KANSAN.COM / THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN / TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 2011 / GAMEDAY / 7A
KU
TIPOFF
AT A GLANCE
A week-and-a-half ago, Texas Tech looked like a pushover opponent for the Jayhawks. Now, Texas Tech is 3-0, Kansas is 2-1 and Bill Self, somehow, still hasn't won in Lubbock, Texas. That's not to say the Jayhawks won't be a double-digit favorite. Kansas is more talented at every spot on the floor, and Pat Knight is not the coach that his legendary father, Bobby, was. The Jayhawks are back at No. 2 in the rankings, and they should stay there after this week.
PLAYER TO WATCH
Morris
Junior forward,
Morris is a vital part of Kansas' success, but he has to get better at defending without putting his hands on his man. Foul trouble
Marcus Morris
has been an issue for both Morris twins since they came to Kansas. If Marcus isn't on the floor, Kansas loses the key cog in its offense. He's never been more vital to the Jayhawks, which means it's never been more important for him to stay out of foul trouble.
QUESTION MARK
What's the deal with Bill Self and Lubbock?
Romping the Raiders Kansas looks for a win in Lubbock KANSAS VS. TEXAS TECH 8 p.m., UNITED SPIRIT ARENA, Lubbock
Seriously, You'd be hard-pressed to argue that Self is not one of the top five coaches in America, but for whatever reason, he hasn't been able to pull out a victory at Texas Tech, which has hardly been a power in the Big 12. Tech has handed Kansas its first conference loss in two of the last three times the Jayhawks visited. The third time, two years ago, The Red Raiders smoked the Jayhawks by 19, handing Kansas its second conference loss of the season.
HEARYE, HEARYE
"In the next nine days, there's a good chance we will know a lot more about our conference chances."
Bill Self after beating Kansas State
Taylor
KANSAS
19-1,(4-1)
STARTERS
Tvshawn Tavlor. guard
Reed
Taylor got after it this past week, having a personal renaissance of sorts. He shot 70 percent from the field and had 22 points in the Jayhawks' last two games. Over the last three games, Taylor had 12 assists against three turnovers. Continuing to keep the ball out of the other team's hands is essential to his NBA prospects.
Tyrel Reed,guard
Reed has yet to have a lights-out day from the field this season. He's been solid all the way through, but has had only one 50-40-
Selby
90 day — 50 percent from the field, 40 percent from the three and 90 percent from the line — and that was against Texas. He's a more effective all-around player, but he's shooting a career-low 37.8 from behind the arc.
★★★☆☆
Josh Selby,guard
Selby capped a week of bounceback performances with Big 12 Rookie of the Week honors, announced Monday morning. Selby had an unsightly five turnovers in the win against Kansas State, but he was solid otherwise, with 12 points on six shots and four assists. Even if he just does that, minus anything spectacular, it'd be a huge benefit for Kansas.
Marcus Morris, forward
Morris actually had a down week in terms of output, but he's been so effective that it's hardly noticeable. He shot 75 percent from the field, averaged 12.5 points and racked in an additional seven rebounds, which helped Kansas go 2-0. However, he didn't play more than 30 minutes in either game because of foul trouble. That's a problem he has to fix.
Morris
Markiem Morris, forward Markiew was off in Colorado, finishing with just six points on six shots. He was flat-out brilliant against Kansas State, though, finishing with 20 points and nine boards in a dominant effort against the Wildcats. He's been great at staying out of foul trouble lately, which has long been his kryptonite.
Markieff Morris. forward
TEXAS TECH 14-7,(2-4) STARTERS
David Tairu,guard
Tairu
Tairu is averaging nine points a game. He is shooting 33.3 percent from behind the arc. He is one of two starters that has a positive assist/turnover ratio. He is averaging one assist per game and 0.68 turnovers per game. He has 55 rebounds on the season, 19 of them coming on the offensive end.
Roberson
Roberson is the main ball handler for the Red Raiders. He leads the team with 82 assists, 4.1 per game. He is second with 12.9 points per game. His average of 1.4 steals per game leads the team, although Brad Reese has more total steals. Roberson is the player Texas Tech wants at the line if the game is close at the end. He is shooting 79 percent, a team best for players with 25 attempts.
John Roberson, guard
Robert Lewandowski, forward
Lewandowski is fourth on the team with 9.3 points per game. His 5.1 rebounds per game put him as second on the team behind Singletary. He is also second on the team with 19 blocks. Lewandowski is averaging one assist per game. Lewandowski has not attempted a
TEXAS TECH
Lewandowski
three pointer this season, and it is highly
unlikely that he will attempt one tonight. The Red Raiders can't afford to lose Lewandowski because of foul trouble. He has
fouled out three times this season; tonight might be four if the Morris twins and Robinson take it to him.
