-1 1 2 4
Travis Releford 0-1 0-1 1 0 2
Totals 25-45 13-24 33 16 86
Nebraska
Player FG-FGA 3FG-3FGA Rebs A Pts
Brandon Ubel 2-4 1-2 5 0 7
Andre Almeida 0-4 0-0 4 0 0
Brandon Richardson5-9 2-4 3 0 16
Caleb Walker 3-7 1-3 5 0 10
Lance Jeter 3-8 0-1 0 10 10
Toney McCray 4-11 3-7 3 1 11
Cristopher Niemman0-1 0-1 0 0 0
Ray Gallegos 2-5 0-2 2 0 4
Jorge Brian Diaz 4-7 0-0 4 1 8
Totals 23-56 7-20 30 13 66
Quote of the Game
"Offensively, that's as good as we can execute."
- Bill Self
Prime Plays
First Half
12:52: Markieff Morris hits two three-pointers at the top of the arc. The second one forces Nebraska coach Doc Sadler to take a timeout. (20-10)
8:03: Marcus Morris misses everything on a three, but Thomas Robinson is right there for the rebound and a two-handed slam. (27-21)
1:00: Tyrel Reed gives Kansas another 10-point lead with a three-pointer from the corner. (42-32)
Second Half
16:21: Morningstar connects on another three. He is 4-5 from downtown with 14 points. (50-41)
7:07: Tyshawn Taylor feeds Marcus Morris for the dunk. Kansas hits 70 points, which means Kansas has a good chance of winning. When Nebraska opponents score 70 points, it is 0-2 on the year. (70-56)