Brad Reese,forward Reese is Texas Tech's leading three- point
shooter at 44.4 percent. He is third in scoring with 12.4 points per game.He is also third with 4.8 rebounds per game.Reeve is one of the better defenders on this Red Raider team.He leads the team with 22 blocks and 33 steals.Reeve is shooting 76 percent from the free-throw line.
TEXAS STACK
Beese
Mike Singletary, forward
Singletary leads the Red Raiders in points, 14.3 per game, and rebounds, 6.2 per game. He is shooting 50.7 percent from inside the arc and 45.6 percent from the field overall. Of the starters, he has the worst free throw percentage, 71.8 percent. Singletary is second with 62 assists.
Singletary
TECH
TIPOFF
ATAGLANCI
— Mike Lavieri
Texas Tech is coming off three straight wins in conference and hopes to make it four when Kansas comes to Lubbock tonight. Bill Self hasn't won in Lubbock since he took over in 2004 and Texas Tech coach Pat Knight wants to keep it that way. The Red Raiders have played well in their last three games, but their average margin of victory is only 3.6 points. The Red Raiders are balanced as its five starters are averaging nine points or better a game. Texas Tech's three scorers in double figures average about 10 shots a game.
PLAYER TO WATCH
Senior forward, Mike Singletary
Tim Dwyer
Singletary
He is not only a statistical leader for this Texas Tech team, but he is the vocal leader. The one thing the Red Raiders do not want from Singletary is for him to start shooting threes. He is 4-31 (12.9 percent) on the year. If Kansas starts to pull away, Singletary will need to stay composed and continue to score from inside. If he isn't scoring, he will need to get others involved to give the Red Raiders a chance.
This Mike Singletary didn't play for the 1985 Super Bowl XX winning Bears; he wasn't even born
yet. He is the player that makes this team go. When Singletary is on, the Red Raiders will compete with their opponent.
QUESTION MARK
Can Texas Tech hand Kansas another loss in Lubbock?
While Texas Tech has been playing well during the last week, it has not been close in its losses. The Red Raiders lost at home to Baylor by 12, Texas by 21 and on the road to Kansas State by 34 and Oklahoma by nine. Texas Tech will need to play shutdown defense and shoot the ball tremendously well to defeat a Kansas team coming off a 24-point trashing of Kansas State. Kansas has had success all year long while Texas Tech has it against lackluster opponents. A win against the Jayhawks is great for the resume, but it is unlikely to happen. Look for Bill Self to grab his first win in Lubbock.
HEARYE, HEARYE
"When you win three games in a row in this league, you have to be playing pretty pleased. But, then again, when you go back and look at the game, we made some bad mistakes that almost cost us the game. But what they are doing now is that after they make a mistake or someone takes a shot at us, we are able to bounce back. We've talked about it before in press conferences, the bad body language and all that, and that's kind of gone. These guys have fought through these last three games, and that's good."
Photo by Jerry Wang/KANSAN
— Texas Tech coach Pat Knight after the Red Raiders' 75-74 victory over Oklahoma State on Jan. 29.
BIG 12 SCHEDULE
Game
Sat., Jan. 29 Time (C)
Colorado at Baylor 12:30 p.m.
Texas A&M at Nebraska 1:00 p.m.
Oklahoma State at Texas Tech 3:00 p.m.
Missouri at Texas 8:00 p.m.
Oklahoma as Iowa State 8:00 p.m.
ALLEN FIELDHOUSE WILL ROCK IF...
Kansas jumps out to an early lead.The Red Raiders are rolling right now, 3-0 In as many games,and Pat Knight, for all his struggles, owns Bill Self in Lubbock. A big start for Kansas will nix whatever energy the fans bring, and the Jayhawks would be able to coast to an easy victory.
BABY JAY WILL WEEP IF...
Pat Knight works that Lubbock voodoo that you do so well. (I'm writing this from the bar at a B.B. King's in Memphis, roll with the blues lyrics). Knight is on a hotter seat than any coach in the country, and a win tonight would do a lot to save his career. His players like him and they know that, so expect them to come out juiced.
SCHEDULE
Prediction:
Kansas 81, Texas Tech 67
Date Opponent TV Channel Time
Feb. 5 Nebraska Big 12 Network 3 p.m.
Feb. 7 Missouri ESPN 8 p.m.
Feb. 12 Iowa State Big 12 Network 3 p.m.